My guess either montana or gentry jaws. Probably Montana, your leaves are wider than my jaws. Definitely not parrasana.

I think you could be right on the A. montana...the only thing I wondered about is that the teeth on mine appear a bit more reddish than most of the pictures I have seen of montana. I could be over analyzing, however.

I was kind of hoping it was 'Jaws', so it looks like I may still need to acquire that one...oh well!

Thanks.

Tom

It's still small. When it grows there will be no mistaken it.

It's still small. When it grows there will be no mistaken it.

Tom,

If you send me the pics via my email, I can post them at XW, in case you don't want to be bothered joining up.

It's a nice plant - regardless of the name, I can see why you brought it home.

A. Montana 'Baccarat' is a possibility.

Bet on Brad to have the nuts.

Here is a link that might be useful: Agave Puts Its Points Forward

Thank you, Jeff et al!

BTW, Jeff, it looks like the author himself corroborated A. montana in the thread you attached (nice!).

Also, it pleases me to think that it might be A. montana 'Baccarat'. I have admired that plant from afar...and it is pretty cool that I lucked into it at my local geraniums and impatiens nursery! And it was relatively cheap, too!

Tom

I'll have to agree with Greg on A. Montana as was my first choice. I have baccarat also and the color is more grey.

Definitely a A. montana and I do not think it is of the Baccarat persuasion. I have 11 A montanas. The baccarats are more glaucous in color. The red needles are a looked for characteristic in Aloe Montana. It is a very variable species. Agave gentry grows on the same mountain ranges in mexico and, what I have heard is that they interbreed where there ranges intersect. So many of the Agave Montanas on sale have Agave gentry in the mix. I guess that they are too lazy to walk up further to pick seed. One needs to look at how the leaves recurve slightly and the color. A. Montana "baccarat" has some gentry that shows up in the glaucous coloring. Agave montana grows at a higher altitude than the Agave gentry. Saddly, Most seed for Agaves Montana are collected in the wild. The species has only recently been Identified and cultivated, so there is few or none flowering cultivated specimens. Tissue culture is being done.

This last year I went on a mad search for the perfect montana. And I have many forms. Their shape that they will become will not necessarily be evident when they are small. So I am always checking their progress. They will not show red thorns when they are very young either. They start out white when they are in seedling form.

I have a funny story. I picked up a tint agave that was sold as a "miniature A. utahensis". I was hoping for an A utahensis elborispina but the leaves looked a little fat and the I said , what the h*ll, and bought it. I stuck it in a Dish garden with small prickly pears from New Mexico and it molted into the fattest leafed red tipped montanna that I have. Everything was a montana last year even the ones That weren't supposed to be. The two species could not be more different. I was somewhat embarrassed that I was "taken" but then I was rewarded with the fat stalwart formed montana and I was very happy. I got 4 Agave utahensis eborispina this spring, and they are definitely what they are advertised to be , so all is well. Better than well.

One thing that I noticed is that Agave Montannas have some healthy roots as a characteristic. They are often bigger than the plant, like an iceberg.

Mara,

I really dig the mental painting of Agave as Iceberg (and I'm a dinghy) - thanks for brightening a gloomy day.

Wow, mara for a second I forgot which forum I was on. Great job with all the info. on the agaves. I would love to travel to Mexico and search for agaves at least once.

Yes, mara...thanks for the great, additional detail to the A. montana story!

Funny you should mention the root system...mine is so securely rooted in that pot it came in, I can't wait to repot it! It should be quite a battle!

Thick gloves...

T

Mara;

any chance to see your agaves...?
After reading what you said I really want pics!!!

Thnx.
Rina

Right now the hard drive on my computer is being fixed so I am hitchhiking on my husbands computer and I am unable to get to my photo library and upload to my flicker account .

The supposed Agave utahensis came with tiny white teeth and was a grayish green with the slightest tinge of yellow to the coloring and the leaves recurved in a bit. leaves got fatter and fatter and now really form fat dark overlapping green triangles that stick blatantly outwards with no recurve to them and long red/black terminal spikes. No blue or grey in this green coloring. It is still small but it has developed a distinctive character for being a ugly duckling of agave utahensis.

I have never been to Mexico to walk these mountains. I have read about peoples trips and taken note about what these experts have said, so I can parade their hearsay like a know-it-all which I am not. It is hearsay of experts. These plants turn red when they go into bloom. It is a shocking color,... The pictures are so gorgeous. I love what stress does to these plants.I am looking to plant out the Montanas under my Mountain ash Junipers in a "wild" scattering. They do like a cooler temperatures than Texas summers, so afternoon shade they will get.

Sadly Mexico isn't safe these days, even for humble Agave hunters. :(