Agave ‘Blue Glow Variegated’

variegated Blue Glow agave
Rigid rosettes with glowing ruby edges on cream-variegated leaves are perfectly symmetrical. Good for containers and planted in groups in the dry garden.
height 18–30in
width 2–3ft
tolerates Coast, Cold, Drought, Pots, Salt, Wind
water
needs		 Low
water
info		 Agaves are extremely drought tolerant, and many need no supplemental irrigation in coastal California. They will however look better and grow faster if they are given additional water, especially during summer.
hardy
to		 23F
exposure Part Shade – Full Sun
indoor
outdoor		 Outdoor
drainage In Ground: Cactus Mix, In Pots: Cactus Mix
fertilizing All Purpose 1/2 Strength, Low Needs
origin Hybrid, Mexico
california
native		 No
sunset
zones		 9, 11–H2

Sunset Zones Map

Outdoor Exposure Guide

Growing Notes

Most agaves are monocarpic, meaning that a head will grow larger and larger over time, building up energy, and then send off a spectacular flower and afterward decline and die. Blue Glow shows the unusual character of being generally solitary until it blooms. After blooming the head will die, but be replaced by many pups, which look a bit messy at first, but fill out into a nice cluster over time.
Take care when pruning or removing agave, as many have a toxic sap that causes inflammation and rashing. Removing spent agave heads can also be tricky as they are often ringed with other armed agave. If you like the look of agave, but are threatened by the terminal spikes they can be removed. It’s easiest to cut these off when they are coming out of the rosette as you’ll be able to prune the thorns off many layers of leaves at one time.
You can ‘pineapple’ your agave, by removing the lowest leaves. This is best started while it is out of the nursery can, but before planting, when you can access leaves from the bottom. This gives the plant a short trunk, textured similar to many palms, and allows you to get under the plant for weeding or removing pups.
Agaves, even very large ones, are surprisingly well suited to pot culture. Agave that would normally be ten feet in the ground tend to settle into even small pots and stay in harmonious balance. Every few years, if they start to stall, you can remove them and trim back a third of the roots and remove any pups. Sometimes they get very root bound and it can be beneficial to bottom water, setting them in a saucer of water for a day.

Special Interest

This Agave is a variant of a hybrid between A. ocahui and A. attenuata, introduced by Kelly Griffin during his time at Rancho Soledad. Blue Glow has a thin (4” thick) seven-foot-tall flower spike that is blue with ruby hints. After blooming it sets keikis (small pups) along the spike that add a whimsical nature to the plant. These can be planted to grow a new agave once the flower spike has finished blooming.