Agave attenuata

Agave attenuata (Fox tail Agave) Care Guide 2022

Agave attenuata (Fox tail Agave)

Agave attenuata (Fox tail Agave) are evergreen succulent plants, unlike other agaves. It grows a beautiful rosette of silvery with pale green leaves up to 4ft wide (120 cm) without terminal spines and teeth. It can create a thick stem that can extend 4ft. (120cm), Rosette is made up of flexible leaves which can smoothly round resembling like a large open flower.

The best thing about this Agave attenuata (Fox tail Agave) plant is that it can make your landscaping the center of atttention for everyone. This Agave attenuata (Fox tail Agave) is easy to care for. We will teach you how to care for your foxtail agave in easy steps so let’s get started.

Plant Care:

Temperature: Sensitive to temperatures below 50.0 F (10.0 C)

Light: Full sun exposure

Soil pH: 6.5 to 6.7 acid or neutral

Watering: Low

USDA Zone: From 9 b to 11b

Humidity: Require Low humidity

Propagation: Division of offsets

Fertilizing: Need Dilute, balanced fertilizer once during the growing season

Pruning: Cutting of basal leaves and offshoots

Re-Potting: Once in every two years

Plant Profile:

Common Name: Fox Tail Agave, Swan’s Neck Agave, Lion’s Tail Agave, Dragon Tree Agave, Century Plant

Habitat: Ledges Stony slopes and rocky cliffs 

Scientific Name: Agave attenuate

Blooms: Yellow-green to white

Type: Succulent, Cactus

Origin: Mexico

Size: 3 to 4 feet wide and 2 to 3 feet tall

Toxicity: Non-toxic to cats and dogs

Colors: Silver-grey

Agave Attenuata Care Guide

You can care agave attenuata in some simple steps. Even for beginners, it is easy to grow these plants without killing them because this plant is not very demanding. You only need to provide them best growing requirements specified below:

Light:

Agave Attenuata requires full sun, It prefers bright light disclosing it to direct sun from 5-8 hours is much recommended. Attaining these requirements is much easier if your agave attenuata is planted outdoors.

Place your plant in the brightest location if you forethought to grow your plant inside of your home. Be careful while moving your agave plant from indoors to outdoors because your plant may suffer stress if your transition is hasty.

Watering

Since it is succulent, it is very sensitive to overwatering make sure to give fox tail agave enough water. To avoid the risk of root rot make sure to place the plant on the dry side. 

While watering makes sure the soil of the plant is dry. It normally during hot seasons and occurs once a week. In the winter season do watering plants once in a month.  It can even survive in drought conditions as the plant store enough water reservoirs in its foliage.

Temperature

This Agave attenuata requires a temperature above 50° F (10° C) make sure to maintain this temperature below this can cause damage to the plant. As this plant specie is not frost hardy.

When the cold season comes make sure to bring the agave pot inside to avoid the plant from freezing and causing any damage to the plant tissue and dissolving. Since these succulent plants love a warm environment, place the plant in a room with fluorescent lights or a sunny window. 

Air Humidity

This Agave plant requires less humidity, In indoors avoiding placing it near your kitchen and bathrooms because these are high humidity areas. So they are not the best location for it place it in average humidity areas of inside your home.

Keep your agave attenuata plant away from tropical ones if you planning to group plants together. Because tropical plants love high humidity which can later add moisture to the air which can damage your agave plant.

Soil

The important factor for agave attenuata care is to prepare correct potting mix and make sure the soil is well drained. Add some cacti mix and grit to the soil if your plant is planted in the ground that makes the plant loose and porous.

Due to a good potting mix, there is no problem with overwatering and drainage it will give ease to your fox tail agave plant. Its soil requires slight acid PH ranging from 6.5 to 6.7.

Fertilizing

The growth rate of agave attentuata is very slow so they don’t need much fertilizer. They mature in a very long period about 10 to 20 years. So don’t be too hasty to overfertilize your agave for quick growth.

Your Foxtail agave only needs balance fertilizer once during the growing season. Don’t feed your plants in the winter seasons as they entered a resting stage.

Agave attenuata (Fox tail Agave) Overview

The agave attenuata plant is look so beautiful due to its tremendous flowers. When you see the showy blooms of these flowers it is curved and drops to the ground just looke like the tail of the fox.

It appears only once in a time in the plant’s life span and takes up to 10 to 20 years. It appears during the summer and the spring seasons. This Agave attenuata will be a special and elegant addition to your indoor and outdoor gardens or landscape.

Appearance

Their leaves are similar to other agave species. The appearance of the agave flowers is very unique and magnificent when they grow. We will explain the appearance of this plant in detail starting with foliage, flowering, fragrance, growth, and size.

Foliage ( Leaves)

Agave attenuata is known as an evergreen plant having an oval outline in shape and soft in texture. The color of these Agave leaves ranges from silver grey-green to blue-green. If it is viewed from sistand it looks like whorl pattern and resembles like the shape of an open flower.

Although their leaves look rigid and rough but when you touch them with your hands it looks so flexible and soft. This succulent plant has the ability to store more water.

Flowering

If you have planted agave plants 10 to 20 years ago, you were blessed with a long spike of inflorescence. Agave foxtail flowers are the most fascinating. The colors of these agave plants have green, white, and yellow. However, flowering is very rare as it only occurs once in the plant’s life span.

Inflorescences appear in the center of the rosette, forming a tall arch up to 5 to 10 feet high.

Fragrance

Even though their flowers look very elegant but they have no fragrance at all nor the leaves or blooms. On the other hand, if you are searching for pleasant fragrance plants you should definitely choose Agave schottii.

Size and growth

The agave attenuata can grow up to 2-3 feet tall and 3-4 wide in range. If want to add it to your garden give them plenty of space to grow big. They become dense as they produce offshoots on its base. Like others, succulent plants agave attenuata have a slow growth rate. If you want agave to grow in a smaller sizes for indoor setups you should plant them in pots.

How to Propagate Agave Attenuata

The Propagation of this Agave attenuata plant is very easy as it produces countless offshoots on its basal portion. These small agaves are like babies which can be separated from the mother plant and can be potted to grow another plant.

You can also collect Agave attenuata seeds from the pods during the summer and winter seasons. Those seeds can be used to germinate into new Agave plants after making the seeds dry in several days.

Read About: Baltic Blue pothos

Repotting

This Agave attenuata species has a slow growth rate, so repotting is only necessary every 2 years. You can bound a little pot as well. Use shallow pots for your Agave attenuata plant as repotting cannot be longer avoided.

To remove the depleted soil always use well-draining mix soil. Water the agave attenuata once transferred and place it under sade for a few days to avoid stress.

Pruning

While pruning fox tail agave removes the dead and brown leaves at the basal portion. Trimming them off to maintain the beauty of the plant. Just cut the whole leave either cutting the whole portion of it. The plants compete for water and nutrients when there are many offshoots and their growth becomes more slower.

Can Agave attenuata take full sun?

Yes, Agave attenuata take full sun can take full sun because it grows best in full sun. Place your agave authenuate plant 5-8 hours in bright sunlight for better growth.

Is Agave attenuata poisonous?

There is no need to worry about Agave attenuata toxicity. Both humans and pets are not poisoned by this succulent agave. If ingested in sufficient quantities, it may have a mild poisonous effect.

How long does Agave attenuata take to grow?

Agaves of this particular species grow slowly. Foxtail agave matures between 10 and 20 years after planting. It’s best not to rush.