Actual size and flowering may vary slightly based on season.
Mateo's Agave
Mateo's Agave is a friendly agave with no hard spines, so it is easy to plant where people walk by. Its green leaves carry a pale stripe down the middle, rising from the center and arching back out. It grows about 2 to 3 feet tall and wide, and fills in with pups over time. Use it in a bed, along a walk or in a large pot.
Best for: beds along walks and entries, large pots, and xeriscape plantings in sun or light shade, where a spineless agave can fill in with pups over time.
The leaves have no hard spines, only soft edges and flexible tips. It suits a bed beside a walk or front door, where a spiny agave would be a problem.
At about 2 to 3 feet tall and wide, it fits a large pot. Use a pot and soil that drain well, and pull pups to keep the pot tidy.
Once rooted it needs little water. The pale center stripe on each green leaf gives a bed a bit of pattern without a spiny plant.
Soil that stays wet can rot it. It handles cold down to about 10 to 15°F, so cover it on the hardest freeze nights. Leave it room, since it forms a clump of pups.
- Group or mass planting2-3 ft apart
- Single specimen3 ft apart
Wait about 1 to 2 weeks after planting before you water, up to a month in cool weather. Then water about every other week while nights are above 60°F, and skip cool weeks unless it has been dry for weeks.
Once rooted, water deeply about every 2 weeks in summer, every 3 to 4 weeks in spring and fall, and little or none in winter. Let the soil dry out between soakings.
It grows in full sun to light shade. A new plant can go under light shade cloth for its first few weeks after planting.
It makes pups at the base and forms a clump over time. Cut a pup free with a clean knife and let it dry for several days before planting.
Drainage test first. Dig the hole and fill it with water. If water is still sitting in the hole a day later, you likely hit caliche, clay or hard soil, so fix the drainage before planting. If it drains very fast, the soil is sandy. Standing water around roots is a common reason new plants fail.
Weed cloth. Cut it away from the planting hole and where the roots will spread. Remove any plastic sheeting completely, since it keeps water and air out of the soil.
Rock or decomposed granite with no soil underneath. Bring in soil close in texture to your native soil, mix it with the soil below, and build up enough depth for roots before planting.
If you can break through. Use a breaker bar, pick, or jackhammer. Dig through the caliche and break out the solid chunks. Backfill with the soil you dug out, with no compost or manure in the hole. Confirm drainage before planting.
If you cannot break through. Dig narrow holes through the hard layer beside the root ball, not under it, and refill them with the same soil, not gravel. If it still will not drain, plant on a low mound of the same soil.
Root ball. Check the outside edges for any roots circling around. Loosen or cut those so they grow outward. Do not break up the center of the root ball.
Depth. The top of the root ball should sit at or just slightly above the surrounding soil level. Planting too deep can lead to rot and kill the plant.
Drip emitters. At planting, put the emitters on the root ball, on different sides of the plant. After about 2 months, move them to the outer edge of the root ball. Over the first year, add emitters farther out toward the edge of the branches as roots grow. Once a plant is rooted, never water only at the trunk.
What is Mateo's Agave?
It is a garden agave found as a seedling in a crop of squid agave, Agave bracteosa. Growers think the other parent was Agave lophantha. It is sold as Agave 'Mateo'.
Does Mateo's Agave have spines?
No hard spines. The leaf edges are soft and finely toothed, and the tips are flexible. That makes it one of the easier agaves to plant near a walk.
How big does Mateo's Agave get?
It grows about 2 to 3 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. With age it makes pups and can form a clump.
Does it need full sun?
It grows in full sun to light shade. Plant it in soil that drains well.
How often should I water it?
Once it is rooted, water deeply about every 2 weeks in summer and every 3 to 4 weeks in spring and fall. It needs little or no water in winter. Let the soil dry between waterings.
How cold can Mateo's Agave take?
It handles cold down to about 10 to 15°F. On hard freeze nights, cover it with frost cloth or a sheet that reaches the ground, not plastic, and take it off in the morning.
Does Mateo's Agave make pups?
Yes. It makes pups and forms a clump with age. To remove one, cut the connecting root with a clean knife, let the cut dry for several days, then plant it.
Does it bloom?
Yes, once. A tall stalk carries yellow and green flowers, and then that rosette dies. Its pups live on and keep growing. The flowers draw bats, birds and insects.
What is the difference between Mateo and squid agave?
Mateo came from a squid agave crop but looks different. Each leaf has a pale stripe down the middle, and the leaves rise from the center and arch back out.
Why is my agave soft or mushy?
Too much water or soil that stays wet is the common cause, and it leads to rot. Let the soil dry out between waterings and plant it where water drains away.
Is Mateo's Agave poisonous to dogs or cats?
Agave is mildly poisonous if chewed. The sap can irritate a pet's mouth and skin and upset the stomach. Keep pets from chewing on it.
Mateo's Agave for sale in Arizona, delivered to you
Mateo's Agave is a spineless agave with arching green leaves and a pale center stripe. It grows about 2 to 3 feet tall and wide and makes pups. This page covers spines, size, sun, water, cold, pups, blooming and how it compares to squid agave in a Valley yard.
Sourced from trusted Arizona growers and delivered directly to your door, job site, or property. We deliver across the Valley and to nearby towns, and quote delivery anywhere else in Arizona.
Is Mateo's Agave spineless?
Yes. It has no hard spines, only soft, finely toothed edges and flexible leaf tips. It is an agave you can plant beside a walk or entry.
How big does Mateo's Agave get?
It grows about 2 to 3 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. It makes pups with age and can fill in as a clump, so leave it some room.
Mateo's Agave vs squid agave
Mateo was found as a seedling in a squid agave crop and is thought to be a cross with Agave lophantha. Its leaves carry a pale stripe down the middle and arch back from the center.
How often do you water Mateo's Agave in Phoenix?
Once rooted, a deep soak about every 2 weeks in summer is plenty. Stretch it to every 3 to 4 weeks in spring and fall, with little or no water in winter. Soil that stays wet can rot it.
Is Mateo's Agave cold hardy in the Valley?
It handles cold down to about 10 to 15°F. On the coldest nights, cover it with frost cloth that reaches the ground, and take the cover off in the morning.
Does Mateo's Agave bloom?
It blooms once on a tall stalk with yellow and green flowers, and then that rosette dies. The pups around it keep the planting going.
Can Mateo's Agave grow in a pot?
Yes. At about 2 to 3 feet tall and wide, it fits a large pot. Use soil that drains well and pull pups as they come to keep one rosette.
We deliver across the Valley, from Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa out to San Tan Valley, Maricopa and Casa Grande, and up to Prescott, Sedona, Payson and Globe. See delivery areas and rates.