Mangave Bed: This irregularly shaped, slightly sloping garden bed is about 25 feet long and up to 15 feet wide. On one side, a row of round concrete pads provides access to a seating wall next to an adjacent garden bed. The column summarizes the development of this bed. (Courtesy Tom Karwin)
Mangave ‘Inkblot’ (parentage not reported): One of the smaller varieties, this plant grows to 8 inches high and 22 inches wide. Its dark green, blue-shaded leaves with blood-red spots arch downward with curled-up margins. The leaves have striking white marginal spines that are soft to the touch. (Courtesy Tom Karwin)
Mangave ‘Lavender Lady’ (Mangave ‘Bloodspot’ x Agave attenuate): Atop the rosette, the plant forms smoky purple ovate leaves with subdued burgundy purple dots. As they age, the leaves lighten to green for a two-tone effect. Each 1.5″ wide leaf has tiny white marginal spines and a cinnamon brown terminal spine. Mangave ‘Bloodspot’ is a hybrid (Manfreda maculosa x Agave macroacantha), making this cultivar a second-generation (F2) hybrid. (Courtesy Tom Karwin)
Mangave ‘Macho Mocha’ (Manfreda variegata x Agave celsii): This result of natural crossbreeding could be the first Mangave ever found. It grows 2-3 feet. high and 4-6 feet wide, with thick, gray-green leaves washed in lavender and covered with brown-purple spots. Hybridization mimics natural crossbreeding. (Courtesy Tom Karwin)
Mangave ‘Mission to Mars’ (Manfreda species not recorded x Agave shawii): A fast-growing plant reaches 2 feet high and 3-4 feet wide. Its gray-green leaves are heavily spotted with burgundy dots, suggesting the “red planet” Mars. The upwardly curved leaves are edged with cinnamon-colored teeth. (Courtesy Tom Karwin)
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Mangave Bed: This irregularly shaped, slightly sloping garden bed is about 25 feet long and up to 15 feet wide. On one side, a row of round concrete pads provides access to a seating wall next to an adjacent garden bed. The column summarizes the development of this bed. (Courtesy Tom Karwin)
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In this column, we report substantial progress in developing a garden bed for a collection of Mangaves.
We have become accustomed to regarding Mangaves as hybrids of two closely related genera: Agave and Manfreda, both primarily Mexican natives.
Recently, taxonomists determined that Manfredas are really Agaves and renamed all Manfreda plants as Agave species. Because Mangaves are now crosses between two species in the same genus, they are now known botanically by the nothogenus name x Mangave. We still refer to them as Mangaves.
Plant nerds will find that update interesting, so let’s focus on the gardening project: developing a plant bed.
Background of the Mangave bed
Two of our columns earlier this year described Mangave plants briefly, outlined why we wanted to move our Mangave collection to a new bed, and summarized our study of the use of stones in the new bed. To review those archived columns, browse to santacruzsentinel.com, search for “Karwin,” then scroll down to the column titles, “Plant Exchange,” and “Arranging Succulent Plants.”
Today’s image gallery
This column includes samples of the Mangaves already in my collection, and an image of the current condition of the Mangave bed.
Preparing the bed
This property slopes gently from the street to the back boundary, reflecting the larger environment. The targeted garden bed, once emptied, was flat and appeared below grade, so we brought in about 2 yards of topsoil to create a fuller profile.
We considered using more soil to form a mound, but that would be inconsistent with the yard’s slope. We received the topsoil delivery on our driveway, wheelbarrowed it onto the target bed, and raked it to the intended gentle slope.
As previously reported, we already had several basalt stones, called lava rock, in a range of sizes. We placed them in the bed to suggest a lava flow, beginning with the largest stones at the high end and arranging the graduated sizes in two lines leading to the bed’s lower areas.
Installing the Mangaves
We had accumulated our Mangave collection in large containers on the patio. We lifted the plants and placed them as bare roots on a tarp, to free container spaces for the plants we removed from the targeted bed. These succulent plants can survive out of the ground for a week, until we prepare the bed to install the plants.
