A fantastic hybrid of Agave ocahui and Manfreda sp., Praying Hands mangave is one of the most unique mangaves yet. Looking something like an artist’s rendition of an artich0ke, its green leaves stay curled upwards with a cinnamon red edge to highlight its unique form. Likely to be hardy to only about 20º F, but makes an excellent container plant for those of us north of Zone 9.

Mangaves are an intergeneric cross between Agave and Manfreda first discovered in a wild collected seed batch by Yucca Do Nursery and have since taken the horticulture world by storm with many new selections being made every year. The hybridizing of various species and the ensuing diversity of forms has given birth to an ever increasing amount of Mangave cultivars.

Latin Name: Mangave ‘Praying Hands’
Site and Soil: Full sun and well-drained soil.
Hardiness: Hardy to approx. 20º F
Color: Deep green with red edges
Size at Maturity: Praying Hands mangave grows to 10 inches in height by 10 inches wide
Bloom Time: Early spring through summer every 10-20 years or so
Pests & Diseases: Not bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 5-11

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A highly ornamental and easy to grow agave, the Variegated Smooth Agave comes from Eastern Mexico and can be grown as a houseplant in climates colder than Zone 9. Beautiful variegated foilage really accentuates the shape of this agave, and it’s an easier one to handle as it has almost no spines.

Plant in extremely well draining soil in the brightest conditions if planting in ground. Watering in the summertime will lead to faster growth and a large specimen. Otherwise it makes a fantastic container plant and can be brought indoors when very cold weather is in the forecast.

Latin Name: Agave desmettiana ‘Variegata’
Site and Soil: Full sun and very well-drained soil. Very drought tolerant once established and will need little to no supplemental watering during the summer season, though a bit of summer water speeds growth.
Hardiness: Hardy to approx. 20º F, possibly lower with great drainage and dry winters.
Color: Green and creamy yellow
Size at Maturity:  18 inches in height by 24 inches wide
Bloom Time: Early spring through summer every 10-20 years or so
Pests & Diseases: Not bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 9-11

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A dwarf form of one of the most pleasing and symmetrical looking agaves, ‘Porcupine’ Queen Victoria Agave, named for its white porcupine quill-like leaves, is a smaller growing selection of the infamous Agave victoriae-reginae collected by the legendary Yucca Do Nursery in the mountains of Mexico. Fairly hardy in ground, down to 10°F but also makes a fantastic container specimen and will appreciate being on the drier side in winter.

Plant in extremely well draining soil in the brightest conditions if planting in ground. Otherwise it makes a fantastic container specimen and can be brought indoors when very cold weather is in the forecast.

Latin Name: Agave victoriae-reginae
Site and Soil: Full sun and very well-drained soil. Very drought tolerant once established and it will need little to no supplemental watering during the summer season, though a bit of summer water speeds growth.
Hardiness: Hardy to approx. 5-10º F, possibly lower with great drainage.
Size at Maturity: 1  ft. in height by 1 ft. wide
Bloom Time: early spring through summer every decade or so
Pests & Diseases: Not bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 7b

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Though it doesn’t quite look like the quintessential agave rosette, we’ve grown quite fond of the Squid Agave’s unique form. Likely the easiest agave to cultivate here in the Pacific Northwest, the Squid Agave needs little more than a slight slope in full sun. We’ve planted this one where we probably shouldn’t have and it’s never complained about it, though we still recommend planting in sharp draining soil in full sun. Perfect for adding some “under the sea vibes” to your garden!

Plant in extremely well draining soil in the brightest conditions if planting in ground. Otherwise it makes a fantastic container specimen and can be brought indoors when very cold weather is in the forecast.

Latin Name: Agave bracteosa
Site and Soil: Full sun and very well-draining soil. Very drought tolerant once established and will need little to no supplemental watering during the summer season, though an occasional monsoon in the hottest months speeds growth.
Hardiness: Hardy to approx. 0º F, possibly lower with great drainage.
Size at Maturity: 1-2  ft. in height by 2 ft. wide
Bloom Time: late spring to summer, every few decades
Pests & Diseases: We’ve not seen agaves bothered by pests or diseases here in Oregon.
USDA Zone: 7a

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Yet another superb selection by Sean Hogan of an already spectacular species! Frosty Blue Whale’s Tongue Agave is likely the largest growing of any of the cold hardy century plants and tolerates our winter rain and cold better than almost any other cold hardy agave. Native to northeastern Mexico, this selection was made for its extremely blue foliage and we absolutely adore it! Specimens around Portland have stood the test of time for at least the past 10 years and are the pride and joy of anyone who’s been lucky enough to grab one from Cistus Nursery. And thanks to the wonders of tissue culture this valuable variety is now much more widely available and we are thrilled to be growing it! Frosty Blue grows as a solitary rosette, not forming offsets, and flowers every 50-100 years or so which has lead to it being called a “century plant”. Thanks for another landscape-altering introduction Sean! If you’re visiting Sauvie Island, stop by Cistus Nursery and you might be able to pick up a large specimen!

Plant in extremely well draining soil in the brightest conditions if planting in ground. Watering in the summertime will lead to faster growth and a more gigantic specimen. Otherwise it makes a fantastic container plant and can be brought indoors when very cold weather is in the forecast.

