Thursday, March 14, 2013

Dasylirion wheeleri; my favorite plant in the garden this week…


One sunny morning last week I opened the front door and was shocked by the sight of shining teeth on this Dasylirion wheeleri. They were glowing, lit by the sun. Unfortunately the camera wasn't able to capture exactly what my eyes saw, but this will hopefully give you an idea.

I've had this particular Dasylirion since 2006, it was a tiny thing when I got it, and as you can see it hasn't grown as large as you might expect in 7 years. Ah well, at least it’s still alive!

Actually I should confess I have 5 of them. Three are on the greener side (like this one) and the two I bought at Cactus Jungle last year at about this time are much bluer.

Another favorite feature, the frayed tips of the leaves, Plant Delights Nursery calls them a "cowlick curl...like Elvis used to have."

The stats:
  • Also known as Desert Spoon / Sotol
  • Hardy in zones 7a-11
  • Eventual size 3’-8’ tall (I’m guessing that 8’ number includes the bloom) and 4’-5’ wide
  • Drought tolerant and needs well drained soil (winter wet is a no-no)
  • Full sun

I love this plant!

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

19 comments:

  1. Lovely but wicked plant! I bet you don't do much gardening underneath it. I had one inside my garden until it became too big. It was a killer getting it out. I just chucked it outside somewhere on the lot. It survived and is much happier out there.

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    1. Funny you should say that as somehow a bit of wild garlic seems to have come in with one of them. Every spring I risk my fingers trying to pull them out.

      I remember you shared pictures of your dasylirion "in the wild"...it was beautiful!

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  2. 8 feet??!! Yikes, I think my one and only is poorly sited for that kind of growth. Still, it's pretty small now, and at least it made it through winter. We'll see whether I've managed to provide enough drainage to get it through spring rains!

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    1. Just the bloom stalk...and who knows if we'll ever see that happen here. I've lost one of these over the years. It was mid March when I looked at it and realized the whole thing was a sickly shade of brown.

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  3. I love your dasylirions. they are an incredibly rare find around here. I saw them last summer and regret not scooping them up! but there''s always cistus orders!!!! :)

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    1. Indeed there is! I can't wait to hear all about what you get.

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  4. Impressive, mine died in the rainy winter of 2012. If we got too much rain, I can only imagine the challenge for you.

    I think you did capture the sundrops glowing quite nicely.

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    1. I heard of a few that died a rainy death in California too. We are pretty dry here so far for March (only 1/2 and inch of rain!) but that's supposed to change next week.

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  5. Beautiful plants! You are wonderful with all of those plants that like a dry situation in our soggy winters!

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    1. Unfortunately there are a few agaves with mushy leaves out there...the trials continue!

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  6. Gorgeous definitely! And envious of all the sunshine you guys are having there!

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    1. It's been pretty wonderful! There have actually been more clouds this week but still fairly dry, perfect for getting a jump on spring garden chores.

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  7. So beautiful with the backlighting!

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    1. Weren't you talking about buying one of these?

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  8. One of my favorite succulents of all time. Ironically, I don't have one myself because I don't have room, but whenever I come across one, I'm immediately drawn to it.

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    1. Since it certainly would achieve it's promised size in your garden AND it is incredibly spiky I can understand why you don't!

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  9. This is one of my faves in Austin too!

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  10. My dasylirion desert spoon has fallen over after prolonged rain storm. It snapped off at the bottom. Can it be saved. Help

    iamdee1@cox.net

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    1. I am not an expert! I would try letting it dry and then re-rooting it...but really it is probably better to consult a nursery in the Desert SW that sells them. Or maybe the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix?

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