Agave parryi 1684

[Gafoto]

My parryi x flexispina doesn’t share much of a resemblance:

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I dug up some old pictures of what I’m fairly sure is Agave ‘Kichiokan’ or similar growing at Succulent Gardens in Castroville, CA (with a large bonus ‘Cream Spike’):

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The leaves of these cultivars have a notably narrow waist, even at a young age.

[Gee.S]

^ Same marginals, terminals as OP.

[ccm2000]

@ChrisG Thanks for the info, yes kind of a shame its probably not going to have those great marginal teeth but it’ll be interesting to see how they end up comparing.

Speaking of parryi this one I planted earlier this year also has atypical marginals. Based on this I’ve been thinking it could be parryi x Ditepalae hybrid. Any thoughts?

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[MJP]

"I dug up some old pictures of what I’m fairly sure is Agave ‘Kichiokan’ or similar growing at Succulent Gardens in Castroville, CA (with a large bonus ‘Cream Spike’)"

I agree.

So, it begs the question, "What is Agave 'Kichijokan'?" That is to say, to what Agave species are its known or presumed parents?

[Melt in the Sun]

IIRC Greg Starr has confidently labeled 'Kichijokan' as A. isthmensis...@agavegreg feel free to correct me!

I cannot believe people are still saying these plants look the same. If 'Kichijokan' were to ever reach the diameter of the plant in the OP , second photo (which I doubt is possible), it would have 3 times as many leaves and they would be stacked up into a 2' high pseudo-cylindrical plant - that's what these do when they get old. See the 5th photo here: https://succulentsworld.com.au/products ... -kichiokan

@Blue Agave, are the leaves on your plant rough or smooth?

[Gafoto]

Is isthmensis hardy at all? I’ve grown a bunch of the various cultivars in pots but I don’t think they’ve ever seen frost.

[Melt in the Sun]

Is isthmensis hardy at all? I’ve grown a bunch of the various cultivars in pots but I don’t think they’ve ever seen frost.

In my experience, not really...and you are much colder than Tucson.

[Gee.S]

Is isthmensis hardy at all? I’ve grown a bunch of the various cultivars in pots but I don’t think they’ve ever seen frost.

Takes some serious damage mid-upper 20s. Kissho Kan about the same.

[ChrisG]

@ccm2000 It still cope turn out the same as mine. I looked at my offsets and they all had the same spines as yours and leaf shape when small.

@Gafoto neither isthmensis or kissho kan survive at my lows of -9c (16f) even kept dry let alone totally unprotected as @Paul S mentioned.

@Melt in the Sun they are totally smooth front and back in that respect very much like parryi.