Erica, I shall take some pics today just for you (and me, too, but that's another matter), but here's a list compiled by / with GermanStar, an all-too-infrequent poster here, of Agaves and their hardiness. As you say, there are a number that can live in 7a, and with protection even more. All of mine are inside now, but wait until May!

Agave List for Temperate Climates

Thanks for the link, Jeff. That's very helpful!

I look forward to seeing yours.

-Erica

OK, OK, 'cause you're one of the many good folk here, I found some older pics, but I will take more today, as long as I don't freeze in the garage getting some rearranging and attic extraction done.

Here's a miniature form of A. victoria-reginae

And here's that one with the confused / unknown parentage, Agave 'Confederate Rose', either A. potatorum or A. isthmensis.

Your typical A. attenuata at the Jardin Exotique

Also at the same garden, this unpublished-as-of-yet Yucca species - I found the form wonderful, just wonderful.

This subject is making me feel like busting loose. I'll show myself out.

I grow Agaves in a much warmer climate. I can post pictures if you like, but you may not be able to grow them in the ground in your zone.

Agave victoriae-reginae is said to be hardy to 10F. I can't verify this. It is a slow grower, but a beautiful plant. This little plant in a 6-inch pot is 3 years old.

I notice that Agave desmettiana (the plant that is blooming for me) is listed as hardy to 25F.

A. angustifolia is hardy to 20F.

I can send you some pups from either of these last 2 if you are interested.

I just love that 'Confederate Rose'. That Yucca is indeed in wonderful form, beautiful. Thanks for digging. I wish you warm.

Crenda, the A. victoriae-reginae is definitely one that I am interested in as far as potted plants go - they are very unique. I mostly am interested in cold hardiness because I don't have a whole lot of room left for more plants indoors over the cold months! That is a very kind offer, and I may take you up on that once I move. I am thinking about moving the North Carolina after the winter and would have to have these in the ground!

-Erica

Erica, several pups are yours for the asking. Remind me when all the frigidity is gone.

Yes, the A. v-r plants are so, so, so wonderful - stare into the mandhala.

And for this plant 'This is the End' is apt theme music.

Last thing for now about Avr - there's a not-uncommon dwarf form that, instead of white, has yellow striations. I believe that the species, as a whole, is perhaps the most widely intentionally-altered, particularly in Japan and Taiwan.

Here are a few that I have growing outside. Not only do you have to worry about cold, but you will have to worry about the combined effect of moisture and cold. Agave Utahensis eborispina can grow in cold but it absolutely HATES HATES HATES moisture. I keep mine under a porch roof. Anthracnose is a headache for many of my agaves in winter. The ones that I most recommend are Agave lophantha, A. ovatifolia. The dark green scrappy salmiana(?) shows no stress no matter what the weather. Really I can only speak about 8b so really, I should keep my damn eating hole mute.

here are a few of mine

A. proto americana. ( tough and clay tolerant even in COLD wet weather)

Agave salmiana-ferox(?)

A. salmiana (not a toughy)

Agave Montan "baccarat" I just stuck this in the ground so I don't know how it will go. It is more anthracnose resistant than the normal A. montana.

Here is a new trade as of this spring. A. marinate albiflora. They is a beauties

Here are the A. augustifolia with are amazingly cold and wet tolerant. I absolutely adore these and have been collecting different populations of them.These are over 4' across now

I am introducing a. bracitosa in this area too. But you have to look very closely to se them and the online texanas.

Another amazingly tough ones are the A. lophanthas , the large form and the "splendid' form.

Splendida form

My first agave were these. I think they are A. salmiana but they are VERY cold and wet tolerant. Maybe they have some gentry in them. I really do not know. They have a beautiful dark surface and are just now getting some growth over some 3" hail this spring.

I will continue in another entry. I think I heard that 10 photo's were a limit.

Does anyone have an allergic reaction from getting poked by Agaves? I have been poked by all sorts of them. Other than the obvious puncture wound, I don't have a problem.

BUT when I get poked by my neighbor's Agave angustifolia marginata, pictured above, I get a large itchy welt like a huge mosquito bite. I'm not sure if it it the terminal spine or the leaves that are getting me. This is the only Agave that has given me that reaction.

I used benadryl gel immediately yesterday and that seems to have helped. Avoiding getting poked would work better!

Here I am again,....

Another favorite of mine is the Agave striata family.

Agave striata var falcata meristem pups and hasn't died yet after flowering. I get about 3-5 bloom stalks year on them.

More glaucous and during the summer it turns beautiful lavender-pink when stressed by drought and sun. This is A. striata"live wire". I want this other red turning one . ... ahh yes, my next large purchase.

I struggle with A. sharkskin. They seem fairly susceptible to anthracnose when wet for too long. I have it planted in rocks and pumice and It is having a rough time.

