WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Agave americana var. marginata, WUCOLS IV

How often to water variegated century plant in California

In July in the Central Valley, established variegated century plant needs about 0.2 gallons a week for a plant 2 feet across. Variegated century plant is a large agave that forms a rosette 5 to 6 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide. Its stiff, gray-green leaves carry bold cream to yellow edges and sharp spines. It stores water in those thick leaves, so an established plant needs very little irrigation and can rot when kept wet.

SucculentRated for 6 of 6 zones

How often to water variegated century plant, 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 variegated century plant 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

  • Leaves turning thin, wrinkled or curled inward after a long, hot dry spell signal that a deep soak would help
  • Soil dry 4 inches down around the rosette is normal for this plant and calls for water only if the leaves also shrivel
  • Soft, yellowing lower leaves over damp soil can indicate overwatering and root rot
  • A whole rosette suddenly collapsing can follow agave weevil damage or rot at the base rather than thirst
  • Ragged holes chewed in the leaves point to snails or slugs, not to a watering problem

How to water it

  • Apply water to the soil around the rosette rather than into its center
  • Soak the root area deeply on the rare occasions it needs water, then let the soil dry out completely
  • Plant in full sun in sandy or gravelly, fast draining soil, ideally on a slope or mound
  • Keep it out of lawn and flower bed irrigation zones that wet the soil often
  • Give it room to spread, and dig or thin the suckers that form around its base

Through the seasons

A new variegated century plant needs a deep soak at planting and occasional water through its first warm season while roots spread. Established plants live on stored water and need irrigation only in long, hot dry spells, if at all. Winter rain usually covers it on the coast and in the Central Valley, and desert plants need little or no water through a dry winter. After several decades it sends up a tall flower stalk, then the main rosette dies while its offsets carry on. WUCOLS rates it very low water on the north-central coast, in the Central Valley, South Inland, the high desert and the low desert. It rates low water on the south coast.

In pots

Variegated century plant grows well in a large, heavy container that will not tip under the rosette. Use a pot with big drainage holes and a gritty cactus mix. Check the mix regularly in summer heat and water only when it is dry all the way through. Let water run out freely, and never leave the pot sitting in a saucer of water. Place it where the spines will not catch passersby. In winter, water rarely, and move the pot under cover when a freeze below about 15 degrees F is coming.

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
0.200.400.590.790.04JAN0.07FEB0.11MAR0.15APR0.21MAY0.25JUN0.27JUL0.24AUG0.18SEP0.12OCT0.06NOV0.03DEC0.200.400.590.790.04JFM0.15AMJ0.27JAS0.12OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 0.27 in Jul, 1.71 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Variegated Century Plant: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.040.040.310.080.070.08
Feb0.050.070.320.090.090.09
Mar0.090.110.460.130.150.15
Apr0.120.150.560.160.190.2
May0.150.210.640.20.240.24
Jun0.160.250.690.230.290.28
Jul0.160.270.790.250.30.29
Aug0.150.240.740.230.280.26
Sep0.120.180.60.190.210.21
Oct0.090.120.460.130.150.15
Nov0.050.060.330.090.090.1
Dec0.030.030.260.070.070.07
Year1.21.716.21.842.132.11

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 variegated century plant. 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 JulyDesert AgaveAgave desertivery 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 variegated century plant, 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 variegated century plant in summer?

In July, established variegated century plant needs about 0.2 gallons in the Central Valley, 0.6 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 variegated century plant need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established variegated century plant 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 variegated century plant change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates variegated century plant 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, 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.

Does variegated century plant really take 100 years to bloom?

No. It usually blooms after several decades, sending up a tall stalk with yellow-green flowers that draw hummingbirds. The main rosette dies after flowering. Suckers around its base live on and replace it.

Is century plant sap irritating?

Yes. Sap from the leaves contains calcium oxalate crystals and can cause skin irritation. Wear gloves and long sleeves when trimming leaves or removing offsets. Plant it away from paths so the spines cannot catch anyone.

What do I do with the pups around my century plant?

Dig the suckers with some roots attached and replant them in fast draining soil. Water lightly until they root in. After that, treat them like the parent plant.

Can you overwater a century plant?

Yes. Root rot can set in when the soil stays moist, especially in poorly drained ground. Let the soil dry out completely between soakings. Soft, yellowing lower leaves are an early warning.

How cold hardy is variegated century plant?

It is cold hardy to about 15 degrees F. In colder spots, grow it in a pot that can move under cover during hard freezes. Keep the soil on the dry side through winter.

Can century plant grow near the beach?

Yes. It is highly salt tolerant and likes full sun with sandy soil. That makes it a good fit for coastal gardens with sharp drainage.

More plant watering guides

Nuttall's Scrub OakDesert AgaveThread Leaf AgavePalmer AgaveButterfly AgaveSisalCentury PlantBlue Agave

Sources