Agave franzosinii (Agave franzosinii) Height: 6'. Width: 20'. Low water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 25 degrees. Fast growth rate. Full sun to partial shade. This is a very graceful agave with floppy light blue leaves with dark thorns on both the tip and sides of the leaves. Be careful of it's size give it plenty of room to spread. Looks very similar to the century, but has a cleaner blue color.
Agave ocahui (No Common Name) Agave ocahui Height: 2\'. Width: 3\'. Low water use. Slow growth rate. Evergreen.
Agave parryi truncata (No Common Name) (Agave parryi truncata) Height: 3'. Width: 3'. Low water use. Evergreen. Slow to moderate growth rate. Cold tolerant to 0 degrees. Full sun to partial shade. Truncata is a very desirable agave because of its great blue color and dark thorns at the tip and having only smaller thorns on the sides of the leaf. It is a very hardy agave used in the most extreme weather conditions in Tucson and still preforms well.
Blue 'Tequila' Agave (Agave tequilana) Height: 5'. Width: 5'. Low to moderate water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 25 degrees. Moderate to fast growth rate. Full sun to partial shade. An agave not popular enough. This agave has a striking large blue leaf with thorns on the tip and smaller thorns on the sides of the leaf. Reaching heights of 5 feet it draws attention just make sure to give it some room.
Calibanus hookeri (No Common Name) (Calibanus hookeri) Height: 2'. Width: 2'. low to moderate water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 17 degrees. Slow growth rate. Full sun to partial shade. This interesting grass-like succulent is very tough to our desert conditions and can give you a grass feel without the water use. It grows in clumps with a fist size bulbous trunk.
Century Agave (Agave Americana) Height: 6'. Width: 8'. Low water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 15 degrees. Fast growth rate. Full sun to partial shade. This large agave is a nice blue with dark thorns both on the tip and sides of the leaves . The century agave is known for cluster with many smaller agaves that may be removed and easily replanted, and probably on of the most common.
Colorado Agave (Agave Colorata) Height: 2'. Width: 3'. Low water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 15 degrees. Moderate growth rate. Full sun to partial shade. A smaller agave that comes in a variety of blueish shades with heavy thorned leaves which leaf good bud imprints on the new leaves. The Colorado agave is also a heavy clumping variety that is generally surrounded by smaller offspring.Cows Horn Agave (Agave Bovicornuta) Height: 4'. Width: 4'. Low to moderate water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 25 degrees. Fast growth rate. Partial to morning sun. A beautiful green agave with multi colored thorns from red, orange, and yellow. This agave is known for its identifying bud imprint which are the markings left by the thorns on the back side of the leaf as new ones emerge.
Fernand's Agave (Agave fernand-regis) Height: 1 1/2'. Width: 2'. Low water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 20 degrees. Slow growth rate. Full sun to partial shade. This agave is commonly confused with Queen Victoria agave as they look almost identical with small dark green leaves . White striations covering the leaves. The major difference is that Fernand's agave pups and Victoria is a solitary plant.
Fox-tail Agave (Agave Attenuata) Height: 3'. Width: 5'. Moderate water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 35 degrees. Slow to moderate growth rate. Morning sun to shade. A very soft agave with only thorns on the leaf tip. A light green color and with supple leaf. Easily damaged is the transplant process and frost so be careful.
Huachucensis (Agave parryi huachucensis) Height: 3'. Width: 3'. Low water use. Evergreen. Slow to moderate growth rate. Cold tolerant to 0 degrees. Full sun to partial shade. A hybrid of the parryi, this agave has more of a green color and seems to grow with wider leaves and more horizontal. Getting a true huachucensis is sometimes hard because of parryi's cultural tendencies.
Medio-picta Agave (Agave Americana Medio-picta) Height: 3'. Width: 3'. Low water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 15 degrees. Slow growth rate. Full sun to partial shade. Another variety of the century plant but quite a bit smaller and slow growing. Its variation is a white strip in the middle of the leaf and very curved rigid leaves that curve back to the center of the plant.
Murphy's Agave (Agave murpheyi) Height: 3'. Width: 2'. Low water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 25 degrees. Full sun to partial shade. This is on of the most popular agaves because it has a nice gray leaf and few thorns. It has more of an upright form much like ornamental grasses.Octopus Agave (Agave vilmoriniana) Height: 4'. Width: 4'. Moderate water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 25 degrees. Fast growth rate. Full sun to partial shade. A widely used variety this agave has arching soft green leaves with a thorn only on the tip and curved leaves. Octopus agave is good choice to quickly establish an area just be wary because this agave flowers quickly.
Parry's Agave (Agave parryi) Height: 3'. Width: 3'. Low water use. Moderate growth rate. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 0 degrees. Full sun to partial shade. Parryi is one of the most hybridized agave in cultivation. The agave pups regularly and cross pollinates with almost any agave blooming near it. Parryi is another agave that has a nice gray color with good bud imprints.
Potato Agave (Agave potatorum) Height: 3'. Width: 4'. Low water use. Evergreen. Slow to moderate growth rate. Cold tolerant to 20 degrees. Full sun to partial shade. This agave is a very structural agave with arching leaves that are heavily thorned. The leaf color is a blueish green with dark thorns making look very mean but it makes for good bud imprints on new foliage.
Queen Victoria Agave (Agave victoria-reginae) Height: 2'. Width: 2'. Low water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 10 degrees. Slow growth rate. Full sun to partial shade. This agave is very slow but worth the wait. The leaves are a dark green . White striations running throughout the entire rigid leaf. Queen Victoria is quickly growing in popularity and is a must in a xeriscape garden.
Shark Agave (Agave scabra) Height: 3'. Width: 4'. Low to moderate water use. Evergreen. Moderate to fast growth rate. Cold tolerant to 10 degrees. Full sun to partial shade. This is a great agave having dark green leaves with dark thorns. One of the most interesting things about this agave is the leaf structure that curves back toward the center of the plant. Scabra is another agave that leaves a nice bud imprint.
Shin Dagger Agave (Agave schidigera) Height: 1 1/2'. Width: 2'. Low water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 15 degrees. Slow growth rate. Full sun to partial shade. The name says it all as this agave has very rigid leaves about shin high with thorns only on the leaf end. On the better side, it has nice green leaves . White striations and a very tight rosette.
Squid Agave (Agave bracteosa) Height: 2'. Width: 2'. Low to moderate water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 15 degrees. Fast growth rate. Full to partial sun. This agave is great for smaller cactus gardens or in tight spaces. Almost thorn-less having only a weak thorn on the tip of the light green leaf. Gives the beauty of agaves without the danger of heavy thorns.
Twin Flowering Agave (Agave geminiflora) Height: 3'. Width: 3'. Moderate water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 20 degrees. Moderate growth rate. Full to partial shade. Geminflora is a great agave for small gardens, because of its size and its solitary form. The plant is relatively friendly only having spines on the ends of the leaves. Some varieties will have what looks like white hairs and white strips on the leaves which gives it a unique look.
Variegated Century (Agave Americana Var.) Height: 4'. Width: 5'. Low water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 15 degrees. Fast growth rate. Full sun to partial shade. A hybrid of the century plant this a smaller and not so aggressive variety. The agaves variation is yellow stripes covering the leaves edges, also with thorns both on the sides and tip of each leaf.
Weber's Agave (Agave weberi) Height: 4'. Width: 5'. Low to moderate water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 15 degrees. Moderate growth rate. Full sun to partial shade. Weber's agave is another agave with a large blue leaf many times confused with the century agave but weberi has very few thorns on the side of the leaf and one at the end of the leaf.