In Arizona, it is confined to the southern part of the state, in the counties of Pima, Santa Cruz, Graham, and Cochise.

[6] In New Mexico, Agave schottii is found only in the southwestern tip, in Hidalgo County.

treleasei has the status of Highly Safeguarded Native Plant and Salvage restricted, and is only found in Arizona's Pima County.

[7] This species grows in arid regions at elevations from 1,100–2,000 meters (3,609–6,562 feet) on sunny, open, gentle rocky slopes or in small drainages in high desert scrub, grassland, and juniper and oak woodlands on gneiss substrate.

Because its height is about that of a human's shin, and because it has sharp, spiny leaves, this species has been given the common name "shindagger".

[11] This is generally considered a low amount of nectar produced for flowers that are pollinated by birds or insect.

[11] However, the yellow flowers, sweet smell, and low protein concentration of the nectar, suggests it is pollinated by insects and/or birds.

[11] Agave schottii is a clonal plant, meaning it has the ability to clone itself and produce genetically identical offspring vegetatively.

Agave schottii proves to be a good model to observe this type of outcrossing.