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Desert
Gardens
Hardy
Cacti, Succulents and Companion Plants for
San Antonio
and Austin
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These are
plants to use for desert gardens. Or, at least the ones that more resemble
the botanical diversity found in arid lands. Please do not inform me if
you employ these plants in gardens containing cow skulls, wagon wheels
and a large clay figure resting below a sombrero!
Cold temperature
tolerances are based on personal experience. Your results might vary since
most of these species recommendations are based on results with a specific
clone (or two), grown in well-drained raised beds, in full sun. For best
results, please install succulent plants in late spring, so they are well-established
long before being exposed to cold weather. Stop watering them after Labor
Day to induce dormancy.
Do not attempt
to grow Agave americana selections, Manfreda, Mangave or soft-leaved Yucca
if you are an adherent of the “Organic Gardening” faith. These plants are
susceptible to infestations by Scyphophorus acupunctatus, the Agave
Snout-Nosed Beetle, also called the Agave Snout-Nosed Weevil. The immature
form of this insect is the well-known Tequila Worm. Controlling this pest
requires the use of man-made pesticides; specifically, systemic insecticides.
Also, I do not buy these plants from “organic” nurseries since numerous
anecdotal reports from central Texas indicate they have sold infested plants,
especially Mangave cultivars. Do not buy any plant of these genera if it
is wilted, loose in the pot or has any dead lower leaves.
Very few of
these plants are sold by big-box stores. Some are available from real nurseries
and some can be obtained from mail-order/internet specialist growers. Many
rarities and especially new introductions are sold through internet auction
sites. Though prices can be astronomical since you are also competing with
overseas collectors.
Certain ones
are recent introductions, currently in propagation, and should be available
eventually. If you wish to obtain those not in commerce, learn where
they grow and go get seed or cuttings to propagate them.
FloresFlowers
Introductions are in GREEN
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Acacia berlandieri - Guajillo
Acacia farnesiana (A. smallii)
- Huisache
Acacia tortuosa - Twisted
Acacia
Acacia wrightii - Wright's
Acacia
Agave americana var. americana
Agave americana 'Opal' -
A variegated selection reputed to be cold-hardier than others.
Agave americana marginata
- A variegated selection with colored margins.
Agave americana medio-picta
- A variegated selection with a central colored area
Agave americana striata -
A variegated selection with pale narrow bands.
Agave americana var. expansa
Agave americana ssp. protoamericana
Agave americana ssp. protoamericana
'Blue Steel' - A seedling selection from Cd.Victoria, Tamaulipas
Agave americana ssp. protoamericana
'Funky Toes' - Presumed to be a hybrid between Agave americana ssp. protoamericana
and Agave asperrima.
Agave americana ssp. protoamericana
'Lemon Lime' - Presumed to be an intergrade between Agave americana ssp.
protoamericana and Agave asperrima
Agave americana ssp. protoamericana
'Miquihuana Silver'
Agave americana ssp protoamericana
'Pokey Ghost'
Agave asperrima
X americana ‘Medusa‘ - A giant clone,
maturing at 8’ to 10‘ high and 10’ to 12‘ wide, to stand guard over your
garden. The massive, gray leaves (turned to stone?) can be over 10
inches wide. It is very tolerant of supplemental irrigation and has
shown no damage after 15º F. In Greek, the name of this Gorgon
literally means, guardian.
Agave asperrima ssp. potosiensis
Agave asperrima ssp. asperrima
Agave X 'Silver Surfer' -
A hybrid of Agave americana ssp. protoamericana and Agave asperrima selected
from seed collected at 5,200' in Palmillo, Tamaulipas
Agave bracteosa - A small,
unarmed Agave that is safe to use near walks or in containers.
Agave bracteosa 'Calamar'
- An almost non-clumping form of this cliff-dwelling species.
Agave celsii - A cold-hardy
form of this species has been sold as, Agave celsii - La Zora.
Agave difformis
Agave funkiana
Agave gentryi
Agave gentryi 'Jaws' - A
selection, from 8,000' in Nuevo León.
Agave gentryi
'Maws' - A monstrose mutant of Agave
gentryi 'Jaws'. This selection has contorted leaves + spines and
is more compact.
Agave gentryi x montana (La
Escondida form) - Hybrid seedling selections from the village of La Escondida,
Nuevo León.
Agave gracilipes - A natural
hybrid of Agave neomexicana and Agave lechuguilla.
