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| Category: Succulent |
| Family: Agavaceae (now Asparagaceae) |
| Origin: Mexico (North America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Yellow |
| Bloomtime: Infrequent |
| Height: 4-5 feet |
| Width: 4-6 feet |
| Exposure: Sun or Shade |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 0-10° F |
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Agave gentryi (Hardy Agave) - A medium sized green Agave gentryi that forms solitary rosettes to 4 to 5 feet tall by 5 to 6 feet wide with thick and wide light green leaves armed with large teeth along the leaf margin and a long terminal spine. The leaves have strong bud imprints and fold upright on both margins. Plant in shade, especially in hotter climates, although tolerates coastal California full sun. This is one of the most cold tolerant of the large agave, tolerating temperatures down to 5° F. Water occasionally to regularly. Agave gentryi was first described by Howard Scott Gentry in Agaves of Continental North America. He described this plant as Agave macroculmis and noted that the leaves grew to 45-85 cm (18-33 inches) long by 17-26 cm (7 -10 inches) wide. In Joachim Thiede's more recent treatment of Agave in Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Monocotyledons he cites Bernd Ullrich, who had renamed and described this plant as Agave gentryi after noting the name A. macroculmis should be rejected because it was a synonym for Agave atrovirens. Thiede describes the leaf size as 60-100 cm (24 – 39 inches) long x 17-26 cm (7 -10 inches) wide. This crop from seed received in March 2012 from Brian Kemble off of a plant that flowered at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in 2010.
This information about Agave gentryi 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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