Actual size and flowering may vary slightly based on season.
Dwarf Butterfly Agave (Isthmensis)
Dwarf Butterfly Agave (Isthmensis) is a miniature agave that stays about a foot tall and wide. Its powder-blue leaves are narrow at the base and wide at the tips, edged with dark red teeth and tipped with a red spine. It makes pups that stay tucked close to the mother plant, slowly forming a tight clump. It is at home in a pot, a small bed or a rock garden.
Best for: patio pots and planters, small beds and rock gardens, and a blue contrast next to golden barrel cactus.
Its small size and compact form suit a pot or planter. Mix it with other low-water plants or give it a pot of its own.
Pups form close around the mother plant, slowly building a tight clump. It fits small beds and rock gardens where a big agave would crowd the space.
The powder-blue leaves and red teeth stand out beside golden barrel cactus. Plant them as a pair for color contrast.
Hot afternoon sun is hard on it, so give it morning or filtered sun. It is damaged below about 25°F, so cover it on frosty nights.
- Tight group2 ft apart, center to center
- Looser group3 ft apart, center to center
Plant into dry soil and wait about 1 to 2 weeks before the first watering in warm weather. Then water about every other week while nights stay above 60°F. Light shade cloth for the first few weeks helps it settle in.
It is drought resistant, but water it every week or two in the hot, dry season. Water less in fall and winter, and let the soil dry between waterings.
Plant it where it gets morning sun or filtered light. Keep it out of hot afternoon sun.
Cover it with frost cloth that reaches the ground on frosty nights, or move a pot under a patio cover.
Watch for wilting or wrinkled leaves and a plant that rocks loose. Overwatered agaves draw the beetle, so keep the soil on the dry side and remove an infested plant quickly.
Drainage test first. Dig the hole and fill it with water. If water is still sitting in the hole a day later, you likely hit caliche, clay or hard soil, so fix the drainage before planting. If it drains very fast, the soil is sandy. Standing water around roots is a common reason new plants fail.
Weed cloth. Cut it away from the planting hole and where the roots will spread. Remove any plastic sheeting completely, since it keeps water and air out of the soil.
Rock or decomposed granite with no soil underneath. Bring in soil close in texture to your native soil, mix it with the soil below, and build up enough depth for roots before planting.
If you can break through. Use a breaker bar, pick, or jackhammer. Dig through the caliche and break out the solid chunks. Backfill with the soil you dug out, with no compost or manure in the hole. Confirm drainage before planting.
If you cannot break through. Dig narrow holes through the hard layer beside the root ball, not under it, and refill them with the same soil, not gravel. If it still will not drain, plant on a low mound of the same soil.
Root ball. Check the outside edges for any roots circling around. Loosen or cut those so they grow outward. Do not break up the center of the root ball.
Depth. The top of the root ball should sit at or just slightly above the surrounding soil level. Planting too deep can lead to rot and kill the plant.
Drip emitters. At planting, put the emitters on the root ball, on different sides of the plant. After about 2 months, move them to the outer edge of the root ball. Over the first year, add emitters farther out toward the edge of the branches as roots grow. Once a plant is rooted, never water only at the trunk.
How big does it get?
It stays about a foot tall and a foot wide, one of the smallest agaves.
Does it make pups?
Yes. It makes many pups that stay close to the mother plant. Leave them for a clump, or cut them off and replant them.
How much sun does it need in Phoenix?
Give it morning sun or filtered sun, and keep it out of hot afternoon sun.
How often should I water it?
It is drought resistant, but give it some extra water in the hot, dry season. Let the soil dry between waterings.
How cold can it take?
It is hardy to about 25°F. Cover it with frost cloth to the ground on frosty nights, or move a pot under cover.
Can it grow in a pot?
Yes. Its small size and compact form make it a good pot plant. Use a fast-draining mix and a pot with a drainage hole.
Does it bloom?
At maturity it sends up a branched stalk 6 to 7 feet tall with yellow flowers. Like most agaves, the rosette that blooms then dies, and the pups carry on.
Are the leaves sharp?
Yes. The edges carry dark red teeth, and each leaf ends in a red spine. Wear gloves when you handle it.
Dwarf Butterfly Agave (Isthmensis) for sale in Arizona, delivered to you
Dwarf Butterfly Agave (Agave isthmensis) is a miniature blue agave from southern Mexico. This page covers its size, pups, sun and shade, water, frost and pot care in the Valley.
Sourced from trusted Arizona growers and delivered directly to your door, job site, or property. We deliver across the Valley and to nearby towns, and quote delivery anywhere else in Arizona.
What is Agave isthmensis?
A miniature blue agave from the southern coast of Mexico, sold as dwarf butterfly agave.
How big does dwarf butterfly agave get?
About a foot tall and wide, with pups that stay close to the mother plant.
Sun for dwarf butterfly agave
Morning or filtered sun, out of the hot afternoon sun.
Watering in Phoenix
Drought resistant, with some extra water in the hot, dry season.
Is it frost hardy?
It is hardy to about 25°F. Protect it on frosty nights.
Growing it in a pot
Its compact form suits a pot with a fast-draining mix and a drainage hole.
We deliver across the Valley, from Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa out to San Tan Valley, Maricopa and Casa Grande, and up to Prescott, Sedona, Payson and Globe. See delivery areas and rates.