How to Landscape With Agave

Create a focal point in the garden with a large Century plant (Agave americana). Allow a minimum 7-foot clearance on all sides to accommodate the plant's mature size of 6 to 12 feet across and up to 12 feet high. In smaller gardens, use a variety such as the powdery-blue Agave franzosinii that reaches 8 to 10 feet high and wide, or variegated types like Medio-picta Alba and Marginata that top out at 5 feet. Surround the plant with a layer of small black lava stones, red pumice chunks or yellow-toned river rock to provide a sharp contrast with the plant's blue-gray and green colors.

Separate your property from the next with an agave border. A row of Agave montana with its red-rimmed, spined leaves reaches 4 feet high and wide -- just right for a friendly hedge to visit across, yet spiky enough to discourage intruders.

Design beds with a blend of different types of agave. Anchor the bed with a single variegated smooth agave (Agave desmettiana 'Variegata'). Place three to five bright green Black-spined agave (Agave macroacantha) in a loose cluster in the bed. Add highlights to the bed with two or three small rosette-shaped agave plants. For mixed beds, combine agave with colorful drought-tolerant flowering perennials like common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and bright yellow coreopsis (Coreopsis grandiflora).

Place several varieties of agave in decorative containers for landscape accents around the deck, patio and entryway. The pom-pom-shaped Queen Victoria agave (Agave victoriae-reginae), slimfoot century plant (Agave gracilipes) and artichoke agave (Agave parryi var. truncata) remain under 2 feet tall and wide, making them suitable for planting in pots. Container-grown agave may be moved to a protected area or indoors during inclement weather spells to protect them from cold damage.