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Agave palmeri

Palmer's Agave, Palmer's Century Plant

Size

ex 1.5L pots

Availability: In stock

£19.99

Description

Agave palmeri is a large tough sculptural Agave from the Sonoran Desert where it grows in open arid scrubby chapparal, grassland or in pine and oak forests and rocky hillsides to elevations of 2000m. It forms large rosettes and has a very stout habit, typically with long lanceolate leaves which are a greyish glaucous green often tinged with red or purple under stress and have fairly close-set marginal spines which are pinkish red or creamy yellow. In more arid conditions, Agave palmeri forms a more squat shape with broader leaves. It is usually solitary when young and forms offsets when older.

Agave palmeri is a very cold-tolerant Agave taking frost and sub-zero temperatures down to about -10C or more if kept dry. The Sonoran Desert is the wettest of the American deserts and Agave palmeri appreciates water during the summer growing season. In UK conditions it needs very good drainage and should be kept as dry as possible during the winter.

Agave palmeri is a relatively easy addition to the desert garden and prefers a calcareous gritty substrate. It has a solitary habit, reaches about 1.3m in size and is reasonably fast-growing.

A rugged architectural Agave. Very highly recommended.

Additional Information

Order	Asparagales
Family	Asparagaceae
Sub-Family	Agavoideae
Geographical Origin	USA: SE Arizona and SW New Mexico and in Mexico in Sonora and NW Chihuahua
Cultivation	Full sun. Excellent drainage, a raised bed with a gritty, sandy, calcareous alkaline substrate is ideal. Keep dry in winter and use a thick mulch of stones
Eventual Height	1.3m
Eventual Spread	1.3m
Hardiness	Hardy down to about -10C if given good drainage. Keep as dry as possible during winter; a rain sheet is ideal