Dasylirion Texanum

     As may be evident from my post yesterday on Nolina nelsonii, I love spiky plants, So besides the nolinas and yuccas (which I will have subsequent posts about), there are the dasylirions. These plants, which are native to desert areas of the Southwest, Mexico, and Texas, are much in evidence to anyone who has visited Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona and the Palm Springs area. But surprise! We can grow them here, too. The one I am showcasing today is Dasylirion texanum, which, as its name implies, is native to Texas, and, according to the Yucca Do catalogue is more tolerant of cold and moisture than other dasylirions. http://www.yuccado.com/dasylirion-texanum.html
     The one pictured above has been living in my front border now for 12 or 13 years. I originally purchased 3 of them from Yucca Do and planted them as tiny plants in this part of my garden. As tiny plants left to fend for themselves are wont to do, 2 of them died.  This one remained and has done exceedingly well as you can see. From a plant with only a few leaves, time has transformed it into this beauty. The color of the foliage of Dasylirion texanum is olive green, unlike that of the more common Dasylirion wheeleri which is somewhat bluish, but nonetheless, the reliability of texanum and its greater cold and moisture tolerance, make it a very good choice for our climate.
     I grow this plant, as I mentioned, in my front border where it receives full sun and no water in the summer. It is growing on the top of a small hillock, so the drainage is quite good. This means that I do not know how it would fare in less sunny parts of the garden, or in less well drained areas.  My gut instinct is to always plant dasylirions in sunny, well drained areas.  This plant, as is true of all these spiky plants, is not eaten by deer.
     Dasylirion texanum is listed for sale by both Yucca Do, www.yuccado.com, and by Plant Delights. www.plantdelights.com  For those wishing to start with a larger plant than mail order nurseries typically send, I notice that Monrovia, a large wholesale nursery that delivers to retail nurseries in the Pacific Northwest, has this Dasylirion listed in its catalogue. http://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/search.php?query=dasylirion+texanum&x=7&y=7  So if your local nursery does not have this plant, you can always request them to special order it for you.