Monaco Hedgehog Agave

Hedgehog agave forms a dense, rounded rosette of narrow, rigid leaves and grows slowly. Its sharp tips give it a sculptural presence suited to sunny gravel gardens and spacious dry borders. ## Identity and garden use This species is commonly listed as *Agave stricta*, while Kew currently accepts *Echinoagave stricta*. “Monaco” on an illustrated specimen refers to the Jardin Exotique de Monaco in Palmaris’s caption; no cultivar epithet is used here. The Botanical Garden Iztacala at UNAM describes densely tufted, spreading rosettes native to Oaxaca and Puebla. ## Size, bloom, and setting The South Australian Botanic Gardens Plant Selector gives a cultivated size of about 0.6 m tall by 0.9 m wide and records red to purple flower spikes in spring and summer. Allow room around the leaf tips and mature flower spike, and keep the plant away from narrow paths. Plant it in full sun and very free-draining gravelly or sandy soil; it suits a dry garden where rainfall drains quickly. ## Maintenance Water sparingly after establishment and keep the crown dry during cool or wet periods. Remove offsets only when needed to contain the clump, and handle the rigid leaves carefully. Protect skin and eyes from the sharp terminal spines. [Kew’s Plants of the World Online](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/77338873-1) recognizes *Echinoagave stricta*; [UNAM Botanical Garden Iztacala](https://sitios.iztacala.unam.mx/jabiz/agave-stricta/) describes its form and range; the [South Australian Botanic Gardens Plant Selector](https://plantselector.botanicgardens.sa.gov.au/Plants/Details/653) provides the cultivated size, flowering season, and growing conditions; [Palmaris Agave collection](https://palmaris.org/html/agavstric.htm) shows the Monaco location caption.