Welcome to Let's Go Gardening - Agave Americana - Century Plant

Search Let's Go Gardening

 

 

Most popular....
 Allotments
 Alpines
 Amphibians
 Animal Houses
 Annuals
 Apples
 Aquatic Plants
 Arbours
 Bamboo
 Barbecues
Bedding Plants
Benches
Birds
 Bog Plants
Bonsai
Books
Boot Scrapers
 Britain in Bloom
Brochures & Catalogues
Buildings
 Carnivorous Plants
 Celebrity Gardeners
Chainsaws
Chelsea Flower Show
Chickens
Children's Gardening
Clematis
Climbers
Cloches
Clothing
Clubs & Societies
Cold Frames
Composting
Compost Bins
Conifers
Conservation
Containers
Courses
Cucumbers
Decking
Desktop Backgrounds
Diseases
Education
Electrical Safety
Exotic Gardening
Fencing
Flower Shows
Forum
Fruit
Fruit Cages
Fuchsias
Furniture
Gallery
Garden Design
Gardening Books
Gardening Clothes
Gardening for Kids
Gardening Links
Gardens to Visit
Gazebos
Grapes
Grasses
Greenhouses
Greenhouse Staging
Growing Schools
Hanging Baskets
Hampton Court Show
Hedgehogs
Hedging
Herbs
History
Holidays & Travel
Hostas
Houseplants
Japanese Gardening
Japanese Maples
Landscaping Materials
Lawnmowers
Lawns
Laws
Lighting
Machinery
Magnolias
Mushrooms
National Garden Scheme
News
Orchids
Oriental Gardening
Palm Trees
Patio Heaters
Paving
Permaculture
Pests & Diseases
Plants
Play Centres 
Poisonous Plants
Potatoes
Pots & Containers
Power Tools
Propagation
Public Gardens
Rainwater Collection
Raised Bed Kits
Rhododendrons
Roses
Rural Property
Security
Seeds
Screensavers
Shade Loving Plants
Sheds
Show Gardens
Shows & Events
Soil
Storage Boxes
Strawberries
Tatton Park Show
Tomatoes
Tools
Topiary
Trees
Tree Ferns
Tropical Plants
Turf
Vegetables
Water Butts
Water Features
Water Gardening
Weeds
Wheelbarrows
Wholesalers
Wildlife
Wisteria
Words & Phrases
Garden Plant Database - Agave Americana - Century Plant
 Century Plant
 Agave Americana
Genus - Agave

Agave Americana - Century Plant

Species - Americana
Common Names: Century Plant
Growth Rate: Slow
Height: 2m
Spread: 1m
Position: Full Sun
Hardiness: Frost Tender. Zones: 8b-12. Protect in winter by covering with 'Horticultural Fleece'.
Soil: Fertile, slightly acidic, sharply drained soil (or cactus compost for containers).
Origin: Mexico
Health: Agave is a herbal medicine used for inflammation (soreness, redness, and swelling), infection, cancer, and high blood pressure. Ask your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist before use.
This architectural plant makes a fabulous focal-point in a cool temperate greenhouse or conservatory or even as a summer patio pot plant. It has rosettes of thick, spiny-margined, spine-tipped, grey-green, succulent leaves. Towards the end of the plant's life a towering yellowish-green flower-spike of up to 8 metres appears, after which the plant dies, leaving small side-shoots to grow on.
It is essential to wear robust gloves when handling these plants to prevent a painful injury from the spiny thorns. During the summer water regularly and apply a low-nitrogen fertiliser three or four times. Reduce the frequency of watering in autumn and do not water in winter.
The agave requires a very well-drained soil and a sunny position. Being a monocarpic species the plant lives for a number of years without flowering but the rosette dies once it does. However, it normally produces plenty of suckers during its life and these take about 10 - 20 years in a warm climate, considerably longer in colder ones, before flowering.
Seed - Surface sow in a light position in April in a warm greenhouse or sunny windowsill. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months (Ideally at 20řc). Prick out the seedlings into individual pots of well-drained soil or cactus compost when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a sunny position in the greenhouse or windowsill.
Offsets - Potted up in free draining soil or cactus mix at any time they are available. Keep in a warm greenhouse until they are well established.
Make your own cactus mix: 1 part multi purpose compost, one part peat substitute, one part coarse grit, one part sharp sand. Mix thoroughly.
Winter Protection: Bring indoors, enclose within a temporary greenhouse  or cover with 'Horticultural Fleece'.

Increase the growth rate of your agave by watering frequently in summer with tomato feed.

