The agave grown around the world for sisal rope, with tall, sword-shaped blue-green leaves and nearly smooth edges. It grows quickly to a bold size and makes a strong statement, but it is one of the more frost-tender agaves for Phoenix.
Living with it in the Phoenix Valley
Watering
Follow the shrub, groundcover and succulent schedule in our Landscape Care guide. It needs only occasional water once established. More water makes it grow bigger and faster, which is rarely what you want from a plant this size.
Pruning
Many owners clip the sharp leaf tips for safety. Remove pups to keep the clump from spreading into a thicket.
Cold
This is the agave to protect. Cover it on nights forecast below about 28°F, and expect damage in a hard freeze. Warm spots near south- or west-facing walls help.
Space
It spreads by underground runners and pups heavily. Give it room, or plan to remove offsets every year or two.
How our designers use it
Bold focal point
Its height and long, clean leaves anchor a large bed or the corner of a big yard.
Large, open beds
It suits wide spaces with good separation from paths, where it can grow to full size without being cut back.
A blue-green backdrop
Its smooth blue-green leaves set off orange and yellow bloomers planted in front of it.
Good to know
Around the pool
The tips are stout and sharp, and the long leaves reach well into walkways. Keep it well back from paths, seating and pool edges.
Frost
A hard Phoenix freeze can scar or kill it. In colder pockets of the Valley, a hardier large agave is the safer choice.
Flowering
Each rosette dies after it blooms; the pups around it take over.
