(Dwarf Century Plant, Smooth Century Plant)

Exceptionally graceful form and minimal leaf tip spines make this softleaf agave a choice specimen. Known only in gardens, it may have originated in cultivation in eastern Mexico. Each symmetrical rosette bears narrow arching leaves with up-curved margins. Leaf color varies from yellow green to blue green with exposure and climate, growing darker in full sun. At an early age the mother rosette develops densely packed offsets. Some gardeners routinely remove the offsets to preserve its striking architectural...

(Dwarf Century Plant, Smooth Century Plant)

A gold-edged form of an elegant agave from eastern Mexico, 'Marginata' has symmetrical rosettes of long, narrow, flexuous, arching leaves. The central leaf color varies from yellow green to blue green, depending on exposure and climate, and tends to be darker in full sun. At an early age the parent rosette develops densely packed offsets at the base. These may be severed, repotted and shared with friends.

The rosettes bloom at about 10 years of age, then die, leaving the offsets. The very...

(Dwarf Century Plant, Smooth Century Plant, Variegated Smooth Century Plant)

Creamy yellow leaf edges set this plant apart from the solid-colored species. The parent species originates from eastern Mexico. Each symmetrical rosette has flexible, narrow arching leaves. The central leaf color varies from yellow green to blue green, depending on exposure and climate, and tends to be darker in full sun. At an early age the parent rosette develops densely packed offsets at the base. These may be severed, repotted and shared with friends.

The rosettes bloom at about 10 years...

(Twin Flower Agave, Twin Flower Century Plant)

A dramatic plant which forms large bristling pincushions of narrow, fine-textured foliage, this Mexican native is a natural for the desert garden or the modern architectural landscape. The symmetrical, nearly stemless rosette comprises up to two hundred slender, bayonet-like leaves, each armed with a needle-sharp tip. This makes for notoriously difficult and often painful transplanting. Plants produce tall dark bronze flower spikes studded with boldly contrasting greenish-yellow flowers. The top...

(Blue Wave Agave, Century Plant)

The rippled, arching, shark-toothed leaves of this Mexican native set it apart from other agaves. Native to gypsum-rich hillside soils in Jalisco, Michoacan, and Guerrero, it is well suited for gardens with well-drained alkaline soil. The deeply serrated, upcurled edges of the fleshy, blue-green, evergreen leaves give the appearance of being cut by pinking shears. Occurring in single rosettes that make few offsets, the long narrow wavy-edged leaves curve down at their tips. Rarely produced, the flowers...

(Lechuguilla, Shin Dagger)

Native all the way to central Canada (as well as to much of the rest of central and western North America), this prickly pear dispels the myth that cacti are only for warm climates. It is a ground-hugging, mat-forming species bearing small, cylindrical or flattened, spiny pads that are specially adapted to survive beneath snow or dead prairie grass. Although they appear to be succulent leaves, the pads are in fact swollen stem segments (but are treated as leaves in the following description of characteristics)....

(Century Plant, Large-bracted Agave)

This large agave from high altitudes in central Mexico is prized not only for its striking appearance but also for its cold hardiness and shade tolerance. The long, broad-based, almost triangular leaves have jagged edges armed with conspicuous teeth. Leaf color varies from dark to light green. After many years, the leaf rosette sends forth a towering stem that bears dense clusters of up-facing funnel-shaped yellow blooms on long horizontal side stalks.

This uncommon agave does best in partial...

(Murphey's Agave, Murphey's Century Plant)

Perfect symmetry, large size and beautiful blue coloring make this succulent evergreen a focal point in any garden. Native to Arizona and Mexico, it is found only near ancient agricultural and settlement sites, where it was grown for fiber and food. Though resembling the common Agave americana, it rarely produces offsets, remaining as a single rosette and thus retaining its striking individual form. Mature rosettes (at least 6 years old) eventually produce a towering flower stalk with clusters...

(Parry's Agave, Parry's Century Plant)

One of the hardier agave species, Parry's agave is a beautiful succulent that originates from the alpine regions of Arizona and New Mexico. It is a more compact agave that sports wide, succulent gray-green leaves with fine, sharp, serrated edges of black. Its neat, evergreen rosettes slowly develop offshoots, or pups, which can easily be removed and replanted elsewhere if desired.

In summer mature rosettes put forth tall, upright panicles of fragrant, creamy yellow flowers. These may be pink...

(New Mexico Century Plant, Parry's Agave)

The tight blue-hued rosettes of this compact Agave have unmatched symmetry and are great for smaller garden spaces. New Mexico century plant is native to the mountains and dry washes of Mexico and extends northward into the dry desert regions of Texas and New Mexico.

The wide fleshy leaves narrow towards the top and end with a sharp black tip. Most agaves produce offsets around their base but this one is reluctant to do so, making propagation time consuming and plants more expensive....