Agave Species, Blue Wave Agave, Gypsiferous, Gypsum Century Plant

On Jan 23, 2009, BayAreaTropics from Hayward, CA wrote:

When you see it at a nursery it stands out in it's container. And maybe that's where they do best for show.Because,once you plant them with other Agave's or typical dry garden plants they tend to blend in. Might take some creativity with rock or plant arrangement to make them more noticeable.
They are tender. Better in z10 gardens as near freezing temps stress the leaves. Below freezing would do real damage and it might take quite a while for this slow growing plant to look good again.
On the other hand,they might not like hot desert like heat or days of 100+ either. An Agave best for mild climates.
They do better in dappled sun,light shade.

On Mar 6, 2006, thistlesifter from Vista, CA wrote:

This plant is frost tender and should be protected when overnite temperatures drop under 30 degrees F. I keep the plant on the south facing wall near the house.

Frost disfigures the plant, although it may survive in much lower temperatures.

On Oct 18, 2003, palmbob from Acton, CA (Zone 8b) wrote:

Don't know much about this species, but it's one of the more attractive and user-friendly agaves, having few sharp spines and nice, wavy turquoise leaves. The spines are unique in that they are same thickness and material as leaves themselves, not projections from them of a different quality. It's almost like the leaves were cut along the edges with pinking shears. It's pretty slow growing and seems to like water more than most Agaves.

In the wild in Mexico, most plants are solitary. Unfortunately, the suckering ones are the forms most propagated and sold, obviously, as they are the easy ones to make more of. So most plants in captivity are prolific offsetters, despite that being a rare characteristic of this agave in the wild.