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Agave vilmoriniana 'Stained Glass' (Variegated Octopus Agave) - A strongly variegated form of the already unusual looking Octopus Agave with creamy-yellow striped margins on narrow green leaves that twist back towards the ground. Like the species this plant will grow to 4 feet tall and wide with an open arrangement of leaves, looking a bit like a striped spider or octopus. The arching-deeply furrowed leaves are unarmed, making this Agave a relatively safe plant for walkway areas or container growing. It should be noted the leaf margins, while unarmed to the eye, have small serrations and have a fairly sharp edge, so best not to run a finger along or brush up against this leaf margin with bare skin.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil. Tolerates drought and cold temperatures to 24° F. As with most other agaves, the main rosette dies after flowering, but Agave vilmoriniana produces no suckers to replace itself but it does however produce many new "plantlets" (or bulbils) within the inflorescence that can perpetuate the plant within the garden. The species usually flowers within 7 to 10 years from plants grown from these plantlets and this variegated form, being a little less vigorous will likely take a few years longer. For more information about this species, se our listing of Agave vilmoriniana.
This plant originally came from the late renowned succulent expert Charles Glass who gave this plant to Santa Barbara plantsmen and brothers, Don and Dave Harris. In the spring of 2007 the Harris's plant flowered and that fall they gave San Marcos Grower the flower stalk that had nearly one thousand bulbils on it and asked us to introduce the plant to the nursery trade and give it some cultivar name that would honor Mr. Glass, who was curator of the Cante Institute and Botanic Garden in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico up until his death in 1998. San Marcos Growers introduced 'Stained Glass' in 2008 with the name both honoring Charles Glass and describing the etched contrasting look of the cream bands on the leaves. We continue to grow this plant that has since been picked up by many other nurseries.
This information about Agave vilmoriniana 'Stained Glass' displayed on this web page is based on research we have conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations we have made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how our crops have performed in containers in the nursery field. Where appropriate, we will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant.
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