A compact, low-slung rosette where olive-green foliage all but disappears beneath a wash of red-to-purple spotting — the more sun it takes, the more it looks set alight.

Origin of Name

× Mangave denotes a bigeneric hybrid between Manfreda and Agave, a nothogenus name coined in 2005 after wild-collected Manfreda seed germinated beside a flowering agave at a Texas nursery, producing unexpected hybrid seedlings. 'Blazing Saddles' is a cultivar name chosen for the plant's fiery coloring — dense red-purple spotting that can nearly obscure its base tone in bright light — with an evident wink toward the 1974 Mel Brooks film, in keeping with the playful naming style of Walters Gardens' Mad About Mangave® series. It was bred by hybridizer Hans A. Hansen at Walters Gardens in Zeeland, Michigan, from a hand-pollinated cross made on July 10, 2014, between a proprietary unnamed selection of Agave nizandensis (seed parent) and × Mangave 'Bloodspot' (pollen parent), trialed under the breeder code 14-171-15 and patented as US Plant Patent PP31,274.

Origin of Plant

Both sides of this hybrid's ancestry trace to Mexico. Agave nizandensis, the seed parent, is a narrow-leaved rosette endemic to a small area of Oaxaca. × Mangave 'Bloodspot', the pollen parent, is itself an older hybrid of uncertain origin combining Agave macroacantha (dry hillsides of Oaxaca and Puebla) with Manfreda maculosa (thornscrub of South Texas and northeastern Mexico). The cross was made under cultivation in Michigan; no such plant occurs in the wild.

Description

A compact, low-profile rosette reaching roughly 20 cm (8 in) tall and 35 cm (14 in) wide at maturity, considerably smaller than many mangave cultivars. Leaves are narrow, olive-green at base color, but so densely overlaid with reddish to purplish-red spotting in strong light that the leaves can read as solid red bands with only green margins remaining visible; small marginal teeth line each leaf edge. A mature specimen may send up a flowering stalk bearing tubular red blooms, after which the mother rosette typically offsets from the base rather than dying outright.

Conservation Status

'Blazing Saddles' is a patented nursery cultivar (PP31,274) with no wild population. Its seed parent, Agave nizandensis, is a narrow-range Oaxacan endemic of conservation concern in the wild; growing this cultivated hybrid places no collection pressure on that species.

Care

Light: Full sun brings out the deepest red-purple spotting; shadier conditions produce a greener, less contrasted plant.

Watering: Drought-tolerant once established; water thoroughly, then let the soil dry substantially before watering again. Reduce further in winter.

Soil: A gritty, fast-draining succulent or cactus mix; poor drainage is the most common cause of failure.

Temperature: Hardy outdoors in USDA zones 9a–11. Elsewhere, grow in a container and bring indoors before frost, keeping above about 15°C (60°F) for best color retention.

General tips: Feed lightly with a diluted, balanced fertilizer during the growing season. Naturally deer- and rabbit-resistant and largely pest-free; a low, spreading habit suits containers and border edges alike.

A Story Worth Telling

'Blazing Saddles' is one of several Mad About Mangave® cultivars bred from × Mangave 'Bloodspot' — itself a hybrid whose own parentage traces back further still, meaning this compact, fiery little plant is already three breeding generations removed from its wild Mexican ancestors, each generation folding in a little more color, spotting, and vigor along the way.