Whale’s Tongue is a big, bold Agave with bright powder blue leaves. They form wide, deeply guttered leaves that often exhibit some wavy, linear undulations which are quite unique and dramatic. These are highly desirable, solitary landscape plants that are durable, tolerant of many exposures with good cold tolerance. They grow slowly, but designers should take note that the modest sized plants they find in nursery containers will eventually reach fairly massive proportions, so give them the space they need. Provide good drainage, and supplemental summer water.

These sparsely leafed, unarmed Agaves with slender, light green curling and recurved leaves that form from a small clumping rosette are aptly referred to as Squid Agave. This is a perfect description of how they appear on the ground with their mounding and slowly spreading habit. These Agaves are reliably polycarpic, which means even though the mother plant flowers only once in a lifetime, the mother plant will persist, and not die off as most Agaves do being monocarpic. However, with time they do produce dozens of offsets or babies to create a colony of multiple ground hugging plants. They are native to the northern end of the Sierra Madre Oriental up to nearly 6000 ft., which is why these tropical, cephalopod-looking Agaves have evolved with better than average cold tolerance. They will tolerate full sun in coastal California gardens but perform best in part shade to filtered sun in low desert landscapes. They will accept and appreciate some extra water during the summer months but only if they have well-drained soil.

Blue Flame Agave is named for its soft, waxy blue-green, smooth edged, vertical growing leaves. Happy as an under planting beneath trees or large shrubs. Blue Flame can, with time, form a large clumping mass.

This spectacular hybrid has striking blue foliage with red-orange edges that taper down to sharp black points. Drought tolerant, the Blue Ember Agave is cold hardy to freezing as well as heat loving.

The Fox Tail Agave has a unique softness thanks to its lack of teeth and terminal spines. They produce ample rosettes of wide luscious, velvety-looking, pale green leaves. ‘Variegata’ has yellow margins to striped green & yellow patterned leaves. These are colonizing agaves, that grow naturally in large groups. They are native to pine forest habitats on some rocky volcanic mountains of southern coastal Mexico from 6000 to 8000 ft. These are one of the most common garden Agaves in frost-free areas of southern CA. In the low desert they will not tolerate full sun. They must have shade to part shade, well-drained soils with occasional watering through the growing season. They produce a dramatic and tall greenish-yellow flower that arches down to the ground then back up like a Fox Tail.

This tropical appearing Agave forms a symmetrically round shape that is attractive in mass plantings. The variety ‘Marginata’ refers to the bright white edges or margins of its leaves that surround a blue-green center stripe. The narrow, straight strap-like leaves contain small, recurved teeth along its margins and do have a short, sharp terminal spine They perform well in filtered sun or part shade mixed with other green leafed tropical plants such as Cannas, Hibiscus, or Tropical Bird of Paradise. They will tolerate more water during the growing season, as long as the soil is well-drained. Mature bloom stalks can occasionally produce flowers, but this species is known for producing branched flower stalks filled with clusters of bulbils or immature agave offsets. The mother plant dies after flowering but these bulbils and copious numbers of root offshoots perpetuate their existence in the landscape. Simply remove the deceased mother plant as the bloom stalk fades.

Slightly smaller than its American cousin, Mediopicta ‘Aurea’ forms striking rosettes of thick, spiny-edged, gray-green leaves with a bright yellow central stripe. This performer loves full sun, but will tolerate light shade. There size and dramatic color combination makes them good candidates for containers and as focal accent plants. Hot, intense western sun can lead to leaf scald and bleaching of the yellow stripe pigments, so acclimate young or new plants to avoid potential damage. Moderate to slow growing.

The common name refers to its distinctive creamy white, mid-leaf stripe which is surrounded by a luscious blue-gray color. Medium to small, sharp recurved teeth run up its edges ending in a black terminal spine. These are moderate to slow growing Agaves that grow to a very manageable size. With their size, form and dramatic color pattern, these are deemed some of the most desirable Agaves for containers, raised beds and entryway accent plants. Acclimate young or new plants to western exposures to prevent damaging sun scald on the white center stripes. Low to moderate water during summer months will keep plants looking fresh, little to no water is needed from fall through spring.

Quasimodo is distinctively colored with more gold than green and boasts the unusual feature of wavy or undulating leaf edges. Staying fairly small but often having a clumping growth habit, this plant can be utilized in many landscapes. Like other types, the leaves are armed with marginal teeth and a sharp, stiff terminal spine that deserve respect. They are a small to modestly sized Agave, only growing up to about 3 ft., which makes them quite suitable and attractive for container culture. Tolerating some shade or filtered sunlight, they are a popular variety to use as understory plants below many of our commonly used desert trees.