Agave schidigera ‘Durango Delight’ (Thread-leaf Agave) is a delightful introduction by Greg Starr, showcasing a beautiful, slow-growing century plant. It features a lovely solitary rosette about 18 inches tall and 2 feet wide, adorned with dark green leaves with a sharp terminal spine and charmingly curly white hairs along the edges. As this plant matures, it may surprise you with stunning red-purple buds and greenish flowers that emerge on a tall 10-foot spike. For the best results, plant it in full sun, though in hotter inland gardens, a little light shade or morning sun is preferable. Ensure it thrives in well-drained soil, occasionally watering during late spring and summer. It’s hardy down to around 15°F. We chose this selection for its incredible, dense, and symmetrical form, making it a fantastic choice for any garden or as a striking specimen in a container. Interestingly, it was grown from seeds collected by Greg Starr along Mexico’s highway 40, commonly known as the Mazatlán-Durango highway.
In its natural habitat, this species flourishes from Chihuahua down to Michoacán and stretches east to San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, and Durango. Although we received this plant as an Agave schidigera cultivar, it’s worth noting that Howard Scott Gentry had some doubts about treating Agave schidigera as a valid species in his book “Agaves of Continental North America.” More recently, experts Bernd Ullrich and Joachim Thiede have categorized it as a subspecies under Agave filifera (specifically Agave filifera ssp. schidigera). This distinction comes from its solitary nature and typically longer, more flexible leaves, which don’t thicken toward the base and flaunt particularly prominent flowers.
