Agave guiengola

Silvery Agave, Whale's Tail Agave

Agavaceae

Mexico; endemic on limestone cliffs in Oaxaca from which it gets its species name.

1 Gallon

individual rosette

3-4'

4-6'

Zone 9a, Zone 9b, Zone 10a, Zone 10b, Zone 11a

20 to 25°F, -6.7 to -3.9°C

Very high heat tolerance

Part to full sun

Very drought tolerant, occasional irrigation

Remove/replant offshots and remove dead leaves as desired.

Beautiful in large containers or as a specimen plant in the landscape. Leaf color is a striking contrast to dark or bright green foliage. Leaves have soft spines at their terminals and sometimes on their margins. Due to lower light requirements this agave can be grown in part sun or bright shade more easily than many of the genus.

Replant offshoots or collect seeds after flowering.

Agave guiengola has a few very thick, silver-blue glaucous leaves, broad at the base, then tapering down to a brown terminal spine. It’s uniquely shaped, bluish leaves become quite large and lay more horizontally than most Agaves leading to an exotic form that looks something like a giant silvery green starfish. It is a very architectural plant in form and is fairly fast growing for an agave. Light shade is o.k. in hot inland climates. The flower spike is 5-7' tall with yellow flowers. This plant is monocarpic and will flower and die within 10-15 years. A. guiengola is deer and rodent resistant. It will often offset to form mounding colonies so remove pups if you want to keep plants in solitary form. There are several cultivars including: Agave guiengola ‘Moto Sierra’ with chainsaw like brown teeth on the leaf margins and Agave guiengola 'Creme Brulee' with variegated white leaf margins.