Endangered in it's native babitat of Nuevo Leon, Chihuahua, Mexico, Agave victoriae-reginae is one of the prettiest in the genus. When mature it forms a spherical rosette up to 18 inches in diameter. It is fairly slow growing so this takes some time. It's main attractions are the beautifully patterned leaves and it's compact size.
     The one above will be planted in my garden and is only about 5 inches across. The picture below is of some handsome specimens at the Desert Museum in Tucson. Too bad it wasn't a cloudy day, the shadows wouldn't be so bad. The other picture, donated by Geoff, a fellow member of the Davesgarden.com gardening forums, is of a stunning variegated form known as "Golden Princess". Thanks Geoff :-) Click HERE for a gallery of more of Geoffs pictures.

At the Desert Museum

Beautiful variegated form