WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Agave deserti, WUCOLS IV

How often to water desert agave in California

In July in the Central Valley, established desert agave needs about 0.2 gallons a week for a plant 2 feet across. Desert agave is a California native succulent with gray, deeply channeled leaves edged in small teeth and tipped with a spine. Offsets at the base slowly build a colony of rosettes. It needs full sun, very fast drainage and little or no irrigation once rooted. It takes cold best when its soil stays dry.

SucculentRated for 6 of 6 zones

How often to water desert agave, month by month

Your city
Plant width
2 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for desert agave and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: the plant’s WUCOLS rating times your city’s climate for the month, over the area the plant covers. Skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure plant width

A shrub with its width marked from one side to the other and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the plant, from the tips of the leaves on one side to the tips on the other.

Water the whole area the plant covers, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that area.

A wider plant means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While it is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil still damp a few inches down beside the rosettes means desert agave needs no water, even in summer heat
  • For a plant set out this year, soil dry well down at the root ball edge in summer calls for one slow, deep soak
  • After a winter with almost no rain, an established colony can start to decline, so check the deep soil before summer
  • Rosettes that soften and yellow at the base while the ground stays wet point to rot from poor drainage
  • A tall, branched stalk of yellow flowers is a normal stage for a mature rosette, not a cue to water more

How to water it

  • Plant desert agave in full sun in sandy, gravelly or rocky soil that drains fast, or on a raised mound in heavy ground
  • Water a new planting slowly at the edge of its root ball, then let the soil dry deeply before the next soak
  • Once it is established, skip routine irrigation and give a deep soak only after a very dry winter or a long summer drought
  • Run water onto the soil beside the clump, not into the channeled leaves or the center of a rosette
  • Keep gravel or bare ground around the colony instead of a thick organic mulch, and leave space for new offsets

Through the seasons

A new desert agave needs a few deep soaks in its first summer while its roots spread into the surrounding soil. After that it lives on rain in most years, though a nearly rainless year can still hurt it. It is evergreen, and mature rosettes send up branched stalks of bright yellow flowers in early summer. It handles cold best when its soil is dry, so skip winter irrigation. Winter rain covers the cool months on the coast and in the Central Valley. Desert winters are drier, but an established clump rarely needs water then. WUCOLS rates desert agave very low water in all six climate zones: the north-central coast, the Central Valley, the south coast, South Inland, the high desert and the low desert.

In pots

Desert agave suits a wide, fairly shallow pot that gives its offsets room to spread. Use a gritty cactus mix and a pot with open drainage holes. In summer heat, check the mix several inches down every few days, and water only when it is dry throughout. Soak until water runs from the holes, then empty the saucer. Through winter, keep the pot nearly dry and move it under an eave during long rainy spells. Place it where the spined leaf tips will not brush against legs or arms.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
0.27gal per sq ft in JulyVery low water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
1.71 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
0.070.150.220.300.04JAN0.07FEB0.11MAR0.15APR0.21MAY0.25JUN0.27JUL0.24AUG0.18SEP0.12OCT0.06NOV0.03DEC0.070.150.220.300.04JFM0.15AMJ0.27JAS0.12OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 0.27 in Jul, 1.71 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Desert Agave: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.040.040.080.080.070.08
Feb0.050.070.080.090.090.09
Mar0.090.110.110.130.150.15
Apr0.120.150.140.160.190.2
May0.150.210.160.20.240.24
Jun0.160.250.170.230.290.28
Jul0.160.270.20.250.30.29
Aug0.150.240.190.230.280.26
Sep0.120.180.150.190.210.21
Oct0.090.120.110.130.150.15
Nov0.050.060.080.090.090.1
Dec0.030.030.070.070.070.07
Year1.21.711.551.842.132.11

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 13

Rated very low water in the Central Valley, like desert agave. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

CactusOpuntia spp. & cvs. (CA natives and non-natives)very low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in JulyCypress SpurgeEuphorbia cyparissiasvery low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in JulyVariegated Century PlantAgave americana var. marginatavery low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in JulyThread Leaf AgaveAgave filiferavery low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in JulyPalmer AgaveAgave palmerivery low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in JulyButterfly AgaveAgave potatorumvery low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in JulySisalAgave sisalanavery low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in JulyCentury PlantAgave spp. & cvs.very low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in JulyBlue AgaveAgave tequilana & ssp. & cvs.very low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in JulyUtah AgaveAgave utahensisvery low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in JulyQueen Victoria AgaveAgave victoriae-reginaevery low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in JulyBeaked YuccaYucca rostrata ssp. & cvs.very low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in JulyParry's AgaveAgave parryivery low water, Central Valley0.27 gal/sq ft in July
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes desert agave, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How much should I water desert agave in summer?

In July, established desert agave needs about 0.2 gallons in the Central Valley, 0.1 gallons on the south coast and 0.2 gallons in the South Inland zone each week, for a plant 2 feet across. Water deeply and let the top of the soil dry before the next watering. Skip a watering after a soaking rain.

How much water does desert agave need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established desert agave needs about 0.0 gallons a day for a plant 2 feet across and about 0.1 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for desert agave change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates desert agave separately for each of the six California climate zones: very low water in the North-Central Coastal zone, very low water in the Central Valley zone, very low water in the South Coastal zone, very low water in the South Inland zone, very low water in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, very low water in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Is desert agave native to California?

Yes. It grows wild in the deserts of eastern Southern California, and its range continues into western Arizona, Sonora and northern Baja California. It belongs to creosote bush scrub, so it is adapted to very little rain.

Does desert agave die after it flowers?

Most agaves bloom only once, and the flowering rosette then dies. Desert agave grows in clumps, so the offsets around it carry on. Cut out the spent stalk and rosette once they have dried.

How cold can desert agave take?

One nursery reports it undamaged at 15 degrees F, and another lists it as hardy to 5 degrees F. Either way, dry soil is the key, since it takes cold best when kept dry. A potted plant should sit out of winter rain during cold spells.

Can desert agave grow in alkaline soil?

Yes. It tolerates alkaline and sandy soils, which suits many desert and inland gardens. Drainage matters more than soil chemistry. Avoid heavy clay that stays wet after rain, or plant on a gravelly mound.

Is desert agave safe around pets and kids?

Treat it with care. Each leaf ends in a sharp spine, the plant is listed as a skin irritant, and it is listed as harmful to dogs and cats if eaten. Set it back from paths and play areas, and wear gloves when you divide offsets.

Was desert agave used as food?

Yes, the Cahuilla people used desert agave for food. In gardens it is grown as an ornamental. Because it is listed as harmful if eaten by pets and irritating to skin, do not experiment with it in the kitchen.

More plant watering guides

Variegated Century PlantThread Leaf AgavePalmer AgaveButterfly AgaveSisalCentury PlantBlue AgaveUtah Agave

Sources