Being such a popular landscape plant here in L.A., I've seen them in all sorts of different conditions.

In bright shade, they will certainly get a bit over-sized. Both in terms of overall diameter, which isn't as much of an issue, but also in terms of height. The extra height will tend to make the plant a little "droopy" especially when it blooms. Beyond that, they all seem to do fine. The biggest "problem" I see with them around here is when they are planted in too small of a bed/container. They start to pup furiously when root-bound...

As Josiah says, it will do just fine in SouCal in the shade. You'll need a chainsaw in a few years, though.

Here they get kind of soft and saggy in too much shade.

Here they like a little afternoon shade, too much sun and they sunburn.

Thanks everybody.
I've noticed just by looking around our neighborhood that some of the old Attenuatas have the trunks extended alongside the growing ground; some even have been broken off due to the weight.

However, based on some of the photos on the web, some have their trunks more or less extended upwards. How do they elongate upward? (stake/pot bound/sun factor/growing in shade???

Thx

It is the nature of the plant to lean, especially if not planted in an open, full sun location. They want to lean/grow towards the light, and the only way to get a vertical trunk on one is already starting to lean is to stake it or dig it up and replant it vertically.

Too much shade in a northern California situation can lead to a weakened plant that tends to rot out in winter, bright shade is less of a problem, but they really do better here with some direct sun or at least dappled shade. You'll need to keep an eye on removing any dead leaves/debris caught between leaves, because this will start to rot out the Agave foliage when they are grown in wet winter shade. The problem is our long wet/cool winters, they start to decline if they are too shaded here in the East Bay/San Francisco, in combination with long extended/heavy rains.

Agave attenuata only rarely blooms in northern California conditions, I have only seen it once, under the winter covered protection in the display beds at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek. I don't think I have ever seen any of the large mature plants here in Berkeley/Oakland ever bloom.

Hi Bahia,
Thanks for your input.

I will have to find a sunnier location for it.

What if I placed it in a pot (have it pot bound) and then put it into the ground? Would I get a more vertical trunk growth or does it still need to be supported by stakes?