Scientific: Agave x 'Sharkskin'
Common: Sharkskin agave
Family: Asparagaceae (subfamily Agavoideae)
Origin: Naturally-occuring hybrid between Agave nickelsiae (formerly Agave x ferdinandi-regis) and Agave scabra that was first found at the Huntington Gardens in San Marino, California.
Pronounciation: A-GA-ve nic-kel-SIGH-ae SCA-bra SHARK-skin
Hardiness zones:
Sunset 12-24
USDA 9-11
Landscape Use: This is a smaller agave for more personal but sunny landscape spaces, small residential front yards, succulent collection gardens, textural accent, night landscapes (here is an image of night lighting of Agave nickelsiae.
Form & Character: Small, upright, slowly rosetting, smooth and people friendly. This is an agave that you may just feel inclined to carefully touch.
Growth Habit: Evergreen, succulent, succulent perennial, mildly fibrous, slowly upright and coarsely rosetting to 2-feet tall (3-feet tall in California coastal areas) with equal spread. Produces only occassional off shoots from underground rhizomes.
Foliage/Texture: Leaves are rigid, thick, succulent, smooth, dull glaucous green, to 12-inches long, coarsely rosetting; coarse texture.
Flowers & Fruits: Rarely grows arborescent clusters of yellow flowers on a 15- to 20-foot stalk; sterile fruits, but might grow bulbils on stalks after flowering.
Seasonal Color: None
Temperature: Mostly tolerant of desert heat, hardy to 20oF.
Light: Full sun, except will look a little less stressed in Phoenix with a few hours of protection from the extreme summer western sun.
Soil: Tolerant
Watering: Limited to no supplemental irrigation is required for Sharkskin agave. Irrigation will increase vigor somewhat.
Pruning: None
Propagation: Division of underground rhizomes.
Disease and Pests: None
Additional comments: If you're a small agave collector like me, you have to have this wonderful small agave in your garden or front yard landscape for all to see. It's totally people friendly.
Taxonomic illumination: The taxonomy of Sharkskin agave is confusing and somewhat disputed. Another name occassionally and incorrectly attributed to this wonderful hybrid is Agave 'Ruth Bancroft' from the Ruth Bancroft Gardens in Walnut Creek, California. This name is confusing and apparently not supported by the Ruth Bancroft Garden staff who would rather have their similar looking Agave hybrid selection called 'Sharkskin Shoes' to differentiate their plants from those originating from the Huntington Gardens.
