American century plant
Agave americana · Agavaceae
American century plant (Agave americana) is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Agavaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 8 and warmer, down to about 12°F.
At a glance
| Type | forb-herb Derived |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 6 ft USDA |
| Light | full-sun USDA |
| Water need | low USDA |
| Growth rate | slow USDA |
| Soil pH | 6–8 USDA |
| Flower color | Yellow USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 8 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | herb-layer Derived |
| Nursery availability | No Known Source USDA |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It needs full sun. USDA rates it as having low water needs once established. Its drought tolerance is rated high. It will not tolerate waterlogged soil — USDA rates its anaerobic tolerance as none. It is recorded on soils from pH 6 to 8 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 8.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 6 ft, making it a plant that will finish above head height. It grows slowly.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is green, coarse in texture. Its flowers are not conspicuous — a plant for form and foliage. It carries conspicuous autumn colour. Its active growth period is spring, summer, fall. Its winter foliage is dense, which makes it useful for year-round screening. USDA rates its lifespan as long.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 8 to 14 inches of annual precipitation. The low end of that band is genuinely arid, so it has a wide tolerance for dry country. It needs at least 300 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 30 inches. Fertility requirement: low — no feeding needed on ordinary garden soil.
Propagating it
It takes readily from seed, bare root, container stock and sprigs. USDA records no cold-stratification requirement, so seed should germinate without a chilling period. Its seed spreads at a slow rate. It does not spread vegetatively, so it will stay where you put it.
Resilience and wildlife
Its fire tolerance is rated low. Its growth form is recorded as single crown.
Role in a guild
Herb layer. In a layered planting this is the herbaceous middle — perennials and grasses that fill the space between ground cover and shrubs. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Others in Agave
- Utah agave Agave utahensis
Similar role and hardiness
- Gulf Coast spikerush Eleocharis cellulosa
- Wilman lovegrass Eragrostis superba
- common barley Hordeum vulgare
- Virginia iris Iris virginica
- forked rush Juncus dichotomus
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol AGAM, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: active growth period, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, fall conspicuous, fertility requirement, fire tolerance, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, growth form, Growth rate, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Light, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, Nursery availability, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, root depth in, seed spread rate, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Toxicity, vegetative spread rate, Water need.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer, Type.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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