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Agave 'Blue Flame' - This is a beautiful large succulent forms clumps of rosettes which individually are 2 1/2 feet tall by to 3 feet wide. Older clumps build up to form large dense masses to up to 8 to 10 feet wide and 4 to 5 feet tall or more with flower stalks up to 15 feet. The flexible blue-green leaves have finely serrate margins and a terminal spine but are not dangerous like many other agaves. The blue cast to the leaves is from a glaucous waxy cuticle that covers the surface of the younger leaves.
Plant in full to part sun except in hot inland and desert gardens where light shade will prevent scorching of the foliage. Irrigate little or regularly for more vigor. Hardy to at least 25 F.
The blue from the waxy cuticle is best enhanced by promoting new growth and vigor by giving regular irrigation and fertilizer but avoiding overhead water that can wash the leaf surface.
The name 'Blue Flame' is both in reference to the blue in the foliage and also to the shape of the plant, which resembles a gas flame with its gracefully incurved leaf tips. This hybrid between Agave shawii (the seed parent) and Agave attenuata (pollen parent) was created by Dave Verity in the early 1960's at UCLA's Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden. A specimen was planted at Huntington Botanic Garden (HBG 19706) where it first flowered in 1983. It is interesting that this is a cross between the subgenus Agave and Littaea with A. shawii (subgenus Agave), adding frost hardiness to the otherwise tender A. attenuata (subgenus Littaea). The hybrid inherits Agave attenuata's smooth, spineless, flexible foliage and graceful inflorescence while it gets a terminal spine and finely serrate margins from Agave shawii - it is not as gentle as Agave attenuata but not as spiny as Agave shawii.
The Huntington Botanic Garden introduced this beautiful plant through the ISI (International Succulent Introduction) program in conjunction with Pacific Horticulture's Pacific Plant Promotions (PPP) in 2005 with the designation ISI 2005-6 and we have grown it since that year.
This information about Agave 'Blue Flame' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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