Emy,

That is Agave bracteosa, a different and very nice agave!

Peyton

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Thanks a lot, Peyton. How big does it get?

Emy

Small to medium sized per Gentry, with leaves 50-70 cm (20-28") forming clumps. So one plant maybe 1m (3') or so across, but a clump could be larger.

The longest leaves on my main plant, which has been in the ground 4 or 5 years, are 17" long, but the plant is only about 28" across at most due to the curvature of the leaves. When measured with the biggest pup it is about 3' across. See the link.

BTW, this is not a fast growing agave.

Peyton

Here is a link that might be useful: Agave bracteosa today Jan 22 '05

Cool! It almost looks like an air plant.
I think I have seen them growing wild in FL, no?

Peyton,

Thanks for all the info and pics! Joyce asks if it's from Florida? I don't think so but if not, from where?

Emy

Nope, not from Florida, unless you saw it in a landscape, and I doubt it would naturalize there as it grows so slow the resident weeds would crowd it out...

Look in the wild around Monterey, Mexico if I remember correctly.

Peyton

Peyton,

The I guess it is safe enough to put in the ground and monitor it in a few years.

Thanks for the help,

Emy

Emy,

Here in south Louisiana it takes all the heat, cold, rain, drought etc with no problems. I have it in a raised bed so drainage is not a problem.

Peyton

Emy,

One of my favorites. Two pics following, the variegated one is from Quail Botanic Gardens near San Diego (note that they are calling it "Squid Agave"). The other is of a bed of them at Lotus Land near Santa Barbara. This really blew me away. Seeing one in a garden is great, but an entire planting bed of them? Amazing.

Buck

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Buck,

Did they look like they were planted that way or were they pups that grew away from the mother plant?

Emy

Emy,

I think that they are offsets that have been removed and planted out to fill the space. You can just see the new offsets coming fom under the large plant in the foreground.

Buck