Agave Aloe

🌿 Botanical Overview

• Agave
  • Scientific Name: Agave spp.
  • Common Names: Agave, Century Plant
  • Family: Asparagaceae
  • Native Range: Mexico, southwestern U.S., Central America
• Aloe
  • Scientific Name: Aloe spp. (commonly Aloe vera)
  • Common Names: Aloe, Aloe Vera, Burn Plant
  • Family: Asphodelaceae
  • Native Range: Arabian Peninsula; naturalized in Africa, India, tropics worldwide

🌼 Description

• Agave
  • Succulent rosette with thick, rigid leaves, often ending in sharp tips and spines on margins
  • Color ranges from gray-blue to green
  • Monocarpic: flowers once, then dies
  • Flower stalks can be very tall (up to 10 m or more)
• Aloe
  • Rosette-forming succulent with soft, fleshy leaves often with toothed edges
  • Leaf interior contains soothing gel
  • Flowers are tubular, yellow to orange, on upright spikes
  • Non-monocarpic: flowers repeatedly

🌍 Habitat and Growth

• Agave
  • Thrives in arid to semi-arid climates
  • Requires full sun and sandy, well-drained soil
  • Highly drought-tolerant
  • Slow-growing
• Aloe
  • Prefers warm, dry to tropical climates
  • Tolerates poor, sandy soils but needs good drainage
  • Grows best in full sun to light shade
  • Moderate growth rate; more water-tolerant than Agave