Agave Royal Spine vs. Little Shark

Here’s a little mystery that agave fans might find interesting—and that might put everybody else to sleep (that’s OK, don’t feel bad).

A few years ago, Allen Repashy of Xeric Growers introduced a new agave hybrid that had people drooling. Called ‘Royal Spine’, it was said to be a cross between Agave macroacantha and Agave victorae-reginae ‘Compacta’. It had a colorful story (read it here), which contributed to its mystique. Availability was very limited at first and prices were high, but thanks to tissue culturing, ‘Royal Spine’ is now available more widely through independent nurseries. I just received my very own specimen from Yucca Do and it’s a beauty:

Agave ‘Royal Spine’

Agave ‘Royal Spine’

When I received my ‘Royal Spine’, I couldn’t help but notice its similarity to an agave hybrid I bought earlier this year at Green Acres, a Sacramento-area nursery I’ve written about before. Sold as Agave ‘Little Shark’, it is marketed by Proven Winners and was featured by Sunset Magazine as one of “25 plants for a pop culture-inspired garden.”

Agave ‘Little Shark’

According to Rancho Soledad Nurseries, ‘Little Shark’ is also a cross between Agave macroacantha and Agave victorae-reginae.

Agave ‘Little Shark’

Here are my ‘Royal Spine’ (left) and ‘Little Shark’ side by side. ‘Royal Spine’ is greener than ‘Little Shark’ but that could be because of growing conditions (don’t forget that I’ve had ‘Little Shark’ since July but ‘Royal Spine’ just arrived last Friday). If you look at these photos on the Proven Winners web site, ‘Little Shark’ looks more or less the same as ‘Royal Spine’.

LEFT: Agave ‘Royal Spine’
RIGHT: Agave ‘Little Shark’

While both hybrids have the same parents, it’s too early for me to tell whether they are essentially identical. Does it really matter, you might ask? Well, to agave aficionados it does, but in the grand scheme of things, well, I don’t think it will move the earth one way or another :-).