Parry's agave is a rosette-forming perennial in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae) native to the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico, TX and northern Mexico. The plant grows 1-3 feet tall and wide in full sun and well-drained sandy or rocky soil and spreads by rhizomes to form dense colonies. It is very drought tolerant so allow the soil to completely dry between waterings and do not water in the winter. It is cold tolerant to -5 degrees as long as it is dry and salt tolerant for coastal areas. Propagation is by division. The thick glaucous gray-green leaves are in a rosette and have a dark terminal spine. When the plant matures it will send up a 10-20 foot stem with red buds that open to many bright yellow showy flowers. The rosette will die back after seedset but replaces itself by the many offsets. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Being a smaller agave makes it useful for the home drought-tolerant or rock garden. It can also be grown in a container. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: root-rot can occur in overly moist soils. VIDEO Created by Elisabeth Meyer for "Houseplants, Succulents, and Cacti", a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens. More information on Agave .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry | Very Dry
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping
Texture
Coarse
Leaf color
Blue; Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Rosulate; Whorled
Leaf shape
Oblong; Ovate
Leaf margin
Dentate
Leaf feel
Leathery; Prickly; Rough
Leaf value
Long-lasting; Showy
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, 3-6 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Basal rosette of 2-foot long thick succulent gray-green to blue-gray with toothed margins in a tight whorl with a dark terminal spine.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower value
Showy
Flower shape
Tubular
Flower detail
The plant takes 8-15 years to mature then sends up a 10-20 foot stem with red buds that open bright yellow. They are small elongated tubular flowers in large clusters on a spike
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit detail
Seed pods
Stem detail
Tall flowering stem with many branches
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Origin
US and Mexico
Distribution
AZ, NM, TX and northern Mexico
Attracts
Bees; Butterflies
Food & Medicine
Edible parts
Leaves
Fruit type
Capsule
Edibility
The leaves and stalk are edible
Uses (ethnobotany)
Native Americans use this plant for its fibers, to make soap, and as medicine. The liquid from a plant that is about to flower can be fermented to make pulque which can be distilled into tequila or mescal.