Choosing an agave

Choosing an agave

How to make the right choice?

Contents

Modified the 2 October 2025  by Virginie T. 4 min.

Agave is an incredible succulent plant with a truly exotic temperament! It is characterised by a majestic appearance and very graphic foliage. Its immense, sharp leaves can extend up to 2 metres in length, reminiscent of the American Agave or Agave americana, impressive for its monumental stature. Often native to the desert regions of Mexico like cacti, it is a semi-hardy plant perfectly suited to arid zones: it loves sun and well-drained, poor soil. It is particularly adapted to gardens spared from severe frosts, although some agaves prove to be quite resistant to cold.

The genus includes nearly 200 species and so many cultivars that they allow for a beautiful collection to be established quickly. Some are thorny, others are filamentous; they can be bluish, variegated, giant, or smaller! Hardiness, colour and appearance of evergreen leaves, size, or even use: we help you clarify your choice of Agave based on these different criteria!

Agave choice, which agave to choose, best agave, most beautiful agave

A decidedly exotic air with Agave americana (© Jean)

→ Also discover our complete sheet: “Agave: plant, grow, and maintain”

Difficulty

According to the foliage

Dark green to yellowish-green, blue-green grey, the evergreen foliage of Agaves explores all shades of greens, greys, and blues or offers striking variegations.

According to Leaf Colour

Agave choice, how to choose Agave, which Agave to choose, best Agave, most beautiful Agave

Agave americana ‘Mediopicta’ (© Peganum), Agave havardiana (© Drew Avery), Agave americana and below Agave montana (© Megan Hansen)

According to Leaf Appearance

The Agave grows like a large artichoke composed of numerous fleshy leaves, imbricate with one another, forming large graphic rosettes. Some are particularly distinguished by the length of their leaves, and their shape varies from one variety to another. They are flat, thick and fleshy, slightly bulging, ovate, pointed, or paddle-shaped. They are often spiky, dentate with sharp thorns, and sometimes end with a thorny tip.

Agave choice, how to choose Agave, which Agave to choose, best Agave, most beautiful Agave

Agave americana at the top, left Agave ovatifolia (© Cultivar 413) and right Agave filifera

According to the silhouette

In Agaves, the habit is more or less regular and compact. These succulent plants differ mainly in the number of leaves that make up their rosette. Some form perfectly geometric balls, while others have rosettes with a more open and unruly habit featuring slightly incurved leaves.

  • Round like artichokes: Agave victoriae reginae develops a dense rosette, in a perfect ball, which is radiant, almost hemispherical, also seen in Agave filifera and Parry’s Agave.
  • In a cup shape: Agaves americana grow in powerful rosettes of large, stiff, pointed leaves, standing upright towards the sky. The habit is more unruly. Very open when in full sun, they will be more compact in partial shade.
Agave selection, how to choose Agave, which Agave to choose, best Agave, most beautiful Agave

Agave victoriae reginae, and Agave americana (© Forest and Kim Starr)

Discover other Agave

According to its size

Agaves offer a wide variety of sizes. Growth is more or less moderate depending on the species and varieties, ranging from 20 cm to 3 m in height and spread at ripeness for the monumental agaves.

The Giants

They have immense leaves, sometimes over 2 m long, and are absolutely divine in a large exotic rock garden where they will be the centrepieces. After a few years, they can become exuberant in open ground and display surprising proportions of up to 3-4 metres in diameter for the same height! With their architectural habit and oversized character, large agaves, such as A. Americana, are perfectly suited to create a spectacular focal point and to recreate a setting inspired by the vast arid and wild spaces of Mexico.

The Intermediates

Forming rosettes between 70 cm and 1 m in all directions, with a fairly slow growth rate, they fit in anywhere in the garden. Thus, Agave titanota, Agave geminiflora, and Mountain Agave are excellent plants for structuring dry slopes.

The Small Varieties

Agave stricta ‘Nana’ is a dwarf form reaching only 30 cm in all directions at maturity, while Agave victoriae reginae remains small with its 50 cm height and 40 cm diameter at maturity. Well-suited for pot cultivation, they add a wild exotic flair to terraces and small urban gardens.

Agave selection, how to choose Agave, which Agave to choose, best Agave, most beautiful Agave

Agave americana, Mountain Agave, Agave victoriae reginae in pot

According to its hardiness

Under its exotic appearance as a rather tender plant suited to dry and warm climates, some species of Agave are as beautiful as they are cold-resistant, but only when planted in the ground, in poor and very well-drained soil. The drier the soil, the more hardy they will be. They do not survive in wet soils during winter, which will surely cause them to rot.

The Hardiest

L’Agave neomexicana and l’Agave havardiana are part of a tribe of agaves capable of withstanding severe frosts of around -25°C, in dry soil and provided they are protected from rain in winter. L’Agave parryi var. huachucensis also boasts commendable hardiness down to -16/-18°C in dry terrain. L’Agave montana, or Mountain Agave, is hardy down to -20°C. They can be grown in the ground in almost all our regions.

Agave choice, how to choose Agave, which Agave to choose, best Agave, most beautiful Agave

Champion of hardiness, Agave parryi var. neomexicana (© Andrey Zharkikh)

The Most Tender Varieties

The giants Agaves americana withstand brief and light frosts, down to about -5 to -10°C. They are therefore best reserved for planting in the ground in our milder climate regions, and should be grown in large pots that can be brought indoors for winter in cooler areas.

→ Learn more with our advice sheet: Agave, the hardiest varieties

According to its use

Large-growing Agaves are stunning when planted alone in a Mediterranean garden. These beautiful succulents structure the exotic and wild decor of large dry rockeries and sun-baked slopes, resembling large gravel beds, to which they add depth.

For pot cultivation, choose small varieties or the more tender species: they add a modern and exotic touch to terraces or can easily be integrated into a cactus collection.

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Agave: Buying Guide