It is marketed as the best next thing in temperate agave land, let me explain why this is not the case.
In its native env...Read Moreiroment it gets very low temperatures at night and certain seasons and gets cool conditions during the daytime. This agave will keep growing in cool conditions even when it doesn't get full direct sun, matter in fact it does need rain in spring and regular watering in summer compared to other agave.
The constant growth in cool temperatures makes it vulnerable when you get a cold snap. After that cold night when the daily temperature is above freezing (above 30F) A. Montana wil easily survive with minor or no damage. In this case it can survive low temperatures.
The problem arise is when after a cold snap if the temperature stay really low and it freezes for several days in a row A.Montana will have some trouble surviving. Alot of people in parts of the UK and US got their montana killed at 18F to 15F just because it kept freezing for several days, there are even reports of agave gentryi surviving while montana got damaged.
It needs protection against the elements of you have several successive days of really low temperatures. I also suspect that some individuals may be less cold tolerant.
This agave grows pretty fast compared to most agave because it does not need as much sun as most agave and it keeps growing in temperatures where other agaves stop growing altogether. But this constant growth in cool conditions makes the new tissue prone to frost it doesn't go dormant that easily. It also does not sucker or form offsets so when it gets killed its gone, however the seeds do germinate very easily.
It seems that this Agave is the plant British gardeners have been waiting for! As palmbob said it does not live in hot or sunny situati...Read Moreons, but survives cold temperatures -- ideal for the UK. Living in forests, you would think the canopy of trees would mean they would be susceptible to rain, but my three plants have had no leaf damage at all , not one spot.
To me, it looks rather like Agave ferox (which is the only other species I've had success with) and has very thick leaves with huge spines.
My plants are still in pots and were left outside unprotected during the worst winter for 25 years (-7C). There were long periods of frost and rain, but these plants were undamaged.
Not one root was damaged, which is incredible as the roots are especially prone to damage and rot.
The only negative point is that they do not produce daughter plants, i.e. clumps of plants. I'll just plant all three together.
I have some plants in pots growed by seed some year ago, they doesn't suffer from hot and wet summer (40° C -104° F) and full sun, I li...Read Moreve in Ravenna, Italy, 8b
This is a relatively newly described genus discovered in Northern Mexico only in the mid 1990s. It is a high altitude plant and is found...Read More as an understory plant (full sun is NOT it's natural setting). The weather in its native habitat can be very cold (way below freezing at times) and wet. Not sure if this plant can tolerate hot, dry summers like most other Agaves, or how drought tolerant it is... maybe someone else knows? I don't have one or have an personal experience with one (yet). Dark green flattish leaves with moderately large marginal teeth and terminal spine. Supposed to be an incredibly beautiful plant. Solitary (doesn't offset)
It is marketed as the best next thing in temperate agave land, let me explain why this is not the case.
In its native env...Read More
It seems that this Agave is the plant British gardeners have been waiting for! As palmbob said it does not live in hot or sunny situati...Read More
I have some plants in pots growed by seed some year ago, they doesn't suffer from hot and wet summer (40° C -104° F) and full sun, I li...Read More
This is a relatively newly described genus discovered in Northern Mexico only in the mid 1990s. It is a high altitude plant and is found...Read More