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Agave x ‘Mateo’
Mateo's Agave!
The great new introduction was found in a seedling batch of Agave bracteosa at San Marcos Growers in California. The plant was noticed because it has a distinctive yellow strip down the center of the leaf, which indicates that it crossed with some species of the Marginatae Group of Agaves, from which A. lophantha if grouped. Fortunately this plant has the good traits of both parents. Agave x Mateo has the succulent, soft, fleshy leaves of A. bracteosa and has a yellow bright mid-strip of its Marginatae parent (presumable A. lophantha) but does not have the vicious, spiny leave margins that many species of the Marginatae group exhibit. Exact cold hardiness has not been tested but based on parentage it should be moderately cold hardy.
Upsate: During the record cold of February 2011 this agave received no damage when temps. fell into the teens and low 20's for 4 straight nights.
Correction: In a prior description and in the printed catalog Agave celsii was incorrectly listed as one of the parents of this hybrid. This plant was selected out of a batch of A. bracteosa not A. celsii, as listed before.
