A darling, compact-growing agave for smaller spaces, King Agave makes an unexpectedly sleek bedmate to ball and prickly pear cacti, where its symmetric and geometrically delightful form can really make a contrast. Plants are slow-growing and long-lived, often going decades before flowering. Hailing from Mexico, this species excels in warmer portions of the western US and is appreciative of a mineral, sandy, or well-drained soil and dry site. This plant is sometimes sold under the outdated name Agave ferdinandi-regis or as Agave victoriae-reginae, which is said to have smaller, greener leaves and smaller black spines at leaf tips.