Agave americana
Century Plant

 Plant Type:
 Hardiness:
 Deciduous / Evergreen:
 Flowers:
Yellow (Individual plants only flower once, and then die; striking pale yellow flowers (3-4" long) appear on a 15-30' high stalk)
 Foliage:
Blue (Gray-blue evergreen leaves)
 Fruit:
Brown (Flat, disk-like seeds inside round capsules; not ornamentally important)
 Ultimate Height:
3-6 feet
 Ultimate Spread:
6-10 feet
 Light Requirements:
 Soil:
Requires well-drained soils
 Range:
Western Mexico
 Diagnostic Characteristics:
Leaves occur in a basal rosette, to 5' long and 10" wide. Leaves are gray/blue, curved or reflexed at the tip, with toothed margins. Flowers emerge on a horizontal branching structure up to 6 ft across that is attached to a 15-30 ft tall asparagus like stalk.

Additional Information

Can take as few as 10 years to flower in warm climates, to 60 years in colder climates. Once it flowers, it dies and offsets around the base of the original plant eventually form a group of new plants. Suckers produced from the main plant may take only 10-15 years to flower. Beware of thick point tips on its leaves, prune off to protect children. Some susceptibility to Agape weevil, especially when weakened.

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