×Mangave is an intergeneric hybrid derived from crosses of two North American genera, Agave and Manfreda. The name was first coined in 2005 by Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery and Carl Schoenfeld and Wade Roitsch of Yucca Do Nursery to describe two plants growing at Yucca Do Nursery in Hempstead, Texas. The plants originated from Manfreda seed collected in the wild in Northern Mexico that were growing adjacent to plants of Agave mitis. Only two seedlings from the original seed batch were intergeneric hybrids. Another cultivar of the plant, ×Mangave 'Bloodspot, was the product of breeding Manfreda maculosa and Agave macroacantha in Japan. Around the same time ×Mangave 'Bloodspot was being developed, these crosses were being made by others including Dr. John Lindstrom of the University of Arkansas and Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery/Juniper Level Botanic Garden in Raleigh, North Carolina. Two breakthroughs in the development of the intergeneric hybrid came when Hans Hansen of Shady Oaks Nursery in Minnesota became the first person to successfully tissue culture ×Mangave. Both ×Mangave 'Bloodspot' and ×Mangave 'Macha Mocha' were tissue culturedin vitro, resulting in both becoming more widespread in cultivation. Tissue culture also resulted in two new cultivars derived from a mutation of ×Mangave 'Macho Mocha'. These were named ×Mangave 'Espresso' and ×Mangave 'Cappucino'. Upon moving from Minnesota to Michigan to become a plant breeder for Walters Gardens, Hans Hansen dived deeper into ×Mangave breeding, creating over 40 cultivars as of 2018.
Description
The plant appears as a compact, symmetrical agave with succulent leaves. It grows up to four feet high and six feet wide. The leaves of the plant are stiff, fragile, and variable in foliage color and patterns. ×Mangaveflowers in June and July, producing brown flowers. ×Mangave inherit the drought-resisting traits of both parent plants. They can resist high temperatures and direct sunlight, but prefer shade. The plant can survive below freezing temperatures, but can become damaged if the temperature drops below -6 degrees Celsius.
