
All Plants
Aechmea recurvata var. benrathii - Praia do Rosa
Wild Aechmea recurvata var. benrathii! On our trip to southern Brazil we found this variety growing in coastal areas, mainly amongst rocks and boulders. The tight, squatty rosettes seemed perfectly content in full sun and subject to consta... More
Agave americana 'Opal'
Hardy A. americana variegate! We got this Agave americana variegate, having blue-green leaves with a cream edge, from Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery. He originally got it from a customer in Roanoke, VA. The plant looks simil... More
Agave americana var protoamericana 'Pokey Ghost'
Silver select! This selection of A. americana var. protoamericana was selected because of the silver coloration to the leaves, the pronounced teating of the leaf margins and its compact size. The silver leaves and u... More
Agave americana var. medio-picta alba
Supreme urn plant! Highly-prized since Victorian times for container cultivation. The slow growing, perfectly formed rosettes are boldly striped with white down the center of each leaf, while the borders are blue-green.... More
Agave americana var. protoamericana 'Silver Surfer'
Silver Surfer Agave! Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery made this fine Agave selection out of a batch of seedlings he grew from seed we sent him years ago. This plant grows in form much like many A. americana var. ameri... More
Agave bracteosa
Octopi! A spineless and toothless agave that resembles a group of octopi laying amongst the boulders. The 24 in. wide rosettes of bright-green leaves offset to form colonies in their native habitat clinging t... More
Agave bracteosa 'Calamar'
Recalling calamar! Pat McNeal chose this non-clumping form to be the first of the Agave bracteosa's to be tissue cultured. The cultivar name 'Calamar' implies a form more marine-like than plant-like. In its native habit... More
Agave chiapensis
Chiapas Agave! This relative of Agave celsii from the state of Chiapas, MX is superficially similar in appearance to it, but the leaves tend to be broader and stouter. The teeth on the margins of the leaves are also... More
Agave chrysoglossa
Another Soap Agave! According to Gentry’s “Agaves of Continental North America”, Agave chrysoglossa is closely related to Agave vilmoriniana but the leaves are flatter and straighter and the inflorescence is non-bu... More
Agave colimana
- An attractive plant with long, narrow leaves and long filifers that form a single rosette. Found just above the Pacific coastline in places with high-tide salt spray. As the name suggests, it is nativ... More
Agave cupreata
Dwarf Cowhorn! If you love Agave bovicornuta but don't have the space then this smaller cousin is an excellent alternative. This plant has nice dark colored teeth that contrast well with the light green leaves. The ... More
Agave dasylirioides
Sotol maguey! This plant probably represents the oldest living relic of the agave clan - clinging to outcroppings of volanic rock in a climate that is mild and moist year around you begin to see that this not your ... More
Agave desmettiana 'Variegata'
Golden highlights! A highly ornamental form that is variegated in creamy yellow bands along the leaf margins. The variegation is especially effective on this plant because of its cultural need for a shady area--accentin... More
Agave difformis
This plant is a member of the Marginatae Group of Agaves, which also includes species like A. lophantha, A lechuguilla, A. funkiana and A. xylonacantha. I mention its familial relatives so that people... More
Agave ferox 'Green Goblet'
Huge green goblet! In an area in Mexico near the Sierra Chiquita, where all agaves are gray-green, we noticed a decidedly different plant. This lone agave was dark-green and its foliage, instead of sprawling in every di... More
Agave flexispina
This somewhat small agave is native to the grama grasslands in the states of Chihuahua and Durango, Mexico at elevations around 3000' to 5000'. The plant has an open habit with comparatively few leave... More
Agave geminiflora
Green explosion! This rare and, in our opinion, most beautiful agave can be grown in a pot. The flexible, bright-green, pencil-like foliage is produced in such profusion that it becomes an explosion in green. With tim... More
Agave gentryi 'Jaws'
In the late 1990's when John Fairey and I were making regular treks into Mexico, I spotted this heavily armed selection in a huge colony of Agave gentryi. It made a treacherous groundcover under the o... More
Agave guadalajarana
Guadalajara Agave! A small, tight rosette of blue-gray leaves with pronounced nipples along the leaf edge with small spines embedded in them that become more numerous and larger toward the leaf tip. Endemic to a small a... More
Agave horrida
Papery tiger! The botanist Lemaire, who originally described this plant, gave it the specific name horrida because he though the plant was repulsive. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and we think it is one of t... More
Agave montana
The real thing! A recently described species that is found above 9,000' on the highest peaks in northeastern Mexico. The huge gray-green artichoke-like plants reach 6' across in silhouette. The highly-toothed leaf ma... More
Agave multifilifera
Multi-fabulous! A gem of an agave rarely seen in this country! If you hike for a couple of hours up a steep rocky mountain in the dangerous drug-lord controlled countryside in the state of Sonora, Mexico, you will fi... More
Agave obscura
Not so obscure! What a sight to behold, a rock outcropping stippled with compact, artichoke-like succulent agaves the size of basketballs; the skyline is punctuated with the exclamation point-like flower spikes. A br... More
Agave ocahui
Black-green daggers! 'Ocahui' is what the native people of northwestern Mexico called fiber or cordage. It is native to dry areas, where it is found perched on the edges of rock faces and cliffs. This plant has done very ... More
Agave ornithobroma
Bird food Agave! Parrots in Sinaloa, Mexico love to eat the flowers of this Agave and this is the reason for the botanical name. Though you are unlikely to eat its flowers, there are plenty of reasons for people to lo... More
