Species · genus Agave · Asparagaceae

Coastal Agave

Agave shawii Engelm.

Also known as: Shaw's Agave

Growth habit

succulent perennial

Native range

California, Mexico Northwest

Reference · A. shawii

Cultivars of A. shawii

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

No named cultivars catalogued under A. shawii 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 shawii is a succulent perennial from the coastal scrub of California and northwestern Mexico, where it stores water in thick rosette leaves and endures long dry spells. Give it the brightest, sunniest spot you have and a gritty, fast-draining mix, then water deeply only once the soil has dried out completely — when the mix is dry several inches down. Err toward drought; sitting in damp soil rots the roots and crown.

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

2–32 °C

Soil mix

Coarse, free-draining cactus and succulent mix

Propagation

Offsets from spreading underground stems

Fertilizing

Occasional dilute succulent feed in the growing season

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Rarely indoors; a single tall bloom stalk at maturity

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 14-28d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Coastal 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.