Dasylirion wheeleri

Size: 0.6m Tall.
Common Name: Desert Spoon or Sotol Plant.
Situation: Full sun, Well-drained soil .
Hardiness: Hardy.
Eventual Height and Spread: 1.5m x 0.5m .
Fantastic arid feature plant.

A truly stunning and fairly rare hardy arid plant. The Dasylirion wheeleri also known as the desert spoon or Sotol plant is native to the arid regions of central america.

Dasylirion wheeleri is a single-trunked plant topped with a wonderful spray of strap-like, blue-green leaves with finely toothed margins. On mature Dasylirion wheeleri a huge flower spike many metres tallshootsin mid-summer.

Set Dasylirion wheeleri in a bright sunny spot in a pot or in an arid or dry garden alongside other arid favourites such as Agave americana and Yucca rostrata. As with most arid plants Dasylirion wheeleri is tremendously tolerant of windy exposed conditions.

As an arid plant to grow in the UK, Dasylirion wheeleri ticks all the boxes in it proves hardy, it's evergreen, it's architectural, striking and bold, oh and of course spiky.

The key to getting the best out of Dasylirion wheeleri as with most Arid plants, is to give them very well-drained soil and bake them in full sun, so as much as possible mimicking their native environment.

Generally it won't be winter coldnesss that upsets Dasylirion wheeleri it will be the wet, so make sure you plant out Dasylirion wheeleri in free-draining soil. Alternatively you can cheat and plant Dasylirion wheeleri in a pot, thus ensuring good drainage. In the coldest parts of the UK try to keep as much winter rain and snow off this arid plant.

Maintaining Dasylirion wheeleri couldn't be simpler once established in the ground Dasylirion wheeleri will require no additional watering, no additional feeding and at most one prune a year to tidy-up old growth.

Dasylirion wheeleri is also known as the Desert Spoon or Sotol plant.