People-friendly agaves
Many gardeners like the beauty and grace of agaves but are afraid of them because of their often fierce armaments. It's true, many agave species have impressive (read: scary) teeth and spines. But there are plenty of others that are less likely to cause bodily harm when you get too close. Recently, I was asked which agaves are the most people-friendly. A dozen or so came to mind immediately, and a bit of research unearthed some others. The meaning of “people-friendly” is open to interpretation, but for me, the major factor is the lack of rip-your-skin teeth along the leaf margins—they are the biggest cause of injury. Do bear in mind that many species with smooth leaves still have a terminal spine at the leaf tip, so maintain some degree of caution when handling. A good example is Agave victoriae-reginae : It has rigid but smooth leaves that terminate in a stiff spine. Below is a listing of agave species, hybrids, and cultivars with reasonably smooth leaves. The list is in two par...