Dasylirion wheeleri
“Desert Spoon” “Sotol”

One of the most ornamental & architectural of desert plants, “Desert Spoon” forms a dramatic, symmetrically rounded, evergreen form to 3’ tall & wide. A member of the Agave/Nolina family, its attractive, graceful, blue-green, ribbon-like leaves are sharply toothed along the edges, adding an excellent sense of texture to the garden. A native of the Southwestern desert grasslands, it’s extremely heat & drought tolerant. Unlike Agaves, Dasylirion is perennial & blooms every few years from May to August with traffic stopping spikes to 8’ tall. Fabulous in large containers or in dry gardens as long as it has good drainage (NO CLAY!). Surprisingly hardy down to 5 degrees F. But if you go that low, you’ll probably want to protect it from Winter wet. An extremely useful plant, the Native Americans used it for making baskets, mats, ropes & liquor (“Sotol”).