Agave x nickelima 'Sharkskin Shoes'

Sharkskin Shoes Hardy Century Plant

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Item #: 7471

Zones: 7b to 10b, at least

Dormancy: Evergreen

Height: 36" tall

Culture: Sun

Origin: Mexico

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)


We've long had a love affair with this elegant naturally-occurring Mexican hybrid (Agave nickelsiae x Agave asperrima). This selection comes to us from the wonderful Ruth Bancroft Garden in California. The rigidly upright, triangular olive-green leaves with a blue cast are thicker than an offensive lineman's neck and have the feel of sharkskin. Agave 'Sharkskin Shoes' forms a stunningly architectural clump, eventually to 3' tall x 4' wide. Agave 'Sharkskin Shoes' is easy to grow but very slow to reach mature size as evidenced by our 6-year-old plants which are only 18" tall x 2' wide. In 2007, we listed this as Agave 'Sharkskin' which we now know is a similar but different clone; hence, the name change. Agave blooms attract hummingbirds.