The best agave for the Phoenix, Arizona area

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Agaves do well here in the Phoenix, Arizona area. And that's why getting the wrong type can be a big mistake. Some of them grow to be monstrously huge and create a nasty forest of long razor-sharp daggers with an almost uncontrollable number of offsets, or *pups*.

And since they all look so much the same at the nursery, and are all about the same size, it's hard to know which one is best. So I will tell you. Get an Agave parryi var. truncata. That's what I have here at the Tropical Paradise, and I just got another one this weekend. The bigger one I've had for many years. It doesn't pup, it hasn't grown into a monster, and I like the shape and the color. But be absolutely sure to read the label. Don't just buy a blue-grey agave. All plants have their proper latin names written on the pot - or they should. Take along your reading glasses and be sure.

To care for it, plant it on well-drained sandy slope. Find an area with mostly sun, but just a little shade. These plants are not cactus - they won't do well, or look their best, out in full sun. But like cactus, their roots will rot if you water them too much. So don't kill them with kindness! Mine are not on the watering system, they just get some runoff from the other plants, occasional hand-watering, and hopefully this summer, some rain.

And here some other tricks - when you plant them, be sure to tilt them slightly in the direction of where you will be looking. I call this *turning their face to you*. Also, they look best in a *colony* so get at least three of different sizes - but not different types. Oh yeah, and give them some room to grow. When leaves and debris fall between the leaves, just blast it out with the hose.


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