Agave filifera

Most agave, including this one, are monocarpic, meaning that a head will grow larger and larger over time, building up energy, then send off a spectacular flower and afterward decline and die. With pupping varieties like A. filifera, they grow stolons at the base, constantly replacing the older bloomed out heads with new ones, which then grow larger and flower, continuing the life cycle.

Agave, even very large ones, are surprisingly well suited to pot culture. Agave that would normally be ten feet in the ground tend to settle into even small pots and stay in harmonious balance. Every few years, if they start to stall, you can remove them and trim back a third of the roots and remove any pups. Sometimes they get very root bound and it can be beneficial to bottom water, setting them in a saucer of water for a day.

When agave set pups they can easily be removed and propagated. It’s best to do this once they start to establish and have some of their own roots. Since this one pups vigorously it's one of the best for propagation.

One of the best 'home defense' tools when planted along a fence line or beneath windows, as it creates a dense impenetrable mass of heads. Plant every 2-3 feet for best results.

Agave filifera is clump-forming and often confused with Agave schidigera, which is single headed and has somewhat longer and thinner leaves.