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American Aloe / Century Plant (Agave americana): Massive, Spiny Rosette for Dramatic Landscapes

Agave americana

Overview

American aloe (Agave americana) forms a massive rosette of broad, sword-like, succulent, gray-green leaves with lethal needle-like spines at tips and margins. It grows 3-6 feet tall and 6-10 feet wide. After many years (10-30), it sends up a towering flower stalk, blooms, sets seed, and dies, leaving offsets.

Botanical Details

Genus: Agave
Species: americana
Synonyms: Agave altissima

Culture & Uses

Full sun, dry, well-drained soil. Moderate grower. Remove offsets in spring or fall. Scale, mealybugs on young growth; root rot in poor drainage. Use as specimen, in containers, desert gardens. Architectural form. White summer flowers. Low maintenance.

Other: Weed Control Around Blue Agave Without Herbicides; Agave americana Shriveling at Base: Agave Beetle or Overwatering?; Pruning Mature Agave americana in Arizona: Safety First; Transplanted Agave Americana Struggles: Water, Shock, or Life Cycle?; Agave Plant Guide: Succulent Beauty, Sharp Spines, and Pet Safety; Agave 'Sharkskin' (Agave 'Sharkskin'): Architectural Succulent with Gray-Green, Spine-Tipped Leaves; Mescal / Parry's Agave (Agave parryi): Compact, Blue-Gray Rosette with Cream Flowers; Browallia americana: Self-Sowing Annual with Blue Flowers; Agave americana 'Medio-picta alba' – Variegated Century Plant; Agave americana 'Medio-picta alba': Variegated Century Plant

Garden Articles

Diagnosing Spots on Agave: Scale, Edema, or Fungus?

Planting Agave Around a Boulder: Root Pruning and Site Selection

Blue Agave Winter Protocol in Virginia Beach (Zone 7)

Identifying a Century Plant (Agave) Preparing to Bloom

Agave Plant Guide: Types, Care, Uses & Growing the Century Plant

Agave 'Calamar': Spineless Squid Agave for Containers

Callicarpa americana: American Beautyberry for Fall Berries

Plants

Octopus Agave (Agave vilmoriniana): The Soft, Recurving Agave with No Teeth

Majestic Agave (Agave beauleriana): A Giant, Blue-Green Agave

Striata Agave (Agave striata): A Spherical, Needle-Leaved Agave

Black-spined Agave (Agave macroacantha)

Butterfly Agave (Agave potatorum)

Agave 'Artichoke' – Dense Blue-Gray Rosettes for Water-Wise Gardens

Agave 'Weber's' – Stately Gray-Green Rosette