Agave asperrima

(aka: Agave scabra) Agave asperrima hails from Southwestern Texas into Northern Mexico, where it grows from 1,500' - 6,000' elevation. The highland forms are winter hardy for us, while the lowland collections are not. When one of the winter hardy forms flowered at the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, we were able to grow out seedlings to offer. The 3' long, thick, silver-blue leaves are sandpapery on both the front and back, leading us to believe this is probably Agave asperrima ssp. asperrima. Each 3' tall x 5' wide rosette makes a lovely, fast offsetting clump. Agave asperrima is particularly sensitive to winter moisture, so plant it in a site that stays particularly dry in winter. For us, Agave asperrima flowers in about 15 years with a lovely 15-20' tall spike of bright yellow, panicled flowers.