Desert spoon is an architecturally interesting, maintenance-free plant that makes an impactful specimen. Here’s everything you need to know about planting and caring for this southwest desert native.
Desert spoon (Dasylirion wheeleri) is a medium size shrubby succulent that consists of slender ribbon-like blue-green leaves with white curly fibers at the tips. The leaves are whorled to form a symmetrical rosette.
Since it’s native to the desert southwest, it’s a resilient, low-maintenance plant. It can handle the full sun and temperature extremes of the Sonoran Desert and needs little water.
This popular landscape plant is slow growing, which means when planted in the right spot, it won’t outgrow its space or need pruning.
Once desert spoon reaches about 7 years old, it will send up a truly impressive flower stalk during late spring or summer. Stalks can reach 10 to 15 feet and are covered with thousands of cream-colored flowers which attracts pollinators of all kinds, from hummingbirds and butterflies to flies and wasps.
After the first bloom, you can expect that it will continue to bloom occasionally, but not every year.
Unlike agaves, desert spoon does not die after it blooms. In fact, desert spoon can live to be 40 years old. As the lower leaves die off, a woody trunk will eventually be revealed.
Why I Like This Plant
- Dramatic specimen plant that looks great all year long
- Takes extreme heat and cold in its stride
- Low maintenance, needs little water, rarely needs pruning
- Magnet for hummers, bees, and butterflies when in bloom
Things to Watch Out For
Desert spoon is deceptively spiny. While it may look like an ornamental grass, each leaf is rimmed with a row of small sharp teeth that grab onto clothing and skin.
Optimal Growing Conditions
If you’re thinking of adding a desert spoon to your garden, you need to find a suitable place that will keep your plant healthy and looking good… while minimizing maintenance for you.
Here are the key factors to keep in mind.
Temperature
Desert spoon should be grown in USDA Hardiness Zones 8 – 10. It’s extremely tolerant of both heat and cold, surviving temperatures down to 0℉.
Sun Exposure
Desert spoon thrives in full sun, but will also accept part shade.
Size and Growth Rate
Desert spoon is a slow grower, eventually reaching 6 feet tall and 4 feet across. As it grows, the oldest leaves die back, revealing a knobby trunk. When it reaches maturity, its shape becomes less like an agave or ornamental grass and more tree-like.
Soil
It’s not particular about soil and grows in any native desert soil, as long as it’s well-draining. It can develop root rot if overwatered.
Desert spoon can be grown in a large container, provided it has adequate drainage. Use specifically formulated cactus soil.
Other Location Considerations
Desert spoon is more dangerous than it looks. Each leaf is rimmed with a row of jagged teeth that can give you a nasty cut or rip your clothes.
So don’t plant it near a sidewalk, pool, or front door, or anywhere people might brush against it or be tempted to touch it. And keep it away from kids and pets.
Desert Spoon:
The Essentials
| Common Name | Desert spoon |
| Scientific Name | Dasylirion wheeleri |
| Origin | Sonoran, Chihuahuan Deserts |
| Plant Type | Grass-like succulent |
| USDA Zones | Zones 8 – 10 |
| Cold Hardiness | To 0℉ |
| Flower Color | Inconspicuous |
| Flower Season | Spring, summer |
| Mature Size | 6′ high x 4’ wide |
| Growth Rate | Slow |
| Sun Tolerance | Full, part sun |
| Water Needs | Low |
| Pests & Diseases | Root rot if overwatered |
| Warnings | Leaves edged with sharp teeth |
| Wildlife | Attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, bees Deer, rabbit, javelina resistant |
How to Plant
Dig a hole as deep as and twice as wide as the nursery container. It’s generally recommended that you not add any soft fill, gravel, or fertilizer, just native soil.
However, good drainage is critical. If you know your soil is slow draining, amend with coarse sand or small gravel until you have a loose, well-drained mix.
Carefully remove the plant from the container, put it in the hole, and press the soil to remove any air pockets.
Since desert spoon has rows of jagged teeth, wear protective gear. Sturdy gloves, long sleeves, and eye protection are in order.
When to Plant
The best time to plant desert spoon is in April or May. Warm soil temperatures encourage root development.
How to Care for Desert Spoon
Whether you’ve recently planted a desert spoon or have an existing plant in your yard, here’s how to take care of it to keep it healthy and looking its best.
How to Water
You’re probably used to giving a plant a good soaking immediately after transplanting, but that isn’t the best practice with desert succulents like desert spoon.
Counterintuitively, it’s best to not water for one to two weeks after planting.
Then, water every 3 to 4 weeks spring through fall. No supplemental water is necessary during the winter.
Should You Fertilize?
There is no need to fertilize desert spoon, they get all the nutrients they need from the desert soil. But if you keep it in a pot, fertilize lightly a few times a year when it’s actively growing.
How to Prune
Desert spoon should not be pruned other than removing lower leaves as they die. The only other pruning task you may need to do is remove spent flower stalks, which only happens once every few years.
Unfortunately, sometimes these plants get sheared when they’ve grown too large for their space. This destroys the appearance and health of the plant.
This can easily be avoided by planting it where it has adequate room to grow in the first place.
Desert Spoon: A Plant with an Identity Crisis
If any plant could have an identity crisis, it would be desert spoon.
Sometimes it’s referred to as a succulent, sometimes as a semi-succulent, and sometimes as a shrub. It’s often mistaken for an agave. Two of its common names are spoon yucca and saw yucca… but it’s not a yucca!
Here are some of the other common names you’ll hear it called:
- blue sotol
- blue spoon
- common desert spoon
- common sotol
- desert candle
- sotol
- sotol wheeler
- spoon flower
Phew! Stick with calling it desert spoon and/or Dasylirion wheeleri and most gardeners and nurseries will know which plant you are talking about.
And why is it called desert spoon? Supposedly the leaf bases are shaped like spoons (?), but this plant has so many more obvious attributes, this seems like an odd choice.
Desert Spoon Uses
The Native Americans of the desert southwest put all parts of this plant to good use. They used it for making sotol, an alcoholic drink much like tequila and mezcal. They ate it as a vegetable and turned it into flour. They made baskets, rugs, mats, headbands, and even cigarette papers.
Sotol, a commercially available distilled spirit, is sourced from desert spoon as well as other members of the Dasylirion genus. It takes one 20-year-old plant to yield one bottle.
Did you enjoy this article?
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
where you’ll find more great info on creating &
maintaining a beautiful, carefree desert landscape.
Author Bio
Deane Alban is the creator of Southwest Gardener. She is a science writer with a bachelor’s degree in botany from the University of South Florida. Gardening is her lifelong passion. She’s been gardening in Tucson for 15 years.
