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| Category: Succulent |
| Family: Agavaceae (now Asparagaceae) |
| Origin: Mexico (North America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: NA |
| Bloomtime: Infrequent |
| Synonyms: [A. x pumila, A x pumila 'Clusterfest'] |
| Height: 1-2 feet |
| Width: 1-2 feet |
| Exposure: Cool Sun/Light Shade |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F |
| May be Poisonous (More Info): Yes |
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Agave pumila (Miniature Agave) - A very slow unusual agave that has dimorphic stages, growing for many years in juvenile form as a small suckering rosette with individual rosettes that are only 2 to 4 inches across with short smooth stubby gray-green leaves that are deeply concave above and check-striped below with small weak marginal and terminal spines. As the plant matures it forms a few-leafed, open, and solitary rosette that has leaves that are paler and elongated to 16-18 inches long and that have white leathery margins and a stout short dark brown terminal spine. This plant is not known to have ever flowered and, in fact, its entire origin is quite a mystery. The neotype specimen used by Howard Scott Gentry to describe this plant in 1963 for his book Agaves of Continental North America was a plant in cultivation at the Huntington Botanic Garden. Gentry noted that when John Baker first described this plant in 1888 he did so from a plant growing at the Royal Horticultural Gardens at Kew which had been obtained from De Smet, a Dutch plant trader, in 1879. Gentry speculated that if it were of hybrid origin that he would suspect it a cross between Agave lechuguilla and Agave victoriae-reginae and in his book he includes a statement from Charlie Glass agreeing with this hypothesis and noting that if this were the case that he thought it might be from the north edge of Laguna de la Viesca, where a dwarf form of Agave victoriae-reginae and Agave lechuguilla were both collected. This plant, sometimes listed as Agave x pumila is most often sold as a collector curiosity in its juvenile form as a potted specimen but it is also an attractive agave as it matures and should be tried in the ground in Southern California where it thrives in full sun in a well-drained soil with little irrigation and has been shown to be hardy to around 20° F, with some noting that it is hardy down to 10° F. Old clusters of this plant are sometimes sold as 'Clusterfest' but it our experience that that the normal form will often cluster, particularly after the center of main plant has damaged (or cored) as often is done for propagation, so these multiple rosette plants should not be given a separate cultivar name. Our plants from vegetative propagation of plants originally received from Stockton plant collector Alice Waidhofer in 2004.
The information provided on this page is based on research we have conducted about this plant in our nursery's library, from what we have found about it on reliable online sources, as well as from observations in our nursery of crops of this plant as well as of plants growing in the nursery's garden and those in other gardens. We will also 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 pumila. |
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