Agave americana

Agave americana.
left - a young plant growing in the 'desert' style planting at the Carribean Home From Home where it is accompanied by many other spikey Yuccas, Palms and Aloes. When it matures we can expect this plant to have leaves up to 2m long and 25cm wide, giving the whole massive rosette of leaves a 4m spread with the new leaves in the middle pushing up to 3m tall.
Right - here are 2 older plants growing in Lamorran gardens in Cornwall where they get a little less sun and more rain than in the left hand photo. This usually results in the leaves having less of a silver colouring. You can find Lamorran and other gardens from around the world at the excellent websitesite - gardenvisit.com, see their link on our Resources Page

Agaves are a useful contrast in spikey compositions because the have broad leaves and make a solid and imposing shape amongst finer and more detailed forms. Its neutral colour makes even the muted tones of Kniphofia caulescense in the background stand out. This is not the hardiest Agave but if given dry conditions it can withstand short spells of -8 degrees c. In heavy wet soils or where there is a damp, moist micro - climate the plant will produce soft black rotten spots on the leaves, disfiguring, though not killing the plant.

Below left - This very pale silver specimen has leaves that are almost 2m long but is still a few years away from flowering. The gel like pulp in the leaves of some species of Agave is used to make alcoholic drinks, and although A. americana is not, we have noticed when removing old leaves that the rotting pulp soon starts to ferment  inside the hard outer skin - you can literally smell the alcohol. 
Below centre - this is a useful photo because you can see how the leaf bases 'pile up' to form a low mound. These bases are full of liquid in a pulp or gel like mass and were used as food in Mexico after all the leaves and roots were cut off and the base buried and cooked with hot stones for many hours. Also visable here is a young 'pup' shooting from the base which many Agaves do sometimes profusely, eventually forming large colonies.
Top left and right - the flowering spike of Agave americana can be up to 8m tall and is only seen when the plant is very mature. This can be in as little as 10 years in hot climates and as many as 30 years in the UK, this also signals the death for the rosette producing the flower, leaving its pups to continue.