Species · genus Agave · Asparagaceae

Butterfly Agave

Agave potatorum Zucc.

Also known as: Verschaffelt Agave

Growth habit

succulent perennial

Native range

Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southwest

Agave potatorum — reference photo — Arpingstone · Public domain

Cultivars of A. potatorum

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

No named cultivars catalogued under A. potatorum 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.

A Rosette from Mexico

Agave potatorum, also called the Verschaffelt agave or toper's agave, is a succulent perennial that forms a compact, symmetrical rosette of glaucous foliage. It belongs to the Asparagaceae family and is prized in cultivation for its neat, architectural form.

Source: RHS

Native Mexican Range

This species comes from Mexico, found natively from southern Puebla across west-central Veracruz and into central Oaxaca. It grows there in a seasonally dry tropical setting, the kind of arid landscape that shaped its water-thrifty habits.

Source: Kew

Sun, Drainage, Restraint

Give this agave full light and a sharply-draining or cactus compost, ideally a west- or south-facing spot with some shelter. Water freely through summer but let the compost dry out between waterings, and feed with a low-nitrogen fertiliser three or four times during the growing period. Ease off watering in autumn and keep the plant cool and dry over winter, protecting it from frost or bringing it into a greenhouse or conservatory.

Source: RHS

Seed or Offsets

Propagate this agave from seed, or simply remove the offsets it produces around the base of the rosette.

Source: RHS

Spined, Symmetrical, Monocarpic

The rosette is light green to blue-grey and glaucous, edged with reddish-brown marginal spines and finished with a larger, twisted spine at each leaf tip. It is usually solitary or only slowly clump-forming. Like other agaves, its stems are monocarpic, flowering and setting seed just once, on a spike that can reach three to five metres, before the rosette dies.

Source: RHS

Watch for Scale

Scale insects are the pest most likely to trouble this agave. Otherwise it is generally free of disease.

Source: RHS

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 14-28d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 28 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

5–32 °C

Soil mix

Very gritty, fast-draining succulent mix

Propagation

Offsets, though a shy pupper; often from seed

Fertilizing

Light feed once or twice during active growth

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Rarely flowers indoors; blooms once then dies

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.

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Butterfly Agave yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.