Plant Calculator
Enter the approximate length and width of the area you will be planting and click 'Calculate' to determine how many Agave ovatifolia 'Vanzie' you will need.
*Correct and successful spacing is complex and depends on project conditions.
Agave, Whale's Tongue
Agave ovatifolia 'Vanzie'
- Bold focal point
- Drought tolerant
- Cold hardy
- Category: Trees & Shrubs
- Hardiness Zone: 7a
- Height: 3-4 ft
- Spread: 4-6 ft
- Spacing: 6-8 ft
- Bloom Color: White, Yellow
Whale's Tongue Agave is native to northeastern Mexico but has proven exceptionally well-adapted across Texas, performing reliably in Central, North, West, and South Texas. Its combination of cold hardiness and drought tolerance makes it one of the most versatile agaves available for Texas landscapes, and it handles alkaline soils and reflected heat without complaint. It is equally at home in xeriscape designs, rock gardens, and traditional landscape settings across virtually every region of the state.
At maturity, Whale's Tongue Agave forms a solitary, symmetrical rosette reaching 3 to 4 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide, with broad, cupped, powder-blue to silver-gray leaves arranged in a tight spiral. It does not produce offsets like many agave species, so each plant remains a single, architectural specimen. Space plants at least 6 to 8 feet apart to allow for full expression of the rosette. It excels as a bold accent or focal point, a specimen in rock gardens, or a dramatic anchor in mass plantings of mixed succulents and xeriscape perennials. When mature plants flower — typically after 10 or more years — the spike can reach 12 to 14 feet tall, bearing dense clusters of yellow-green blooms. As with all agaves, the rosette dies after flowering, though seed and bulbils are produced for propagation.
Whale's Tongue Agave thrives in full sun and tolerates light shade. It requires well-drained soil and adapts well to sandy, rocky, gravelly, or alkaline conditions. Poor drainage is its primary enemy and will cause rot at the base. Once established, it is exceptionally drought tolerant and requires very little supplemental water. It is strongly deer resistant. The leaf margins carry small curved teeth and a terminal spine of 1 to 2 inches, a notable hazard near walkways or high-traffic areas.