Agave "mr. Ripple"

This next one is Agave shrevie (sp?) . hardy to 15F. I hope it will do with this plus wet. I do find that it takes a couple of winters for agaves to arrive at their cold hardiness so many of mine will get protected this winter since some just went in the ground.

I like Agave bracitosa because it is quite shade tolerant and cold hardy, but I have had some die of rot first winter out.

I think this one has some Agave scalar in it but It is definitely a mix of several maybe some A americana also.

This agave potrerana is having a slow time establishing itself. One died in all the rain this year, but it has not blinked at our cold.

Here is another A. striata , a straight leafed form

Here is another cold wet tolerant Agave lophantha "quadricolor" and Agave victoriae-reginae. The AV are susceptible to Anthracnose. They can put up with humidity and cold if given PERFECT drainage. They live in cliffs above Monterey Mexico. But they are cold tolerant.

I wish you luck in Pennsylvania . An age grower in NC calls himself "Agave Killer."

Crenda, it's called Irritant Contact Dermatitis, and it comes in two varieties, mechanical and chemical. Skin contact with the leaves of some Agaves can trigger the crystallization of calcium oxalate, forming long invisable spikes. These get stuck in the skin and can cause quite a prolonged irritation.

I was removing some of the four-foot long arms of my Agave 'Mr. Ripple' last spring, and although I was careful, I still managed to contact enough of the flat leaves and sap to produce a very uncomfortable rash with lots of palpable bumps on both forearms, causing a lot of scratching for several weeks. It seems impossible to remove the invisable spicules. Agaves Itch!

Love this thread, thanks for all the photos so far. Mara, I am amazed at the number and variety your collection. Good growing!

Brad

Thank you. Slowly I am getting PIG as some say but my ground is not all that some ground is cracked up to being. All I do is stick em in the ground and hopefully give them the right mix of rock and soil. It ain't California , so it is what it is. I apologize for all the spelling mistakes. I would go back and correct them but I am concerned that when I edit the photos shrink up. LOL.

Correction Agave ovatifolia not A. augustifolia. Silly me.Shame on me for doing entries while building tables.

A. havardiana is another considered one of the hardiest, also A. parryi ssp parryi.

A blogger friend did a handy chart of Agave hardiness, see:

this page.

Thanks, Brad!

I want to caution people about using list as a bible and not a guide or starting off point. None of these talk about the water issue combined with cold. Cold in Colorado and Utah is very different from cold in Pennsylvania. I have killed soon many agaves that my near bye nursery has sold me that was said was good for my area. Info is very variable from list to lists . Proof is in the pudding.

Here are a couple of my agaves from October of this year:

I have no idea how cold tolerant they are, as I have never considered that to be an issue. They do well with little water, however, and that is one of the main reasons I planted them. The one in front was in full bloom last January, and the one behind it is a Oaxacan native that will get very large by the time it blooms.

Here's how they looked in 2010, shortly after I planted them:

I had no idea they would get quite as large as they would, or I would not have planted anything between them. The Cow's Horn Euphorbia is now getting crowded, but the agave in front might get taken out soon, as I expect it to die after blooming. However, it seems to be a slow death.

Thanks for all the photos so far!

Mara, you have a wonderful collection. Those A. augustifolia are huge! Thanks for the information about overall hardiness. I may or may not plant any of these in the ground here in PA. I would be sad to leave a nice plant behind when I move, but if the mood strikes me while I am preparing to sell I may just go ahead and stick some in there for landscape appeal. Of course I would ensure it could handle our rough winters first.

Jeff, that is very kind. I will try my hardest to remember the offer come Spring. For me it still feels like early Fall here in PA. The entire month of December has been unusually warm! I hope it's not the calm before the storm..

-Erica

Does anyone have variegated agave attenuata? They're so ridiculously expensive at nurseries...

The A. augustifolia is A. ovatifolia. They were miss Identified in my post above. Plant Deights Nursery sells another population of them called Agave "Huasteca Giant" that I have my eyes on . It is waiting for me to catch up with my gardening work and the all important spare cash to come along. It is even larger and the the marginal teethe are more pronounced. But it has the same bullet proof constitution as the A. ovatifolia.

Agave "Huasteca Giant"

They also have several collections of different Agave ovatifolias. Here is one with its description.

Agave ovatifolia

Most ovatifolias will pup and pups are simple to move. I have moved some big ones. If the roots break , they form new ones. I have planted 28" wide agaves that were without roots.

Oh these are the ones I drool over and then am talked into buying and then I kill them on the first severe cold front. God that last one is a beauty!!!!!!

I was mentioning about the variability of the list because she was a newbie to agaves and was thinking of growing them outdoors in Pennsylvania. Most of the East coast Agave growers that I know of, have greenhouses and take them out of the ground for winter, or do some major protecting structures.

