With striking silhouettes and intriguing colors, there's no doubt agave brings drama to the landscape. In the garden their impressive height and spread can make them a natural focal point amongst planting. Not to mention, their drought-tolerance and ability to thrive in hot conditions make them an excellent choice for a water-wise garden.
A perfect example, in this Pasadena garden agaves tower alongside cacti and other desert plants. The biggest varieties are ideal for creating some coverage and privacy, like the Century Plant from Tress.com which reaches 4-6ft tall. Or, opt for something with finer foliage, like this Twin Flower Agave from Trees.com which, as its name indicates, is loved for its masses of yellow blooms.
If you want to make a real statement, colorful agaves are the way to go. Moonglow Mangave from Nature Hills (a hybrid agave and manfreda) has a striking spotted pattern on fleshy blue-green leaves. Meanwhile, Desert Diamond Agave (which you can find at Walmart) is a compact succulent with rosettes of green and white leaves. Smaller varieties like this are best for container growing, just like this Sabertooth Tiger Agave from Amazon.
Ideal for gravel gardens, patio planting, sweeping drought-tolerant borders, and (in some cases) as houseplants, there are so many different agaves to discover. Here, we've compiled our top 16 to shop.
If you do add an agave to your garden, don't forget to read up on how to overwinter agave. Generally speaking, these amazing plants are hardy across USDA zones 8-11 and benefit from winter protection. Those grown in pots can be relocated to a frost-free location, while those planted in the ground can be covered with a frost cloth (like this from Amazon). It's important that their crown doesn't get wet to avoid rot and decay.
As for looking for companion plants for your new agave, our guide to plants to create a desert garden has lots of ideas to curate a dreamy drought-tolerant planting scheme in your yard.
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