Agave ‘Cream Spike’ is a variegated, low-growing agave, bearing olive-green leaves with a cream margin, and dark brown spines. It eventually forms an enormous rosette of stiff, dangerously pointed leaves.
Agave plants are best known as succulent plants with large leaves that end in spiny tips. At first glance, you probably wouldn’t call agave plants rosettes, although they are. So many of the common ones are spiny succulents, with leaves that jut out in often dangerous spikes. There is a lot of variety in the agave genus. There are the large, stiff specimens that can grow to 20 feet in diameter. There are also small dish-sized agaves, and agave plants with soft leaves and no spines, although most do have leaves that end in a sharp point. Agave applanata 'Cream Spike' is a small rosette-forming succulent that grows to only 4 inches tall by about 6 inches wide with olive green leaves margined with cream-colored edges and dark brown spines. The margins occasionally have a seasonal slight flush of red at the leaf tip and base.
Although mature plants are very drought tolerant, when you are first establishing a plant outdoors, water it every four to five days for the first month. Then once a week, gradually spacing watering to every other week, depending on the weather.
Agave plants need a spot in full sun to partial shade. The hotter the climate is, the more shade they can handle.
Agave will tolerate any well-draining soil, but their preference is rocky or sandy soil. They are not particular about soil pH.
Don’t feed agave plants. Agaves seem to take care of themselves. Feeding encourages flowering, which you don’t want to happen too soon since agave plants die off after flowering.
While regarded by many as an indoor or seasonal plant for growing outdoors in summer, 'Cream Spike' is said to be able to survive temperatures down to -8°C. The best option is to take the plant indoors when the temperatures are getting low.
