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Desert Agave
Agave deserti
  
18 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Desert Agave (Agave deserti) 18 Nurseries Carry This Plant Agave deserti (Desert Agave, Mescal, Century Plant or Maguey) is native to desert regions in southern California, Arizona, and Baja California. There are two recognized varieties in California. Var. deserti is found in the desert edge of the Peninsular Range. Var. simplex is found in the Mojave Desert. In both varieties it forms a rosette of fleshy gray-green leaves 20-70 centimeters long and 4.5-10 centimeters broad, with sharp spines along the edges and at the tips. It flowers at maturity (20-40 yrs), sending up an flower cluster 2-6 meters tall. The inflorescence grows extremely fast at this time, up to 1 ft. per day. The stems bear numerous yellow, funnel-shaped flowers 3-6 centimeters long which attract numerous birds and insects. Like other members of the Agavaceae, the mother plant dies after flowering, but numerous pups are produced around the base, sometimes forming large clonal rings. Native people ate the flowers and also roasted and ate the "heart" of rosettes that had just begun to send up a flower stalk.
To learn more, visit the Jepson Herbarium's YouTube channel and watch a short video about this species:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axx6yQFPobY
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub, Succulent

Size
Size
1 - 19.7 ft tall
3 ft wide

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Slow

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Flower Color
Flower Color
Yellow

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported
 
When in bloom, hummingbirds and other nectar-loving birds are attracted to the masses of flowers. This species is also host plant to the Bauer's Giant Skipper and California Giant Skipper butterflies.

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed , 2 likely * ) SHOW ALL
Agathymus stephensi Image
California Giant-Skipper Agathymus stephensiAgathymus stephensi
*
Agathymus alliae Image
Mojave Giant-Skipper Agathymus alliaeAgathymus alliae
*
Hyles lineata Image
White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low, Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 18

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 15° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast

Soil Description
Soil Description
Typically decomposed granite. Tolerates Sodic Soil. Soil PH: 7.0 - 8.0

Common uses
Common uses
Deer Resistant, Butterfly Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Use in a Desert garden wIth Desert Lavender (Condea emoryi), Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis), California Fan Palm (Washingtonia filifera), Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata), Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), Blue Paloverde (Parkinsonia florida), WhIte Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa), Chuparosa (Justicia californica), Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus), Desert Agave (Agave deserti), BrIttlebush (Encelia farinosa), Indigo Bush (Psorothamnus sp.), Smoke Tree (Psorothamnus spinosus), Apricot Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), Opuntia spp, numerous annual wildflowers

Maintenance
Maintenance
Agaves are sometimes infested by a moth whose larva can kill the plant. However, Agave deserti is less often affected than other species such as Agave americana.

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: No treatment. Pups can be removed from the base of the mother plant (with caution) and relocated.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
3, 7, 8*, 9*, 10*, 11, 12*, 13, 14*, 15, 16, 18, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22, 23

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Rocky slopes, canyons, desert washes

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 2.6" - 25.6", Summer Precipitation: 0.33" - 2.88", Coldest Month: 39.5" - 59.0", Hottest Month: 65.5" - 88.0", Humidity: 1.91" - 38.83", Elevation: -42" - 6407"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Maguey De Desierto


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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