Scientific: Dasylirion acrotrichum (Synonym: Dasylirion acrotriche, and almost indistinguishable from Dasylirion texanum)
Common: green desert spoon or green sotol
Family: Asparagaceae (subfamily Nolinoideae)
Origin: Chihuahuan Desert south into the xeric altiplano of central Mexico.
Pronounciation: Da-sa-LIR-ee-on a-crow-TRI-cum
Hardiness zones
Sunset 11-13
USDA 8 (with some protection)-11 (arid regions only across all zones)
Landscape Use: Specimen, accent, barrier, xeric or desert landscape themes.
Form & Character: Large, upright and rounded, rigid, caulescent, agave like, yet green, xeric.
Growth Habit: Evergreen, fibrous, perennial monocot shrub, very slow growth to to 6-feet tall with a strong trunk. Flower spikes extend upwards to 15-feet tall. Unlike agaves, green desert spoon is polycarpic and doesn't die after flowering.
Foliage/Texture: Long, green, twisting, narrow strap-like leaves to 40-inches long with prominent marginal spines, leaf sheath is in the form of spoon that was once used by native Americans as such; medium coarse texture.
Flowers & Fruits: Dioecious, cream-colored flowers, plume-like, on an elongated stalk, plants will only flower after the 7 to 10 years and then will not flower every year thereafter. Flowers attract bees. Flowering also results in cessation of terminal meristem and induction of usually a single upper lateral meristem 'branch'.
Seasonal Color: Cream-colored flowers stalks in later spring to summer.
Temperature: Tolerant, some heat stress above 110oF. Cold tolerant to 20oF.
Light: Full sun
Soil: Well drained is best, but interestingly green sotol tolerates higher soil moisture conditions better than other species in this genus.
Watering: Somewhat drought tolerant, but must receive supplemental water during summer for successful culture in Phoenix. Otherwise, if green sotol is planted in the lower desert urban landscapes it's best to irrigate sparingly if at all during the winter. In the lower desert, green sotol will typically show significant leaf marginal tip necrosis caused by leaf tip drying and salt burn.
Pruning: Green sotol plants do not naturally shed their leaves which are persistent and form a "skirt" much like Dasylirion wheeleri. With that in mind, the only pruning that green sotol ever needs is the removal of senescent leaves. For all the 'Horticultural clods of Phoenix' (aka 'Hort clods') out there, PLEASE DO NOT SHEAR!
Attention Horticulturists: Which is better? Green desert spoon specimens sculptured by 'Hort clods'? Or babies chilling too close to a Van de Graaff generator?
Propagation: Usually propagated sexually by seed, but keep in mind that germination and establishment rates are slow.
Disease and Pests: Root rot might occur if soil is chronically wet.
Additional comments: Green sotol is a plant that except for its foliage color is identical to Dasylirion wheeleri (sotol) in every way. It is less commonly seen in Phoenix landscapes. Like sotol, green sotol has an alcoholic beverage extracted from its trunk.
Some ancillary factoids: The genus Dasylirion consists of 18 semi-succulent, fibrous species that are for the most part little known outside the desert Southwest. Dasylirion acrotrichum and Dasylirion texanum (Texas sotol) are similar in appearance. Due to its greater cold tolerance, Texas sotol is a great substitute for green sotol in high desert landscape gardens such as in the Arizona communities of Page, Payson, Prescott, and Sierra Vista. Dasylirion acrotriche var. parryanum has exceptionally fine form.
