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Agave celsii - This medium-sized clump-forming agave has rosettes up to 2 feet tall and wide with fleshy 6 inch wide by 2-foot-long green leaves that gracefully curve upwards. The leaves appear unarmed but have a soft terminal spine and minute, backward curving, brown spines on the edge of the leaves.
Plant in full sun or light shade. This plant is considered tender but other forms withstood the 1990 frost in our garden when it dropped to 18° F and Mary and Gary Irish note in their book "Agaves, Yuccas and Related Plants" that Agave celsii survived temperatures to 12° F in eastern Texas. One interesting thing of note about this species is that though the top of the rosette dies after flowering, unlike many other agave it produces new shoots at the base of the flowering rosette which form a cluster of new rosettes. These are not root suckers like some agave produce but these shoots are often a foot or more above ground level, which is quite strange for what is usually thought of as a monocarpic genus. This is a nice looking fairly friendly agave that with its wide recurved leaves is relatively friendly.
Agave celsii is native to the Mexican states of Hidalgo, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí. The most recent treatments lists this plant as Agave mitis var. mitis and the gray foliaged plant long known as Agave celsii var. albicans is now correctly Agave mitis var. albidior. For convenience's sake and so not to confuse our customers and staff we continue to use the older name most familiar to them. We grew this nice plant from 2008 until 2012 and continue to grow several of the gray leafed varieties of the species - see our listing for Agave celsii var. albicans for more information about these. We also have grown a couple plants that are Agave celsii (A. mitis) hybrids such as one sold as Agave celsii 'Nova' and another that was long sold as Agave celsii 'Multicolor'.
This information about Agave celsii displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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