Latin Name: Agave ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue’
Site and Soil: Full sun and very well-drained soil. Very drought tolerant once established and will need little to no supplemental watering during the summer season, though a bit of summer water speeds growth.
Hardiness: Hardy to approx. 0º F, possibly lower with great drainage.
Size at Maturity: 3-4  ft. in height by 6 ft. wide
Bloom Time: early spring through summer every 50 or 100 years or so
Pests & Diseases: Not bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 7a

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One of the best of the many Agave parryi varieties, the Artichoke Agave (Agave parryi var. truncata) produces gorgeous rosettes of the most beautiful frosty blue and produces many offsets of smaller rosettes that come up all around it. It’s fiercely armored with dark maroon spikes but this adds greatly to its ornamental appeal! An individual rosette will send up a flower every 10 years or so and the flower spike is astonishing, growing straight up to 20 feet and looking like some sort of giant extraterrestrial asparagus! After flowering the rosette that produced the flower spike will die but the many offsets coming up around it will quickly grow and fill in its empty space.

Plant in extremely well draining soil in the brightest conditions if planting in ground. Otherwise it makes a fantastic container specimen and can be brought indoors when very cold weather is in the forecast.

Latin Name: Agave parryi var. truncata
Site and Soil: Full sun and very well-drained soil. Very drought tolerant once established and will need little to no supplemental watering during the summer season, though a bit of summer water speeds growth.
Hardiness: Hardy to approx. 15º F, possibly lower with great drainage.
Size at Maturity: 2  ft. in height by 3 ft. wide
Bloom Time: early spring through summer every decade or so
Pests & Diseases: Not bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 8b

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An interesting and rarely seen agave relative that looks a bit like an agave trying to be a yucca with broad blue leaves (that aren’t sharp and stabby) and eventually forming a trunk up to 7′ tall. Grows well in places with cool summers as it’s from high elevations in Guatemala and southern Mexico, but requires a nearly frost free winter in order to survive, so better suited to growing in pots in colder climates.

Plant in extremely well draining soil in the brightest conditions if planting in ground. Otherwise it makes a fantastic container specimen and can be brought indoors when very cold weather is in the forecast.

Latin Name: Furcraea quicheensis
Site and Soil: Full sun and very well-drained soil. Very drought tolerant once established and will need little to no supplemental watering during the summer season, though a bit of summer water speeds growth.
Hardiness: Hardy to approx. 15º F, possibly lower with great drainage.
Size at Maturity: 7  ft. in height
Pests & Diseases: Not bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 9a

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An especially fine textured selection of Agave schidigera, Black Widow is named for its numerous long white filaments that come off the leaves and resemble the texture of a spider’s web. A bit smaller growing than some agave species, these make an excellent potted specimen for growers in colder climates, but is hardy to about 10º F as long as they are kept fairly dry in the cold winter months.

Plant in extremely well draining soil in the brightest conditions if planting in ground. Watering in the summertime will lead to faster growth and a large specimen. Otherwise it makes a fantastic container plant and can be brought indoors when very cold weather is in the forecast.

Latin Name: Agave schidigera
Site and Soil: Full sun and very well-drained soil. Very drought tolerant once established and will need little to no supplemental watering during the summer season, though a bit of summer water speeds growth.
Hardiness: Hardy to approx. 10º F so long as drainage is good and there is minimal winter moisture.
Color: Dark green
Size at Maturity:  18 inches in height by 22 inches wide
Bloom Time: Early spring through summer every 10-20 years or so
Pests & Diseases: Not bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 5-11

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One of the most cold hardy agaves, Havard Agave can survive temperatures well below zero, reportedly all the way to -20, though it would still very much prefer to be dry when it gets cold. Rosettes are medium to large sized, quite upright and strikingly blue. It really has quite the presence in the garden! Produces pups, sometimes a good distance away and these can be allowed to grow where they appear or dug up and moved wherever you want a new agave. Flower stalks whenever it reaches the end of its life are incredible!

Plant in extremely well draining soil in the brightest conditions if planting in ground. Watering in the summertime will lead to faster growth and a large specimen. Otherwise it makes a fantastic container plant and can be brought indoors when very cold weather is in the forecast.

Latin Name: Agave havardiana
Site and Soil: Full sun and very well-drained soil. Very drought tolerant once established and will need little to no supplemental watering during the summer season, though a bit of summer water speeds growth.
Hardiness: Hardy to approx. -20º F so long as drainage is good and there is minimal winter moisture.
Color: Glaucous blue
Size at Maturity:  36 inches in height by 36 inches wide
Bloom Time: Early spring through summer every 10-20 years or so
Pests & Diseases: Not bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 5-11

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An agave we’ve lusted after for years and finally were able to track down! The deeply scalloped leaf edges give this agave the most exquisite texture. Combine that with the deep blue foliage and you have yourself an agave really worth swooning over. The only downside to this one is that it’s not quite fully hardy here. Though we’ve heard reports of it being hardy to zone 8, most Agave potatorum selections are only hardy down to about 25F. We’ll plant them outside to see, but planting in a container and moving under cover when hard frost threatens, and keeping dry in winter is likely the safest bet in Zone 8 and below.

Plant in extremely well draining soil in the brightest conditions if planting in ground. Watering in the summertime will lead to faster growth and a large specimen. Otherwise it makes a fantastic container plant and can be brought indoors when very cold weather is in the forecast.

Latin Name: Agave potatorum
Site and Soil: Full sun and very well-drained soil. Very drought tolerant once established and will need little to no supplemental watering during the summer season, though a bit of summer water speeds growth.
Hardiness: Hardy to approx. 25º F, possibly lower with great drainage.
Color: Deep blue
Size at Maturity:   12 inches in height by 18 inches wide
Bloom Time: early spring through summer every 20-40 years or so
Pests & Diseases: Not bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 9a

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