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Agave cupreata 'Gray Form' (Gray Dwarf Cowhorn) A medium sized non-suckering Agave that grows to 1 to 2 feet tall by 2 to 3 feet wide with broad gray-green leaves that have dark copper-colored spines on large mammilate protrusions (teats) along the slightly wavy margins. The dark teeth contrast well with the light gray-green leaves that also display well the bud imprinting that occurs when the leaves press up against the margins of the newer leaves in the center of the plant.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil. Irrigate little (if at all) to occasionally. Mostly listed as hardy to around 28° F but can go a little colder - large plants in Goleta California were not damaged at 26° F in January 2007. This plant has been aptly described as looking like a larger green Agave colorata or a smaller Agave bovicornuta. It is a nice garden plant and is suitable for container gardening.
The species occurs naturally in the Mexican state of Guerrero and Michoacán where it grows on mountain slopes from 4,000-6,000 feet in the Río Balsas basin. The specific epithet comes from the Latin word 'cupre' meaning "copper" in reference to the copper colored spines of this species.
Our plants are a selection from seedling plants that we noted were much grayer than typical Agave cupreata. The seed was provided to us by the late John Bleck from a plant that flowered in his Goleta garden. We also grow the more typical green form from this same seed source that we list as Agave cupreata.
The information displayed on this page about Agave cupreata 'Gray Form' is based on the research we conducted about it in our nursery horticultural library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include some of our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.
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