Blue Agave Plant Information

Types

• The blue agave plant (Agave americana), also known as century plant, American aloe or maguey, is a succulent perennial native to Mexico. It is referred to as century plant because it only blooms once every 100 years.

  Weber's blue agave (agave tequilana azul) is grown and harvested in Mexico to produce tequila. This type of blue agave blooms only once during its lifetime, generally when the plant is about 30 years old, then dies shortly thereafter.

Features

• Blue agave is a very slow-growing plant. It does not have stems but grows in a rosette form with long, stiff-pointed leaves. They can grow to be quite large with blue or blue-green leaves up to 10 feet in length and are considered a good source of fiber.

  They are grown outside as landscape plants in hot climates, and as houseplants all over the world. They are quite hardy plants that can even survive growing outdoors in London. The leaves are edged with fine-toothed spikes and have a sharp spike at the tip that is commonly removed to prevent injury to people or pets.

Water

• These plants do not need to be watered very often. A good soak every two to three weeks is sufficient when it is grown as a houseplant or an outdoors potted plant. It should be watered with room temperature water until the water runs out of the bottom of the pot. The catch saucer underneath the pot should be removed for watering or emptied after the water runs through. The blue agave should not be left sitting in water.

Soil

• Blue agave plants are tolerant of a wide variety of soils. It can be grown successfully in either alkaline or acidic clay, sand or loam soils.

Light

• Blue agave plants should be kept in a location with full sun exposure. It should be placed where it will receive as much direct sunlight as possible. Good places include a southern-facing window or a room that receives a lot of sunlight like a sun room or greenhouse.