Hardiness Zone: 8-11
Height: 2-3′
Spread: 3′
Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Sun
Foliage: Variegated, Blue Green with Yellow Margins
Flower: Yellow and Red, Monocarpic
Water Usage: Low

Variegated Hohokam Agave is so named because it is a domesticated species that was selected and cultivated by pre-Columbian Hohokam Indians as a source of food and fiber in a region that now lies in Arizona. Unable to produce viable seed, Hohokam Agave propagates itself with bulbils and pups, each of which is a genetic clone of its parent. The Hohokam Agave of today is an actual genetic clone of the plant before it, reaching back all the way to when it was cultivated in irrigated farms in the 1300’s. In the wild, it is only found near archaeological ruins of the Hohokam people. In 1974, a desert botanist named Rodney Engard discovered one variegated sport in a population of normal colored plants. Clones of this sport have become popular in the trade and are also sometimes known as Agave murpheyi ‘Engard,’ or ‘Rodney.’ Small and uniform in size and shape, it is said to have a high sugar content making it desirable for eating. The narrow strap like leaves are laced with strong sisal fibers that were useful in making rope, fabric, and thread which could be sewn using an agave spine as a needle. Hohokam Agave is an essential collector specimen. It is also tough and beautiful and can be used as a color accent in a xeric garden or large container planting. All of the agaves that are native to the US desert southwest are very xeric and care must be taken not to overwater. Cold hardy to 10F.