How to Grow and Care for Sotols

Desert spoon (Dasylirion wheeleri) is a plant species also known as Desert spoon. Desert spoon grows tough fronds that can be woven into baskets or floor mats. It is used in floral arrangements as well as for making alcohol. This perennial evergreen shrub has thorny leaves and tall flower spikes.

If you want a touch of the American Southwest in your garden, add a little texas Sotol (Dasylirion texanum). This low-maintenance succulent also looks fantastic in containers both inside and outside. However, this plant has dangerously sharp spines. Texas Sotol is indigenous to western North America.

Native to Mexico, mexican grass tree is a drought-tolerant flowering plant. This dramatic shrub with grass-like leaves can grow up to 4.5 m tall. Its flower spike grows up to 2.5 m tall.

The great desert spoon (Dasylirion acrotrichum) originates in Mexico and Guatemala. It is a striking plant, much loved by landscapers for both arid and tropical gardens. It is slow-growing and takes 7-10 years to flower, producing cream-colored plumes on a stalk 1.8 to 4.5 m long. An alcoholic beverage is made from the sap extracted from its trunk.

Dasylirion glaucophyllum is a resilient, desert-dwelling species characterized by its dense rosette of blue-gray, linear leaves that radiate strikingly from the center. The leaves are edged with small teeth, lending a rough texture. In early to middle summer, it produces a tall, woody flower stalk, which towers above the foliage and bears small, creamy flowers, attracting various pollinators. Adapted to arid environments, its thick leaves and deep roots help it survive in harsh, dry conditions.