[Trevor Australis]

I love agaves, even tho it is a bit too wet and cold in winter for many to flourish outdoors here. I grow quite a few smaller ones in pots in my greenhouse and stand them out in Summer. Most do not like full exposure to our very intense sunlight and heat so I place them where they get some respite but are still in bright light so growth and coloration stay compact and bright. I add gravel to my potting mix to ensure excellent drainage and hard soil conditions.

[Trevor Australis]

Though I had added this one too 

[Trevor Australis]

ARIZONA STAR is a tricolour form of Agave lophantha. My plant, shown here, is mature and roughly 27cm across. It makes a great pot plant but would do well on a rubbly spot or on a rockery. It does make pups close to the base but is not prolific, or invasive like its bigger cousin, Agave americana. I use an old asparagus knife with a serrated edge to sever and remove the few offsets that appear.

[Trevor Australis]

There is a form of Agave americana that is less life threatening than the most common forms. It is almost diminutive and can live happily in a big pot. It is called 'Medio-picta' and I think it looks terrific.

[Trevor Australis]

If by chance you need a really impressive Agave then this one is for you Agave werneri[/I ]. The dried leaves are reputed to have been used as shrouds in Mexico and Central America but even tho some of those ethnic groups are fairly short in stature I do wonder about the truth of that folk tale..................

[andrewsloan]

I am also growing agaves Trevor in Spain.  We went to  the MGS Algarve branch's Spring Conference in March which was all about making a dry garden with aloes & agaves & the speaker talking about agaves with lots of photos of them in natural habitat has inspired my wife and I to head to Mexico this autumn! He has also kindly supplied me with some seeds of agaves asperrima, montana, gentryi, mitis & mickelsae which I have germinated.

[Trevor Australis]

That's great Andrew: a good contact, a trip to Mexico, and success with seeds. Maybe a trip into the SW of the USA would be good too some time. Many of the fancy variegated kinds are available from the big cactus nurseries in Germany, Holland and the UK. I guess as an EU citizen you shouldn't have any trouble buying sm plants from any of the above countries.

[Speedy]

I love agaves too.
Some of mine get a bit tatty with frost here but I try to concentrate on the ones from low desert.
They handle out heat better here.
There are many cultivars and sterile hybrids that I'd like to obtain ,
 but as far as I can tell aren't available in Australia.
I particularly like to find and grow ones that have ethnobotanical significance
Ones used for various things such as cordage and fibre,
sugar, pulque , mescal  and other alcoholic beverages, food wrapping , soap substitute etc.

Some I just like because they look good, others because they grow such big bold leaves.
Agave salmiana  is big.. I have a few varieties of it.
Agave mapisaga var Lisa grow to be a massive plant and I'd love to be able to get one into my garden.
Lots more species in my garden, I'll get some pics and post  here
if I can work out how to reduce the size of the pics.

[Trevor Australis]

Paul Forster in Qld is a good supplier of fancy agaves and has some new Japanese cultivars. You can find his lists on the web-page of the Cactus & Succulent Society of NSW. Just click on BUY STUFF and go to PLANTS, Paul's list is at the top.

[Speedy]

Thanks Trevor.
Just checked it out,
I have quite a few of those,
 but some nice ones I haven't got.