Agave Americana
Agave Americana
Succulents & Cacti Difficulty: Easy
📖 About this plant
Agave Americana, known as the Century Plant, this dramatic agave forms massive rosettes of thick, blue-green, serrated leaves.
Despite the common name, it typically flowers after 10-30 years, producing an enormous flower stalk up to 8 meters tall before the parent plant dies.
A monumental landscape specimen in arid gardens.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
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Light
Full sun (6-8 hrs)
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Water
Every 2-4 weeks
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Humidity
Low (20-40%)
🌡️
Temperature
10-35°C
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Soil
Sandy, rocky, extremely well-draining soil; tolerate poor soils but must not sit in water
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Fertilizer
Minimal — a light application of balanced slow-release fertilizer in spring is sufficient
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- Mexico and the southern United States; widely naturalized worldwide
- 📏 Max height
- 150-300 cm
- 📐 Spread
- 180-300 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Once (10-30 years)
- 🎨 Bloom color
- Yellow
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Blue-Green
- ⏳ Lifespan
- 10-30 years
- 📈 Growth rate
- Slow
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Sap can cause skin irritation in sensitive individuals; sharp spines pose physical danger; generally non-toxic if ingested
- 🌱 Propagation
- Offsets (pups) separated from the base; seeds for new plants; bulbils form on flower stalk
🛡️ Health & Safety
🐾 Pet safe
✅ Non-toxic
Sap can cause skin irritation in sensitive individuals; sharp spines pose physical danger; generally non-toxic if ingested
Common issues
- Agave snout weevil larvae killing the crown.
- Root rot from overwatering.
- Frost damage on leaf tips.
💡 Care tips
- Century plant blooms only once after 10-30 years then dies.
- Sharp spines on leaf edges so handle with care.
- Drought-tolerant once established outdoors.
- Requires extremely well-draining soil
🪴 Add to My Plants
One click — added instantly. Watering every 21 days, fertilizing every 30 days.
