There are a good number of so-called hardy agaves, many of which will do very well in the Puget Sound area, provided they are sited carefully and afforded very well-draining soil. Agave parryi is arguably one of the hardiest, but A. montana, havardiana, obscura, gracilipes and some forms of americana should be able to survive long term as well. Also of interest may be Manfreda or false agave. There is a new intro on the market called 'Spot' that offers maroon dotted leaf spikes - pretty cool!!

Various better area nurseries may have a selection - these tend to appeal to collectors and odd plant enthusiasts and are not inexpensive so do not have a wide range of customer demand :-) Rare Plant Research outside of Portland grows many hardy succulents and "tropical" type plants. They supply various area nurseries as well, but are also open to retail mail order.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rare Plant Research

Sean Hogan down at Cistus Nursery in Oregon loves agaves. The two Terrys over at Mesogeo on Bainbridge Island also carry them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cistus catalog

In the Seattle area:
FlowerWorld in Maltby has some in the indoor plants section.
I've also seen a few at Sky Nursery on Aurora.
Molbaks carries succulents by Fleetfoot and Foulweather, and they are currently running 25% off their still high prices on indoor plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1089493}}

I wouldn't overlook A. protamericana, which I think may prove to be one of the best LARGE hardy Agaves for our region. Here is one growing on Bainbridge Island.

Thanks everyone: I am going to follow each and every lead. I bring mine in every winter but sometimes (a lot) wish I could leave some out. Thanks so much again for your suggestions.

Here's another web page for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Searching for Hardy Agave [PDF]

Hi ian_wa: Thanks for the link. I have not finished reading the article yet but it looks exciting. Agave Montana...where to get it? Anyway, thanks for the info. I will get back to a very informative article and see what I learn. Thanks a million.

I've included a pic of some of the agaves I grow in one of my desert beds, which gets covered between approx Nov-March. The agaves shown are either parryi or havardiana. I'm trying several other species, but for most of them will wait until they are larger before leaving them outside all year. The two cereus cacti and flowering kalanchoe in pots in the front bed come in for the winter, and several succulent plants on the other side of the pond come in as well. I have other agaves in pots that are almost flawless and they've been outside for at least three years without any overhead protection in the winter.
My plan it to create a much larger desert bed for agaves, yuccas, and other succulents that can survive without rain protection, but this has been on my list of things to do for a few years now. ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful:

The largest agave shown has thrived outside for the last three (or more) years. I think this one is havardiana.I've had problems with my labeling and have lost the species names on a lot of stuff - grr. In this case the only other possibility is parryi. If anyone can identify for sure that would be great! The smaller agave in the mexican pot it titanota and it's not hardy, but very pretty I think.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Thanks for the pictures. Very beautiful--I especially love to big agave (and the tall one, and the short one, and...etc :) What zone are you in? Comparable to Seattle? Beautiful pictures. Thanks again

I'm in zone 8b, so, yes, the climate here is comparble to Seattle, but we get more rain in the winter.

Good luck with growing some agaves outdoors year round!:-) I know from experience (have lost a few) that excellent drainage and the brightest position possible - this is especially important in the winter - really helps.