Parry's agave

Sun

Full sun; light afternoon shade can help in exceptionally hot inland gardens.

Water

Low once established. Water deeply but infrequently during warm weather, allowing the soil to dry between waterings; keep nearly dry in winter.

Soil

Sharply drained, sandy or gravelly soil. Avoid heavy clay, persistently damp ground and sites where water collects around the crown.

Height

1-3 ft (0.3-0.9 m); flowering stalk 10-20 ft (3-6 m)

Spread

2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) per rosette; offsetting clumps can become wider

Flowers

A mature rosette produces a tall, branched stalk of yellow flowers in summer, usually after many years or decades. That rosette dies after flowering; any offsets can survive.

Foliage

Evergreen. Thick, broad, grey-green to blue-grey leaves form a dense, symmetrical rosette. Leaf margins have dark teeth, and each leaf ends in a rigid terminal spine.

Growth

Slow

Care needed

Low

• Plant on a raised mound or slope if your soil drains slowly, keeping the crown above the surrounding soil.
• Water new plants sparingly during warm weather; let the root zone dry before watering again.
• Use a thin gravel mulch, keeping soil and organic mulch away from the leaf bases.
• In containers, use a gritty succulent mix and a pot with unobstructed drainage holes; feed lightly once in spring.
• In wet-winter climates, provide overhead rain protection with open sides, or move pots to a bright, frost-protected place.
• Keep spiny rosettes well back from paths, play areas and places where pets pass.

Pruning. In spring, remove only fully dead lower leaves, cutting near their bases with clean tools while wearing thick gloves and eye protection. After flowering, remove the dead stalk and rosette when practical, taking care not to damage surviving offsets.

Spring

Remove dead leaves and check the crown for winter rot.

Late spring

Plant or repot once the soil is warming and prolonged wet weather has passed.

Early summer

Separate rooted offsets if you want new plants or need to limit the clump.

Summer

Water only after the root zone has dried; check containers more often than plants in the ground.

Autumn

Reduce watering as temperatures fall and clear fallen leaves from the rosette.

Winter

Keep drainage clear and shelter container plants from prolonged rain and severe frost.

• Use a single rosette as a focal point in a sunny gravel bed, leaving clear space around its outline.
• Repeat plants beside boulders and low ornamental grasses for a structured dry garden.
• Grow in a broad, stable container on a sunny terrace where its spines cannot catch passers-by.
• Combine with hardy cacti, yuccas and drought-tolerant perennials on a sharply drained slope.

Garden styles it suits: Architectural minimal, Desert modern, Dry gravel garden, Desert / xeriscape, Southwestern and Modern Mediterranean.

Plant it with: Red yucca, Adam's needle, Blue grama grass, Prairie dropseed, Lavender and Hardy prickly pear.

Wildlife: When flowering, it provides nectar and pollen for bees and other insects; hummingbirds may visit where they occur. It offers little floral food during the many years before it blooms.

• Crown or root rot: usually follows poor drainage or winter wet. Improve drainage, reduce watering and discard plants with a collapsed, rotten crown.
• Agave snout weevil: in affected warm regions, larvae can destroy the crown. Inspect for basal punctures, sudden wilting or collapse, and remove infested plants promptly.
• Mealybugs or scale: inspect leaf bases, especially on sheltered container plants. Remove small infestations by hand and use a labelled treatment if needed.
• Cold damage: leaves may develop translucent patches or die after severe freezes, especially when wet. Keep plants dry, protect during exceptional cold and wait until spring before removing damaged foliage.

Treat the sap and leaves as harmful to people, cats and dogs: sap can cause marked skin and eye irritation, and chewing or swallowing plant tissue may cause mouth irritation, vomiting or diarrhoea. Species-specific poisoning information for horses is limited, so keep it out of their reach. The sharp teeth and terminal spines can also cause serious puncture injuries.

• Whale's tongue agave (Agave ovatifolia)

  Usually forms a much larger, mostly solitary rosette with broad, cupped leaves; Parry's agave is smaller and often produces offsets.

• Utah agave (Agave utahensis)

  Usually has narrower, more upright leaves and conspicuously long terminal spines, giving it a more open, spiky outline.

The species name parryi honours the nineteenth-century botanist Charles Christopher Parry.

Propagation. Separate rooted offsets in late spring or early summer. Let cut surfaces dry and seal before planting in a gritty mix, then water sparingly. Seed is another option but develops slowly, and seedlings may vary.

Accepted botanical name

Agave parryi

In the US and Canada

Native in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Arizona, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, New Mexico and Texas.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.