Hoovb, you've got amazing plants :)

Erica, here's my Agave (only one so far), Kissho Khan - Japanese translation for Happy/Lucky Crown.

I'm always delighted to see baby seedlings pop up like this Sedum Rubrotinctum in the corner when I buy plants from vendors that are truly "generous". Now I kicked the habit in pruning those tiny sprouts in the corner soil thinking that they are weeds, and in few short months they usually grow into identifiable succulents..

Bernard

agave neo-mexicana has survived -10 but this is nevada-high and dry.

have three others-all no i.d. they don't grow very fast but offset amazingly.

Wow, Bernard. I've never seen an Agave like that. Did you get it online? It's pretty.

Dave, yours looks great too! I love the symmetry.

Thanks again for everyone who has shared :)

-Erica

Erica, I got them from a plant show and sale a couple months ago up at Massachusetts. If you plan to go to Connecticut next Spring during Mar/Apr, I think the vendor that I bought from is planning to set up her stall there too.

Many members at MA keeps encouraging me to go to the CO show, saying it's much bigger and more varieties of plants being sold..

In the mean if you have a taste for fancier variegated ones, there's always ebay, but they are pricey..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gold-Sport-Agave-Cream-Spike-Variegated-Spectacular-Very-Rare-succulent-/131679193622?hash=item1ea8b10a16:g:I9oAAOSwSHZWc12G

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-Specimen-size-High-Yellow-Sectoral-Agave-Kissho-Kann-Variegated-Wow-rare-/141855519965?hash=item21073f74dd:g:yzUAAOSw5IJWc0i8

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-VARIEGATED-Agave-parryi-var-truncata-Variegata-Plant-3-LAST-ONE-/262201342815?hash=item3d0c6afb5f:g:4goAAOSwZ1lWdy7Z

These are amongst the top of my wishlist and favorites, but at this point, I'm reserving my budget for rarer/variegated echeverias, not so much for Agaves.

Bernard, I'm actually less interested in the variegated ones. I think they are beautiful but not my style! I really want to go to the Connecticut show but I'm sure I'll forget about it until after its over, like usual! Please do try to remind me.

-Erica

Erica, that's even better! More budget for more varieties of plants! I will send you a reminder. Can you pm me your email? Mine's at my user @gmail

Maybe we can carpool and drive up together..

Isn't this lovely,, This Agave is apparently being bidded for $1000 now!! I hope the guy bidding isn't gonna flake. ^_^

http://www.ebay.com/itm/XL-Specimen-size-Agave-Ovatifolia-Orca-Variegated-The-Rarest-/141855543787?hash=item21073fd1eb:g:wsMAAOSwhkRWc04m

It sold for just under $1200. I still like the unvarigated deeply crenelated ovatifolia better ,

parryi truncata variegated isn't that rare, got one for $5 at the intercity c&s show sale.

Ebay sellars are full of it.

One in a series of unknowns

I'll have another of the same

Yes, another

Got bud print? Check!

Might be too many soon

My best friend's mother's early painting

A hard rain is gonna fall

I have an Agave potatorum 'Kissho Kan' that's pupped and could trade for one of the bigger growing variegated agaves.

Hoovb, perhaps it's the scale of that plant that is variegated was left with much desire on the market.. The seller claim it's a 20" plant, that's about 1 foot.

I never saw or understood the value in vairegated Agaves anyway. But I really do love those with almost completely albino leaves markings..

Jeff, I love the first plant, and your friend's mother painting. Very pretty..

bernard, you can have one in the spring. That one's a pupper, and I can send you a smallish one, but it does get large; however, if you kept it underpotted and untouched it would do all right, I think.

Agave salmiana ferox variegata

M U S T H A V E M O R E A G A V E S

I keep putting in the spaces and when I post it takes the space out. I do have a collection of agaves most were given to me...thank God I didn't have to pay for them all.

Thank you all for your posts

Bernard,

That sounds like fun! I'll send you an email at some point in the near future so you have mine.

-Erica

My A. ovatifolia today. Had a little snow last night in west central Texas?

Bobby

Here is Agave Parryi Truncata hiding out inside a cold frame for the winter. Growth appears to have come to a stop but it appears nevertheless healthy. If this one works out I plan to pot up a few more next year.

Parryi is such a lovely species. Ovatifolia in snow, neat photo!

Agave salmiana var. ferox 'Medio Picta', to contrast with the beautiful variegata version. New plant arrived with weeds, grrr.

Nice Ovatifolia. I love them. They are so bulletproof. All that snow just missed me here (north of Dripping Springs) by 50 miles or so. All my tender agaves( A. strict and Agave gemniflora) are still out there in the great out doors with all my aloes and other succulents. I am playing it dangerously..

Jeff! I would definitely love an offset if you have one to spare. I tried to pm you but I don't think that function is turned on in your profile page. Let me know how I can contact you privately..