(American Agave, American Century Plant, Lemon Lime American Agave)

The American century plant forms enormous rosettes of fleshy, spiky, blue-gray leaves. These desert natives of Mexico and the southwestern United States are highly tolerant of heat and drought.

In summer they produce fragrant, yellow, feathery flowers that emerge from tall erect stems. These attract bats and birds, however plants may take up to 35 years or more before they bloom. Once a rosette blooms, it will die. Though plants produce vegetative offsets, called pups, which can be divided and...

(American Agave, American Century Plant, Variegated American Century Plant)

What a dramatic succulent for the southwestern landscape. The American century plant forms enormous rosettes of fleshy, spiky, blue-gray leaves, and the cultivar ‘Marginata’ has the added feature of variegated leaves lined with yellow to pale-yellow stripes that may become white with age. This desert native originates from Mexico and the southwestern United States and is highly tolerant of heat and drought.

In summer it produces fragrant, yellow, feathery flowers that emerge from tall erect stems....

(American Agave, Variegated American Agave)

The American century plant forms enormous rosettes of fleshy, spiky, blue-gray leaves. These desert natives of Mexico and the southwestern United States are highly tolerant of heat and drought.

In summer they produce fragrant, yellow, feathery flowers that emerge from tall erect stems. These attract bats and birds, however plants may take up to 35 years or more before they bloom. Once a rosette blooms, it will die. Though plants produce vegetative offsets, called pups, which can be divided and...

(American Agave, Variegated Century Plant)

The American century plant forms enormous rosettes of fleshy, spiky, blue-gray leaves. These desert natives of Mexico and the southwestern United States are highly tolerant of heat and drought.

In summer they produce fragrant, yellow, feathery flowers that emerge from tall erect stems. These attract bats and birds, however plants may take up to 35 years or more before they bloom. Once a rosette blooms, it will die. Though plants produce vegetative offsets, called pups, which can be divided and...

(American Agave, American Century Plant, Variegated American Century Plant)

What a dramatic succulent for the southwestern landscape. The American century plant forms enormous rosettes of fleshy, spiky, blue-gray leaves, and the cultivar ‘Variegata’ has the added feature of variegated leaves with a thick ivory band down the center of each enormous leaf. This desert native originates from Mexico and the southwestern United States and is highly tolerant of heat and drought.

In summer it produces fragrant, yellow, feathery flowers that emerge from tall erect stems. These...

(Coastal Agave, Coastal Century Plant)

Rich powder blue coloring, modest size and a cast iron constitution make this little known species perfect for arid landscapes. The plant originates in the dry coastal regions of Sonora, Mexico but is also found at higher elevations of Sinaloa where it is tolerant of occasional cold snaps. Wild plants prefer to dwell in rocky elevated positions or in sandy, gravelly soils. Leaves are stiff, wide and covered with a tough skin that’s markedly rough to the touch. This coarse durable skin gives the plant...

(Desert Agave, Desert Century Plant)

A cast iron native from the American West that’s exceptional for planting in problemed areas with extreme drought and heat. This agave is found in widely scattered locations from southern California to Arizona and southward into Mexico. In the wild it can occur as a solitary plant or exist in extensive colonies, mostly at lower elevations and foothills of mountain ranges. It has a smaller, upright form with narrow leaves in loose, irregular rosettes that are less defined than those of other species....

(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...

(Harvard Agave, Harvard's Century Plant)

The dense blue-green rosettes of Harvard's century plant are dramatic and structurally interesting in the landscape. This all-American native naturally exists in the David Mountains located in western Texas. It is an unusually hardy species that can withstand periods of freezing as long as growing conditions remain dry, particularly at the root zone.

The blue-green fleshy leaves of this century plant are large, cupped and heavily spined along the margins. The sharp black leaf tips are particularly...

(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)....