Agave Species, Thorncrest Century Plant, Maguey Mezortillo

I have both the thin leafed Texas variety and the fatter leafed one. The thin leafed one is a pupping fool and will create an area of so...Read Morelid swords in time. I get many flowers coming off my area of lophantha. The other fatter leafed variety is slower to establish, but will start pupping and create a solid area of rosettes in time not the compressed swords. I like the dark green of that variety and it will take parted shade and combines beautifully with my pink lavender thin leafed agave strata "live wires'. I hope I will not have to weed them ever. LOL.

Has done well here below 0

Zone 9b coastal Otago New Zealand
Is this lophantha or iophantha?? No one seems to know!
I recently acquired two small spe...Read Morecimens and initially found them a little difficult to ID. They were sold to me as the Shin Dagger (lechuguilla) and though I am in love with that name my iophanthas are a bright forest green with a pronounced lemon yellow mid stripe and the outsides of the leaves are covered in little pale slashes, not the dark ones of the lechuguilla.

These are dangerously thorny little suckers so not child or pet friendly- keep them clear of paths etc. That said, they are mightily attractive with their bold stripyness and evil thorns, and unlike some of my other agaves they seem to have settled in quickly, rooting in nicely and handling the blazing mid summer sun without sulking or withering.

They are eye-catching right from pup stage, which is a big plus in my book, a good contrast to all the silvery blue types and their greeness makes them easy to fit into a general garden setting.

Not sure on the frost-hardiness yet, but Im picking it can withstand some, and maybe survive a good bit of hail without getting too pockmarked due to their tough fibrous structure.

Generally I have found that the more leathery and fibrous an agave's leaves are, the more frost they can take.
Your cat wont sit on it and that's always a bonus.

See some of our plants and gardenalia at The Blackthorn Orphans.com

It handled a VERY cold winter in Maryland (2006-2007) without damage. IT was well mulched and in vey well draining soil. But, I am very...Read More impressed with it's hardiness. Wouldn't want to fall on it though....