Succulent
Century plant
Agave americana
Sculptural blue-grey agave: a rosette 1–2 m tall and 2–3 m wide; Gardmi uses 2 m. Flowers once with an 8 m spike and dies, leaving offsets. Not for planting in Spain, where it is an officially listed invasive species (MITECO).
Planning parameters
Use these values as a practical planning envelope: they describe the adult plant, not the young seedling.
- Adult height
- 1-2 m
- Crown diameter
- 2 m
- Root zone
- 1.5 m
- Root type
- Shallow fibrous roots; spreads by offsets around the rosette
- Recommended setback
- At least 1 m from paths, pools and play areas: spines
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Hardiness
- USDA 8–11 (about −9 °C in dry soil)
- Crown density
- Dense
Site requirements
These conditions decide whether the plant will establish well after planting.
- Light
- Full sun
- Watering
- Very low
- Soil type
- Gritty, very well-drained soil
- Drainage
- Rots in wet soil — plant on a mound or slope
- Soil pH
- Neutral to alkaline
Root system and placement
Plan a root zone of about 1.5 m diameter
Garden role and season
These fields help choose the plant by composition, privacy, flowering and year-round value.
- Form
- Large rosette of rigid leaves
- Foliage
- Thick blue-grey leaves with toothed edges and a sharp terminal spine
- Season
- Year-round
- Bloom
- Once after 10–30 years: a flower spike up to 8 m, then the rosette dies
- Fruit
- Seed capsules on the spike
- Garden use
- Dry, gravel and xeriscape gardens; sculptural accent
Care and risks
This is the practical part for future maintenance and safe placement on the plot.
- Maintenance
- Almost no care; remove spent rosettes and unwanted offsets
- Pruning
- Cut off only dead lower leaves with gloves
- Risks
- Sap irritates skin; sharp spines. Listed as invasive in Spain (Catálogo español de especies exóticas invasoras) — do not plant there
Other plants
Return to the catalog or compare nearby options before placing plants on the site plan.
