Agave americana ssp. protamericana is one of our favorite hardy agaves. For us, this species has proven to be the largest- and fastest-growing of the winter hardy species. The wide, steel-blue leaf rosettes form huge upright clumps to 5′ tall x 8′ wide in as little as 8 years with plenty of summer moisture and high fertility. Not only do these century plants grow large, but they offset at a pace nearly equal to the rate at which Congress spends our money. When they mature at 10+ years old, Agave protamericana will be topped with huge flower spikes, large enough for Olympic pole vaulting. Remember, agaves have spines on the tips and edges of each leaf and should not be planted where stupid children play…unless you really believe in Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” theory. This offering is from our open pollinated garden seed from an original Yucca Do seed collection from Coahuila, Mexico. It appears that a nearby flowering hybrid of Agave salmiana x Agave asperrima may have contributed genes to the babies.
