Nonetheless, we think agave is a very 'sweet' plant.in the garden. While most people are interested in agave plants for the sweetener called agave nectar or for its use in making tequila, we love agave for its ornamental value over its culinary or medicinal value. The agave plants we sell are propagated from the photographed mature specimens, so please be patient. This ensures that each plant with that clonal name, identified by ‘single quotes’, will be identical. Once a particularly special trait has been discovered in an agave, it is named and then propagated asexually (without pollination). This leads to some rather dramatic variegated selections as has occurred with its woodland-loving sister genus, hosta. Genetic mutations, known as chimeras, also occur in agaves. Even within a single batch of seed, offspring will display a wide range of subtle color variants from highly silver to blue green. Agave foliage comes in green and blue to blue-silver. Some of the more tropical species from wetter climates have leaves which are much thinner, reflecting this climatic difference. The foliage of most agaves is thick and succulent, due to their desert origins. Agaves are currently considered members of the asparagus family (Asparagaceae), and if you look closely at an unopened flower stalk, you’ll see why. These plants are beautiful garden subjects and are also the source of the culinary agave nectar and tequila. Agave plants are called century plants since some species of this succulent genus take 100 years to flower in the wild. Agave plants are exotic, deer-resistant, drought-tolerant plants with an amazing garden structure.
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