Agave bracteosa features a beautiful fountain of leaves.
Description: Solitary or clumping rosette up
to 45 (60) cm in diameter, It forms clusters to 1,2 m across.
Leaves: Medium green, spineless and toothless
both along the edge and at the tip, smooth and soft. The They are
upright and recurved above the middle (fountain like); measure up to 40
long and 3-5cm wide near the base and taper to the tip.
Flowers: The inflorescence is a spike of
creamy yellow flowers, 1.8 m tall, coming in early summer.
Variegated forms occur.
NOTE: The Agave bracteosa
does not always die after blooming, contrarily to most other Agaves.
There has been some controversy to whether this species is always
monocarpic, but most of the plants with mature flowers will dye, so
it appears to be at least 'mostly' monocarpic.
Cultivation: It is an
exellent choice for growing in a container. Remains small and
grows slowly, very slowly offsetting and forming a large colony of
plants. Can tolerate extremes of both cold (Hardy to -8°C) and scorching
heat, Need full sun, but it is best to grow in light shade in summer to
prevent yellowing, Being quite adaptable, it can thrive in sun or
deep shade and is more moisture tolerant than most agave; but, the soil
must be well drained. It grows particularly well under the shade of
small trees. It is drought tolerant although they will respond to
supplemental water. Propagation: Seed or
Suckers (This Agave offsets freely and the pups can be removed and
repotted or planted elsewhere) Keep a few however, for the main plant
dies when it sends up its spectacular spike of flowers. Individual
specimens are particularly beautiful.
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