MURRIETA, Calif. (AP) — Leo Ortega started growing spiky blue agave plants on the arid hillsides around his Southern California home because his wife liked the way they looked. A decade later, his ...

Agave nectar is a food source for pollinating bats, including the lesser long-nosed and Mexican long-nosed bats.

More than 100 California farmers have planted agave in the last five years as the industry grows 110% annually, with $2.3 billion market value.

SEQUIM — It took five Master Gardeners two hours and one trailer load to remove the popular agave plant that’s been at the corner of North Fifth Avenue and West Spruce Street for nearly 30 years.

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. MURRIETA, Calif. (AP) — Leo Ortega started ...