Agave Striata, 5 Seeds Narrow Leaf Agave. Free Shipping!
Agave Striata aka Narrow Leaf Agave. This impressive century plant can reach heights of up to 8 feet and spread out to 10 feet wide. Typically, it showcases a single, large open rosette with broad, powdery bluish-gray leaves that gracefully undulate and bend. The underside of the lower leaf section often features dark green patterns where the glaucous coating has worn off due to contact with older leaves, giving it a striking almost blackish appearance. The leaves are edged with large teeth and topped with a dark brown spine. Although it rarely flowers, when it does, it produces a tall inflorescence adorned with yellow blooms that attract birds and bees, including Orioles, and after flowering, the main plant dies. While it doesn't generate many new shoots from the base, it does develop rhizomes, allowing new shoots to sprout several feet away from the main rosette of a mature plant, making them easy to remove and propagate while enhancing the dramatic look of the main plant.
With its spiky clusters of needle-like leaves, Agave striata doesn't resemble a typical agave and can sometimes be confused with a yucca when not in bloom. These plants can be single-headed, but they often produce offshoots that create a clump. The individual heads usually measure between 1½ feet and 3 feet across (½ to 1 meter). In shadier areas, the leaves appear green, but they can take on a glaucous hue or be tinged with red, pink, or purple in bright sunlight.
While many agaves have a specific flowering season, our A. striata plants at the Ruth Bancroft Garden have bloomed at different times of the year, with three currently flowering this November. The unbranched, slender flower spike can grow up to 7 or 8 feet tall (about 2½ m.). The tubular flowers measure around 1¼ to 1½ inches long (30-40 mm) and come in various colors, from green to pale yellow to purple; the ones currently blooming are a vivid green.
Agave striata is commonly found throughout eastern Mexico, stretching from Coahuila and Nuevo Leon in the north all the way down to southern Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosi, reaching as far as Queretaro and Hidalgo in the south. It closely resembles A. stricta, which is located further south in Puebla and northwestern Oaxaca, and these two species are often mistakenly labeled. However, A. stricta has tighter and generally smaller rosettes, and this species tends to form denser clumps. Additionally, the leaves of A. stricta are always green, lacking the silvery-bluish tint that is frequently seen in A. striata, and they never exhibit the red or purple shades that can appear in the latter. The flowers of A. stricta are slightly shorter, funnel-shaped instead of tubular, and come in a purple to reddish-purple hue.
While Agave striata is typically found in nature on limestone or limestone-derived soils, it isn't picky about soil type when cultivated, thriving in almost any garden soil as long as there is good drainage. It's quite resilient, surviving temperatures below 20° F (-7° C), and it makes for a stunning addition to any garden.
