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| Category: Succulent |
| Family: Agavaceae (now Asparagaceae) |
| Origin: Mexico (North America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Yellow Green |
| Bloomtime: Infrequent |
| Synonyms: [A. americana 'Marginata Aurea Monstrosa'] |
| Height: 1-2 feet |
| Width: 2-4 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Seaside: Yes |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F |
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Agave 'Cornelius' (Quasimoto Agave) - This smaller Agave forms a very attractive rosette to about 18 inches tall with the short strongly variegated yellow and green leaves having undulating margins. Plants sucker to form small colonies but not rapidly and never far from the main rosette. Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil and water occasionally to very little. This slow growing plant has been circulating around for many years in Southern California but has never been readily available and has gone by a number of names. We have seen the plant labeled as Agave 'Quasimoto', Agave 'Monstrous Dwarf', A. americana aureo-marginata 'Monstrosa' and A. 'Hummel's Dwarf Cornelius' or sometimes just 'Cornelius'. This is a great little Agave for the garden or as a container specimen; still wicked but on a much smaller scale and dramatic when backlit by early morning or late afternoon sun! There is some question whether it is even a cultivar of Agave americana but to our knowledge the plant has not bloomed, so this has not been verified. Non-variegated sports of this plant grown by us and by Brian Kemble at the Ruth Bancroft Garden do not look much like Agave americana. The name is also a bit confused; the Huntington Botanic Garden has this plant accessioned as Agave americana 'Marginata Aurea Monstrosa' so we sold it for many years using this name. This plant has been micropropagated in a laboratory and has become more commonly available. In order to avoid the confusion of having several names we have agreed with several other nurseries marketing this plant to call it Agave 'Cornelius', until such time that another name is determined to be more valid. The notable plantsman Bill Baker called this plant 'Quasimoto' and we honor him and this name by calling a white sport of it that occurred in our nursery Quasimoto Streaker.
This information is based on research conducted about this plant in our nursery library and from reliable online sources. We also take into consideration observations of it in our nursery of crops, as well as of plants growing in the nursery's garden and those in other gardens we have visited. We will incorporate comments received from others and welcome getting feedback from anyone who may have additional information, particularly if it includes cultural information that would aid others in growing Agave 'Cornelius'. |
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