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Products > Manfreda elongata
 
Manfreda elongata - Large leafed Manfreda

Note: This plant is no longer in stock. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  
Image of Manfreda elongata
[2nd Image]
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Succulent
Family: Agavaceae (now Asparagaceae)
Evergreen: Yes
Flower Color: Brown
Bloomtime: Summer
Synonyms: [Agave gracillima, A. gracilis, Polianthes rosei]
Height: <1 foot
Width: 2-3 feet
Exposure: Full Sun
Summer Dry: Yes
Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F
Manfreda elongata - A soft-leafed evergreen succulent with open rosettes of four long wavy green leaves that emerge from a 4 inch tall stem and then recurve to lay flat to the ground. The leaves are 12 to 20 inch long by 2 inches wide with deep longitudinal channels and closely spaced veins. The dark green-brown flowers have protruding anthers and long styles near the top of the inflorescence that rises up to 3 to 4 feet tall. Plant in full sun with occasional irrigation. Listed as hardy to around 25°F but perhaps less. This plant's current correct name is apparently Agave gracillima. The plant was originally collected in 1897 by Joseph Nelson Rose in a narrow valley on the west side of the east range of the Sierra Madre in southern Durango, Mexico but also inhabits locations in the state of Nayarit to the south. Rose described it as Manfreda elongata in 1903 but is was called Agave gracilis by Alwin Berger in 1915. Since this plant has no relationship to Agave elongata (a synonym for Agave angustifolia and sometimes listed as a synonym for Agave atrovirens) as described by Georg Albano von Jacobi in 1865, when moved from Manfreda to the genus Agave, the name Agave gracilis took precedence. Confusing enough but this plant has been all around and was even once placed with the tuberose as Polianthes rosei. For all familiar with the Manfreda group, this plant will long be called by the original name of Manfreda elongata. Our seed for this plant from Aloe hybridizer John Bleck who grew his flowering plant from seed from the Cactus and Succulent Society of America (CSSA) seed list. 

The information displayed on this page about Manfreda elongata is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.

 
We closed for regular business at the end of 2025 in order for the property to be developed for affordable housing.
Our gates remain closed but we will open them by appointment to interested parties through August 21st to liquidate remaining plants, supplies and equipment.
The plants remaining in the field are listed on our
Live Inventory Page.
 
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