Agave, White-Striped Century Plant, Maguey 'Alba'

Zone 9b Coastal Otago, New Zealand
This is a striking form of A Americana, which is purported to have irritant sap, yet I have had...Read More no experience of this with any Americana cultivar.
Slightly smaller than the regular variety, with a more exaggerated curve to the leaves in many cases, this is a very eye catching addition to any succulent collection, just as easy to grow and frost hardy as the regular kind. Easily handles a medium frost; though we hardly ever go below -1 or 2C here, mine has been frozen solid with no permanent damage to the plant.
The thorns are dangerous but can be clipped off without damaging the leaf itself.
Seems to be a slightly less prolific pupper than A Americana. Doh!

Just a note here about minimizing damage to succulent/aloe/agaves that have been caught by frost- in my experience, leaf destruction can be lessened or even avoided if you spray the affected plants with cold water, before the sun hits them. Im not sure why this works but vineyards use the technique down here too. Perhaps it provides a kinder, more gradual thaw- Ive noticed that frozen leaves hit by the sun seem to sustain more burning and catastrophic collapse.

This agave does grow slower than the "regular" Agave americana but its contrast makes it more interesting and eye catching. I notice lit...Read Moretle difference in the way the two propagate which is sometimes annoyingly often. Pups can be transplanted and rooted easily so if you are looking to fill up space in the yard, americana var. will give you plenty of ammo.

It seems equally susceptible to the snout weevil here in the Phoenix area. This bug is becoming so common here that you may find yourself having to treat your plants if you want to keep older specimens. Certainly something to think about if you are not willing to use poison (Grub killer) in your yard.

Varigated form with white stripes in centre of leaves.