Queen Victoria's Agave (Agave victoriae-reginae)

Agave victoriae-reginae is a striking small Agave which has green leaves with white longitudinal stripes. These stripes almost look like painted brush strokes along the trigonal margins of the leaves. They have no teeth along the leaf edges just a terminal black spine, which is needle sharp. This agave has a neat, round appearance and grows to about 18” to 2 feet when mature.

Recently I was asked by a landscape designer to find her client an Agave victoriae-reginae compacta. While finding a source for this particular plant I learned quite a bit about Queen Victoria’s Agave and how it is grown by the local nurseries who propagate it. In particular, Ed from Western Cactus who is extremely knowledgable, told me that the compacta is grown from seed out in the field and not harvested for at least 2 years. I also learned that though both Agave victoriae-reginae and Agave victoriae-reginae compacta are grown separately, once potted for sale the two separate varieties are named Agave victoriae-reginae. No labeling is done to distinguish between the regular and the compact forms.

The Compact form grows slightly faster because it has longer, thinner leaves and can be sold several months earlier by a nursery than its slower growing (shorter leafed) cousin.

Besides the compact form, there are several other varieties of the Queen Victoria Agave, including caespitosa, viridis and King Ferdinand (Agave ferdinandi-regis), which has black margins instead of white margins and is even more striking. There is also a variegated form with yellow and green leaves which is beautiful!

For more photos and information:

http://www.cactus-art.biz/schede/AGAVE/Agave_victoria-reginae/Agave_victoria_reginae/Agave_victoria-reginae.htm

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/60681/#b

http://www.penick.net/digging/?p=717