Plant of the Month – January
0Desert Agave
Agave deserti
- Plant Form: Succulent
- Water Use: Very low
- Mature Size: 2-3 ft. tall x 2-6 ft. wide
- Exposure: Full sun
- Bloom Time: Spring (May); Summer (June-July)
- Native to: California, Arizona, Baja California
- Hardiness: Cold hardy to 15°F
This sculptural beauty has been a giving plant for the ages…past and present. In years past, its flower stalks and hearts were roasted for food, and its leaves pounded for fiber. Today it is prized for its dramatic form and color in the garden. Desert Agave presents a changing display of brilliant to muted to shadowed green hues as the sun moves across it each day.
Desert Agave forms symmetrical rosettes of fleshy leaves in this slow-growing monocot. Stiff, sword-like, blue-green leaves are edged with prickles, and tipped with a sharp spine. After 8-20 years, a flowering stalk shoots up, growing 5-15 feet tall in just weeks, with a candelabra-type stalk of yellow flowers. The rosette dies after flowering and setting fruit, but new rosettes usually grow around its edges. Desert Agave attracts birds, but repels rabbits and deer. Native Americans prized this plant for food and fiber. Hearts of the agave were baked in fire pits for a sweet staple, as were the young flower stalks. Fibers extracted by pounding the leaves were made into strong ropes, nets, bowstrings, sandals, mats, brushes, women’s skirts and ceremonial costumes. Give this long-lived succulent room to grow over time, and plant away from walkways or other high-traffic areas to avoid its sharp spines. This easy-care agave is beautiful as an accent, in mass plantings, rock gardens, medians, and on slopes, and is also great in containers.
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