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Products > Agave striata 'Guadalcazar'
 
Agave striata 'Guadalcazar' - Guadalcazar Espadín
   
Image of Agave striata 'Guadalcazar'
 
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Succulent
Family: Agavaceae (now Asparagaceae)
Origin: Mexico (North America)
Evergreen: Yes
Red/Purple Foliage: Yes
Flower Color: Red & Yellow
Bloomtime: Infrequent
Height: <1 foot
Width: <1 foot
Exposure: Full Sun
Summer Dry: Yes
Irrigation (H2O Info): No Irrigation required
Winter Hardiness: 0-10° F
Agave striata 'Guadalcazar' (Guadalcazar Espadín) - A very hardy agave from northeastern Mexico that forms dense stands of rosettes with long gray-green pencil-thin sharp-pointed leaves that typically can be to 40 inches tall but in this form are less than half of this. When mature the flowers appear on long unbranched spikes in the fall.

Plant in full sun or dry shade with little to no irrigation - drier plants in full sun often get a beautiful red coloration. Considered very hardy tolerating temperatures to at least 0 ° F but in colder areas should have very good drainage or otherwise stay fairly dry in winter.

This smaller form of Agave striata is found west of Guadalcazar in the Mexican State of San Luis Potosí. Ruth Bancroft Plant Curator Brian Kemble describes it as smaller than other populations of the species that he had seen. Other common names include Espadillo, Guapilla, Soyate and Sotolito. This plant not only looks more like a Yucca but it is noted as being one of the few Agave that is not monocarpic, so it does not die after flowering. Rather the stem branches at the point where the inflorescence initiates and multiple rosettes form, a trait that is again, much like a yucca.

We received seed of this plant in 2007 and we built up stock to vegetatively propagate and sell it from 2011 until closing the nursery in 2025. 

Information displayed on this page about Agave striata 'Guadalcazar' is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.

 
San Marcos Growers closed for regular business at the end of 2025 as the property is being developed for affordable housing.
While our gates remain closed, we will open them by appointment so we can liquidate remaining plants, supplies and equipment. The plants remaining in the field are listed on our Live Inventory Page.
 
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