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Scientific: Agave chrysantha 
Common: golden flowered agave
Family: Asparagaceae (subfamily Agavoideae)
Origin: It occurs on open, rocky slopes of the upper foothills of the Arizona Sonoran Desert, chaparral and juniper grasslands, and lower montane (pinyon and Ponderosa pine) ecotones. Within this range in Arizona it is locally common.

Pronounciation: A-GA-ve cry-SAN-tha

Hardiness zones:
Sunset 12-24
USDA 9-11

Landscape Use: Medium-sized agave for large landscape spaces away from pedestrian traffic, strong textural accent, oasis, xeric, and desert landscape design themes.

Form & Character: Rounded and strongly upright, sharp and unfriendly, arid.

Growth Habit: Evergreen, succulent, yet fibrous perennial, monocarpic, mostly solitary rosette producing only occassional basal offshoots (short-stemmed rhizomes called 'ramets' or 'chupones'), moderate growth rate to 4-feet tall and 5-feet wide.

Foliage/Texture: Rosettes of glaucous green relatively narrow, stiff and upright, strap-shaped leaves that are straight to undulate. Always well armed with pronounced teeth on the leaf margins that are brown to gray in color and are either straight, reflexed or deflexed; very coarse texture.

Flowers & Fruits: After many yeaars, produces a towering 6- to 12-feet tall flower panicle with congested (clusters of hundreds) yellow to golden yellow flowers having a noticeable musky coconut aroma at full anthesis.

Seasonal Color: Flowers once before mother plant death (monocarpic). Flowering time is usually May to August.

Temperature: Very tolerant of lower desert conditions, both heat and cold.

Light: Full sun

Soil: Any soil type, but thrives best if soils are well-drained and somewhat calcareous.

Watering: Limited to no supplemental irrigation is required for this desert agave.

Pruning: None

Propagation: Division of basal offshoots, seed, or bulbils.

Disease and Pests: Quite susceptible to the Agave snout weevil in Phoenix.

Additional comments: This is a medium large agave with stout foliage that is best used away from areas of any human traffic. Otherwise, this is one of the most heat tolerant agaves for lower desert landscapes. Agave chrysantha is known to hybridize with Agave murpheyi, Agave palmeri, Agave parryi and Agave delamateri.