Online suppliers of Agave Americana - Century Plant
Agave species mixed seeds
A wide selection with many unusual forms of agaves. Ideal for dish gardens, carboys. Long-lasting, drought resistant and trouble free.
Sow in trays, pots, etc of good seed compost in a propagator or warm place to maintain an optimum temperature of 70-75F (20-25C). Surface sow and do not exclude light. Sowing Time: February- July. On germination, apply a light sprinkling of coarse gravel to help support the young seedlings and lessen dampening off.
Prick out into 5cm (2in) pots, then 8cm (3in) and 15cm (6in) pots as required and water carefully until established.
 
Agave Americana 'Century Plants'
A basal rosetted, perennial succulent with sharply pointed, toothed leaves. The blue-green leaves are sword shaped with yellow edges. White to cream bell shaped flowers are produced in spring/summer, each about 9cm long, born on a tall flower spike. 
An attractive, exotic looking plant. Grow in a sunny situation indoors or in a conservatory.
Protect from frost in winter if grown outdoors. Height 2m.
 Meet Tamara
Phil Thompson talks about his affection for this colossal Agave
She’s big, she’s beautiful and she could live to be a hundred years old and then pass away peacefully whilst giving birth to several hundred ‘little ones’. I call her Tamara after an infamous but slightly biologically confused Ukrainian shot putter who, along with her equally well proportioned sister Irina, dominated female field event athletics at both the Rome and Tokyo Olympics during the early 60’s. But, you may well ask, what has all this to do with gardening? Well, if you should happen to wander through the countryside or ‘Campo’ regions of the Southern Mediterranean you may quickly find the answer. ‘Tamara’ is a colossus example of Agave Americana or the ‘Century Plant’ as she is affectionately known by those with an affiliation towards nick-names. She is so referred to because of the awfully long time it takes her to flower as she spends her years body-building her incredible physique and storing sufficient nourishment inside to gestate her off-spring and perpetuate her amazing species. Mind you, in all honesty gardeners like fishermen always have a tendency to exaggerate and you’ll probably find she’s more than likely to pop her cork within 20 to 30 years.

Tamara, The Giant Agave - By Phil Thompson.

As a founder member of the world wide Agave family she does tend to dominate a garden party but her curvaceous form and sheer animal personality have softened the heart of many a gardening enthusiast. And, she has her uses! The ingenious populations of South America discovered centuries ago that her incredibly fast growing flower stem could be tapped prior to flower formation to provide a sweet liquid they appropriately called honey water. Left to ferment this became a rather toxic alcoholic drink known as Pulque, not dissimilar to Tequila! Historically speaking this could be the reason the species became so popular with the sun-worshippers of ancient Mexican civilisations. The immensely strong fibres which make up its wickedly sharp serrated edged leaves also came in handy for the weaving of both cloth and rope whilst the needle pointed tip probably had its uses which I’d rather not explore!

Tamara, The Giant Agave - By Phil Thompson.

She’s the product of what I believe to be two or possibly three generations worth of local Spaniards so she’s certainly been around for quite a while.  I think the key to her incredible growth and longevity is the precise location.  She’s approximately 600 metres up a mountainside near the town of Ojen  and must have self-rooted on the inside of an olive grove wall which was originally built at the bottom of a 30 degree slope of an old terraced  olive grove.  The wall constitutes the very bottom edge of the both the olive grove and the slope itself which stretches upwards for at least 4/500 meters.  Therefore,  any rainfall over the decades that fell drained down to the bottom of the grove bringing with it bucket loads of nutrient including the rotted remains of many tonnes of olives themselves.  So, she’s sat there for decades,  on a south facing slope at the bottom of a food and drink chute gorging herself totally undisturbed.  She has to rate as the ultimate prize-catch for ‘WeightWatchers’!
Yes, Tamara is a beauty alright. Stick her in a corner with plenty of space where she can indulge her passion for sun-bathing. Feed and water her if you like but stand clear if she’s in a bad mood, and just watch her grow. You can even clip her nails if you like without causing her offence by snipping off the needle tips of her leaves in the interests of health and safety. Yours, not hers! And if you’re lucky she’ll even give you the odd little shoots to propagate as part of her propensity to dominate your garden. Oh, and one last thing. Don’t refer to her as a cacti, she won’t like it…she isn’t!

More from Phil...

The Mediterranean Difference - A series of articles by Phil Thompson.

Links...

Exotic Gardening

 

 
Useful Information Contact Us Join Us
Links & Resources Contact Us Receive our newsletter
A-Z Sitemap Advertising Edit a page / Submit article
Garden ShopProduct Reviews Send us your pictures
Returns Customer Feedback

 Facebook
Disclaimer Media Link Exchange
   

Let's Go Gardening UK  -  Agave Americana - Century Plant

Let's Go Gardening and LetsGoGardening.co.uk are trading names of Shaw Horticulture Limited. Registered in England and Wales. Company No. 07492950