Agave Species, Manfreda Agave, Rattlesnake Master, Hauco, Amole

Siting this plant takes some planning. Not that it is fussy, but the foliage grows to only a few inches while the flower spikes shoot up ...Read Moreto 5'. It can be used as a vertical accent near the front of the border. Although tall, it doesn't really block the view of plants behind it, especially wider and brightly colored ones. It is also perfect for the parity garden. The mature foliage is lax in wetter conditions and more erect in drier ones. The flowers are fragrant but almost inconspicuous. Mine self sows in my gravel paths, so if you try it from seed, I think a fine aggregate atop the medium should work best. I don't know of any hybrids but I am curious if it might be able to breed some hardiness into it's more tender cousins. I suspect it's hardy into zone 5 (at least) as it is not usual for a plant to be native to it's very extreme of hardiness. Furthermore, mine took one of our coldest Winters when temps hovered around zero (F) for months without any negative impact. Bees seem to appreciate it as well. The seed pods are reminiscent of Yucca, but smaller.

Been growing a variant of this plant (var. tigrina I think ,with unusual red speckling at the base of each leaf) successfully on the bord...Read Moreer of zones 6a/5b for about 5 or 6 years now in southern New Hampshire, so I think the listed zone 7 may be an underestimate. Most of the other sources I've seen list it as a solid zone 5. Interesting "native" plant, adds an exotic touch for us northerners. Overall affect of the plant screams desert, although the succulent foliage is a bit deceptive. Not as drought tolerant as one would think. By the heat of mid-summer, if the soil is too dry, the leaves go limp by the end of the day, but plump back up again by morning. Suspect it likes more moisture than I've been providing. If the foliage alone isn't enough reason to grow this plant, the flowers are intoxicatingly fragrant. On a humid summer evening one or two of these plants will perfume your whole yard, though the individual greenish flowers are definitely not showy, but are certainly interesting on close inspection. While it may be difficult to place in a formal setting, overall it's a great plant, certainly worth a try.

I have not grown this plant. American Aloe, Hauco, Amole (Manfreda virginica) is also commonly known as false aloe. It is native to Alab...Read Moreama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Mexico (Nuevo León, Tamaulipas). It is found in glades glades, sandy open woods and rocky open woods with alkaline soils in sun or part shade. The sessile, semi-succulent, glabrous, evergreen leaves appear in a basal rosette and have denticulate (finely toothed) margins. They are about 20cm long and 5cm wide and are usually folded lengthwise. Maroon to reddish spots near the base of the blades are often present. The plant produces a 4 to 5 foot tall (less frequently to 6 feet) flower stalk. The 3cm long (1.25 inches) yellow-green blooms have have no petals, have a white stigma with three lobes and have a sweet, fruity odor. They are seen in early summer through late summer (rarely in spring) and are followed by roundish seed capsules. Manfreda virginica's leaf shape and size vary with length of cold period, soil type, amount of shade as well as the position of leaf in the rosette. Pollination is primarily by sphinx moths. Used by Native Americans for several medical conditions such as dropsy, the roots are supposed to heal snake bites.

Originally described as Agave conduplicata in 1865 by Georg Albano von Jacobi and Carl David Bouché in Hamburger Garten- und Blumenzei...Read Moretung, this plant was transferred to Manfreda by Rose in 1903.