We installed the Mangaves quickly, to get them in the ground, and provide time to study their relationships to each other and to the stones. Because Mangaves occur in a range of sizes, we also needed to list each plant’s mature size to space them appropriately. We hadn’t tagged all these plants, so we had to identify each cultivar through online searches. We are still pursuing that task.
We discarded one of the plants that had bloomed and was declining. See Advance Your Gardening Knowledge (below) about monocarpism.
Adding gravel mulch
A few days later, we added a 3-inch layer of gravel mulch to discourage weeds, retain soil moisture, and provide a decorative setting. While we do not know that Mangaves typically grow in a gravelly area, this mulch suggests the natural habitat for succulent plants.
The gravel grains, about 1-half-inch wide, are light gray in color, providing contrast with the black lava rock and prominence for the Mangaves.
Adding to the collection
When we moved our Mangave collection from the patio containers to the new bed, we saw ample space for younger specimens to grow, and the opportunity for adding new plants.
Mangaves are relatively new to the garden. Plant nurseries introduced the first variety (Mangave ‘Macho Mocha’) in 2004, after it had been grown from the seeds of a natural crossbreed in Mexico.
Hybridizers soon discovered the potential results from crossing Manfreda and Agave species. During the past 20 years, they have developed numerous cultivars of interest. Plant collectors now can enjoy Mangaves’ range of sizes, rosette forms, foliage colors and spines. Most Mangaves have relatively soft, small marginal spines, or none, and the occasional terminal spines are also soft to the touch, making these plants friendlier than many Agaves.
Aspiring collectors of Mangaves can find these plants in garden centers, but their options are usually limited or nonexistent. Some online nurseries offer small plants:
Plant Delights Nursery: Go to plantdelights.com and search for Mangave.
Walters Gardens: Visit www.waltersgardens.com and search for Mangave.
Mad About Mangaves: browse to madaboutmangave.com where no search is needed.
Our collection will grow over time.
Advance your gardening knowledge
Most plants are polycarpic, meaning they continue to grow after flowering. In contrast, monocarpic plants reproduce by flowering once and then die. The term monocarpic means “single fruit.”
Most Agave species are monocarpic, and only a small number of Agave species are polycarpic. Most Mangaves, unlike their parent Agave, are polycarpic. They do not die after blooming and may bloom every summer.
Another characteristic of Agaves is their reproduction. They occur in two groups: clumping and solitary. Most Agaves are clumpers, meaning when they mature, they produce offsets (“pups”) and develop into clumps. Several Agave species are solitary, meaning they reproduce through seeds grown on flower stalks. When grown in cultivation. Some Agaves could also produce offsets.
Almost all Mangaves are clumpers.
Visit livetoplant.com/how-to-care-for-mangave-plant/ for basic advice on growing Mangaves,
Mark your calendar
Reminder: our previous column announced a local opportunity for gardeners to add cactuses and succulents to their gardens. The Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society will present its Fall Show and Sale this coming weekend. To access a wide selection of low-cost plants, visit this event on Saturday, Sept. 13, or Sunday, Sept. 14. Visit www.mbsucculent.org for details.
This week in the garden
Enjoy your garden!
Tom Karwin is a past president of Friends of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and the Monterey Bay Iris Society, a past president and Lifetime Member of the Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society, a Lifetime UC Master Gardener (Certified 1999–2009), past board member of the Santa Cruz Hostel Society, and a current member of the Pacific Horticultural Society and other garden-related societies. To view photos from his garden, click here: https://www.facebook.com/ongardeningcom-566511763375123/. To review the archive of recent On Gardening columns, visit www.santacruzsentinel.com/ and search “Karwin.” Visit ongardening.com to review columns from 2012–2020 (and soon) from 2025. Please send comments or questions to gardening@karwin.com via email.
Originally Published: September 11, 2025 at 1:33 PM PDT
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