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Dasylirion wheeleri |
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| Common name |
sotol; desert spoon |
| Family |
asparagaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial (Z8-11) |
| Flowers |
cream |
| Size |
36" |
| Light |
sun |
| Cultural notes |
very well drained soil; drought-tolerant |
From seed  |
germinate at room temperature
detailed seed-starting info below
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Forms a ball of narrowly strappy bluish-green evergreen leaves, with flower stalks to 8 foot tall every few years on mature plants. Probably needs protection from winter wet in Houston's climate.
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| | Winged seed |
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| | Dehusked, viable seeds |
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| I've grown this and other Dasylirions from seed obtained from exchanges. It always arrives in its fully decked-out, winged form. I've found that viable seed germinates within a few weeks, but often much of the seed isn't viable. To know up front whether you have viable seed, dehusk the seed by removing the papery wings. If you find a hard, more or less spherical particle in the middle, chances are you'll get a seedling; if there's nothing much there, or a malformed particle, don't waste your effort.
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In our garden, this plant grows in the following areas: rock garden zone, left fence border, left fence nursery area About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Dasylirion wheeleri
- Seed from NARGS '18/'19 exchange. Baggy 70F (60%G, 10-12d)
- Same seed as above. Baggy 70F (67%G, 13-16d)
- Seed from NARGS '21/'22 exchange. Baggy 70F (33%G, 15-32d)
- Same seed as above. Baggy 70F (22%G, 14-18d
- Seed for 'Apache Junction' from NARGS '23/'24 exchange, started in two batches. Batch 1: seeds left in winged husks, baggy 70F (27%G, 15-27d). Batch 2: opened husks to extract spheroid seeds (perhaps 50-70% of husks contained such seeds). Baggy 70F (100%G, 4-8d)
Seems worthwhile to dehusk to determine how many likely viable seeds you have. Germination rate also seems better once husks are removed.
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Last modified:
January 01, 2025
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