Agave americana Variegata - American Agave

Agave americana 'Variegata' is a variegated form of Agave from Mexico or the Americas, differing only in the colouration of its leaves, which are blue-green marginated with cream-yellow, sometimes becoming white over time. It is an impressive perennial, highly appreciated in landscape art for its monumental and remarkable silhouette. Perfectly adapted to dry and hot climates and poor soils, it forms robust rosettes composed of large, stiff, succulent, and pointed leaves, well-armed with sharp tips to be wary of. Its flowering is a beautiful surprise. Arising from the heart of the oldest rosettes, immense majestic floral spikes bearing yellow-green inflorescences appear. Not very hardy but spectacular, it naturally structures exotic and wild settings. It can be grown in the ground in mild climates, but also in large pots on a terrace, to be stored in winter in all regions.

Originating from Mexico and the extreme southwest of the United States, Agave americana is above all a botanical species adapted to semi-desert climates, now naturalised almost everywhere in the world, as far as Pakistan and China. This extremely decorative plant is said to have been brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus as early as 1493. In 1520, the species had already been reported around the Mediterranean basin. It belongs to the agave family, just like Yuccas or the Tuberoses. This perennial succulent herbaceous plant shows rather slow growth. It has rhizomes capable of producing suckers, but it is almost devoid of aerial stems. It consists of about thirty leaves forming a basal rosette, tall and wide at 1.50 m (4.9 ft). Its immense and pointed leaves can reach a length of 2 m (6.6 ft) and a width of 20 cm (7.9 in). They are smooth, rigid, and very thick, with a grey-greenish-blue colour marginated with light yellow at maturity, and bordered by grey to brown spines at the terminal part. The tip of each leaf, with a sharp spine, is arranged diagonally, downwards, and measures 2 cm to 6 cm (0.8 in to 2.4 in) in length. When a rosette reaches the venerable age of 15 to 20 years, or even more, it produces an immense floral spike, reaching a height of 5 m to 10 m (16.4 ft to 32.8 ft). It bears numerous horizontal branches. The branches bear flat and spherical panicles, 7 cm to 10 cm (2.8 in to 3.9 in) wide, composed of myriad small yellow-green flowers. The rosette, known as semelparous, dies after flowering, which lasts several months, having taken care to produce numerous small peripheral rosettes to ensure its perpetuity.

In mild climates, this agave suits a large rockery or at the edges of a dry garden, where its monumental silhouette will stand out against a blue sky. It can be grown alongside prickly pear, giant fennel, and hardy candle cacti (Cleistocactus strausii, Cylindropuntia imbricata). It can also be grown with more classically shaped bushy plants like Westringia, evergreen Ceanothus, Romneya coulteri, and Fremontodendron californicum. In colder regions, grow it in a very large pot on a terrace. If growing in a container, choose a sheltered spot in full sun, to recreate a garden reminiscent of those that flourish on the other side of the world.

This plant is hardy up to about -8° C (17.6° F) in perfectly drained soil but can become invasive where it thrives.

Agave is also an edible plant, with which mescal, an alcoholic beverage obtained by fermenting its sugar-rich juice, is made in Mexico. It is also used in traditional medicine in Mexico, Brazil, and India, and has proven antifungal properties. Very attractive to bees and nectar-seeking insects, the inflorescences attract many pollinators.