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Agave parrasana 'Sea Star' - A great looking mostly solitary and slow growing variegated agave that grows to 18 inches tall by a bit wider with smooth textured thick and short wide spade shaped gray colored leaves that have broad cream yellow-colored margins on the lower two thirds of the leaf and reddish-brown teeth and terminal spine.
Plant in full sun to bright shade in a well-drained soil and irrigated occasionally to infrequently. Hardiness is not well documented on this plant, but the parent species is a higher elevation hardier plant, so likely this plant should be good down to at least 15° F. This is a beautiful agave that is not too big, so likely should prove to be a great landscape plant.
'Sea Star' was originally thought to be a variegated selection of a natural hybrid between Agave ovatifolia and Agave parrasana, leading some to first call it a "Agave x ovatisana" cultivar but others pointed out that the natural range of these two species do not grow sympatrically (exist in the same geographic area) and more recent observations of 'Sea Star' in flower have led to the general conclusion that this plant is really a pure Agave parrasana cultivar. Our original stock plant came from Santa Barbara agave collector Tony Krock, who got it from Dutch collector Stef van Dort, who reportedly selected this seedling from wild collected seed obtained from northern Mexico. As Tony Avent says in his Plants Delight listing "simply fantastic!" The image on this page courtesy of Tony Krock.
The name for the genus is one given by Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus. It comes from the Greek word 'agaue' (agauos or agavos) meaning "noble" or "splendid" and originates from Greek mythology. Agaue was the daughter of Cadmus, the king and founder of the city of Thebes, and of the goddess Harmonia. The name was first used by Linnaeus in 1753 when he described Agave americana. The specific epithet comes is a geographical reference to the location of the type species in the Sierra de Parras in Coahuila, Mexico. For more information see our listing of Agave parrasana.
This information about Agave parrasana 'Sea Star' 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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