Agave havardiana - Big Bend
Agave
.
Agave havardiana (Raulston
Arboretum Form) - Possibly a hybrid of Agave havardiana and Agave asperrima.
Agave lechuguilla - Lechuguilla
Agave lophantha
Agave lophantha 'Band Aid'
- A variegated selection.
Agave lophantha 'Goldstrike'
Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor'
- A variegated selection.
Agave lophantha 'Splendida'
Agave lophantha univittata
type
Agave X 'Mateo' - A hybrid
of Agave bracteosa and possibly A. lophantha.
Agave montana
Agave 'Baccarat' - A selection
made in October, 1997 from La Encantada, Nuevo León, at 9,080' elevation.
Agave montana X salmiana
Agave X 'Mr. Ripple' - A
selection from Ciudad del Maiz, San Luis Potosí. Assumed to
be a hybrid of Agave salmiana X A. americana ssp. protoamericana.
Agave murpheyi - A bulbil-forming
species long cultivated by Native Americans.
Agave murpheyi 'Engard' -
A variegated selection collected in 1974 by Rodney Engard, 8 km south
of Barthlett Dam and 3.2 km east of the Verde River, Arizona.
Agave neomexicana
Agave obscura
Agave ocahui var. ocahui
Agave ovatifolia - A species
named in 2002. Native to the Sierra de Lampazos, Nuevo León,
from 3,000' to 5,500' elevation. A giant Agave with silvery-gray
leaves that produces no secondary rosettes. Propagated by bulbils,
seed and tissue culture.
Agave palmeri
Agave parryi
Agave parryi ‘Estrella’
Agave parryi 'J.C. Raulston'
- A selection from the Strybing Arboretum, originally from Jack Napton.
Agave parryi ssp. huachucensis
Agave parryi ssp. huachucensis
'Excelsior' - A variegated selection.
Agave parryi var. truncata
Agave potrerana - Native
to the high mountains just south of the Big Bend.
Agave salmiana var. salmiana
- Pulque Agave
Agave salmiana var. ferox
Agave salmiana 'Butterfingers'
- A variegated selection.
Agave salmiana
var. ferox 'Bump in the Night' - This
monstrose selection that might be identical to Agave salmiana var. ferox
'Bellville’.
Agave salmiana var. ferox
'Crazy Horse' - Another monstrose selection, possibly the same as Agave
salmiana 'Bothe'
Agave salmiana var. ferox
'Green Goblet' - A selection from near the Sierra Chiquita of Tamaulipas.
Agave salmiana var. ferox
'Logan Calhoun' - A cultivar selected by Logan Calhoun.
Agave X 'Scabradabra'
-
Say, “Abracadabra,” and we obtain, as if by magic, an amazingly monstrose
selection of a presumed Agave americana ssp. protoamericana and Agave asperrima
cross.
Agave X 'Sharkskin Shoes'
Agave shrevei ssp. magna
Agave sisalana forma armata
- The cold-hardiest selection of the Sisal Agave for San Antonio, it has
been hardy to 22º F. and has recovered from rhizomes after exposure
to even lower temperatures.
Agave striata
Agave striata ssp. striata
'Espadina' - A robust selection from near Monclova, Coahuila.
Agave stricta
Agave tenuifolia - Similar
to Agave striata and A. stricta.
Agave victoria-reginae -
A spectacular plant best seen on the sheer limestone walls of Santa Catarina
Canyon, west of Monterrey, Nuevo León
Agave victoriae-reginae 'Compacta'
Agave victoriae-reginae 'Kazo
Bana' - A variegated selection.
Agave victoriae-reginae 'Porcupine'
- A compact selection.
Agave weberi - Pulque Agave
Agave weberi 'Arizona Star'
- A variegated selection.
Agave weberi 'Reiner's Selection'
- A wide-leaf selection named for Reiner Radermacher.
Agave xylonacantha - Root
hardy to 15º F.
Agave xylonacantha
‘Don’t Tread on Me'’
- A selection with glaucous leaves and profuse secondary branching.
Forms an excellent impenetrable groundcover for slopes and is hardy to
15º F.
Agave xylonacantha x lophantha
Agave ‘Zara’
- A selection of giant Agave with silvery-gray leaves that produces very
few secondary rosettes (only 1 or 2 in its lifetime). Propagated
exclusively by tissue culture.
The
List Continues.
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