Species · genus Agave · Asparagaceae

Desert Agave

Agave deserti Engelm.

Also known as: Century Plant · Maguey · Mescal

Growth habit

succulent perennial

Native range

California, Mexico Northwest

Reference · A. deserti

Cultivars of A. deserti

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under A. deserti yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Agave deserti is a desert succulent from California and northwestern Mexico, built to store water in its thick leaves and endure long dry spells. Give it the brightest direct light you have and a gritty, fast-draining mix, then water deeply only when the soil has been completely dry for some time. Err toward drought — this plant rots far more readily than it thirsts.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 21-35d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 35 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

8–35 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, sharply draining cactus and succulent mix

Propagation

Separate offsets from the base

Fertilizing

Minimal, a light feed once in spring is plenty

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Yellow flower spike only after decades, monocarpic

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 21-35d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Desert Agave yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.