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Products > Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue'
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| Category: Succulent |
| Family: Agavaceae (Agaves) |
| Origin: Mexico (North America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Green Yellow |
| Bloomtime: Infrequent |
| Height: 3-4 feet |
| Width: 3-4 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Drought Tolerant: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 0-10° F |
| May be Poisonous (More Info): Yes |
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Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue' (Whale's Tongue Agave) - A solitary (non-offsetting) succulent that grows from 2 to 5 feet tall by 3 to 6 feet wide with a rounded rosette of short wide gray leaves that are distinctively cupped. Leaves have small teeth along their margins and a 1 inch long dark gray terminal spine. This particularly nice form was selected by Sean Hogan of Cistus Nursery who notes that "it has an almost turquoise hue and some nice powdery overlay (oh, and a smokey after finish!). It has been noted that this species has stayed smaller in hot dry locations where water has been withheld but responds well to irrigation and grows much larger. When this plant flowers it forms a 10-14 foot tall spike with greenish yellow flowers. Plant in full sun in a well drained soil. A drought tolerant plant but plants grow considerably larger when given regular irrigation. Has proven hardy down to to at least 4-5° F. This Agave occurs naturally at elevations from 3,700 to 7,000 feet int the Sierra de Lampazos in northern Nuevo Leon in northeastern Mexico. It was originally collected collected and distributed by Mrs Anna Nickels as Agave "Noah" but was was never properly described or published under this name. This plant was synomymized with Agave wislizenii by Trelease in 1911 and more recently included with A. parryii. It was properly described as Agave ovatifolia by Greg Starr and Jose Angel Villareal (STARR G, VILLARREAL JAQ. 2002. Agave ovatifolia (Agavaceae) Una Nueva Especie De Maguey Del Noreste De Mexico. Sida 20 (2): 495-499. There is speculation that this plant was distributed in California unnamed but there is no documentation on this or information how this plant performs in cultivation in California. As it is similar and related to Agave parryi the presumption is that it will grow as well as it Agave parryi does in cultivation - so far this has proven true. Our original stock plants were purcahsed from Starr Nursery in 2004. The specific epithet is from the Latin words "ovatus" for egg and "folius" for leaves is in reference to the broad ovate leaves and the common name, whale's tongue agave, also descibes the leaf shape.
The description above is based on our research and observations of this plant growing in our nursery, in our own garden and in other gardens in the Santa Barbara area. We would appreciate hearing from anyone who has additional information about this plant, even if they disagree with what we have written.
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