Agaves in The Tropical Paradise

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Agaves make a natural compliment to tropical plants. They grow well here in the desert, with very little care needed. But it's important to choose the type of agave wisely! Some grow very, very large with deadly sharp dagger points and multiply rapidly with offshoots (called "pups"). I have seen them take over areas of yards where you would need a machete to cut through them.

Instead, choose small agaves. My favorite one is pictured here, right in front of Macintosh, the good little wiener dog. It is an Agave Parryi. It has a beautiful blueish color,  a very tight shape, and does not produce offsets in abundance. It stays fairly small. Just treat it like a cactus - plant in a well-drained area and don't over water it. The one here in The Tropical Paradise is doing fine with the run-off from the Phoenix roebellini just above it.

Pictured just below the agave is also a small Aloe variegata (partridge breast aloe), which also requires no additional water. This part of my back yard gets sunlight all day, and is the hottest part of The Tropical Paradise. The palm tree towards the back of the picture is a Phoenix rupicola, and is surrounded by lots of bulbs, which are just barely beginning to show this season. Should be pretty nice in the spring!

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