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Agaves

The agaves that we grow and are used to seeing are those found in North and Central America.  Some come from subtropical regions but most are from deserts and as such are used to minimal rainfall and high day time temperatures - during winter many species see night time temperatures fall way below freezing.  Quite often this paltry rainfall is seasonal, unfortunately for us it tends to fall in either autumn or spring, so the plants are used to having dry weather to accompany the cold.  To overcome this when growing in the UK the plants must have perfect drainage, good air movement and maybe some overhead rain protection.

Some species have shown they can adapt to a greater rainfall pattern - Agave celsii var albicans, salmiana var ferox and americana will all grow well in the wet west country, but this is in conjunction with, generally, milder temperatures.  What the precise relationship is between cold and wet tolerance elsewhere in the country is something that can only be found out by trial and error as no-one seems to be growing many.  Agave parryi and it's forms is one that has something of a proven track record for a good balance of cold/wet tolerance.  Others eg Agave utahensis are extremely cold tolerant when dry, others eg Agave celsii are extremely wet tolerant when warm !

The following is a small selection of agaves that are more likely to be encountered - there are dozens more - click on the name for more info and even maybe a picture....

introduction   design  plant sales  articles  directory  links books   terms   
 agaves aloes aroids bamboos broms cacti cannas gingers herbaceous mesembs palms shrubs succulents treeferns yuccas