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Mexican Grass Tree

Dasylirion longissimum

Mexican Grass Tree
Photo: Chhe (talk), Public domain

Mexican grass tree is a slow-growing, drought-tolerant desert shrub with a trunk and long, narrow spoon-shaped leaves, native to northeastern Mexico. Give it full sun, sharp drainage, and very little water.

Family
Asparagaceae (Asparagus family)
Grows as
Tree, Grass, Palm
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, letting the soil dry out fully between waterings.
Soil
Fast-draining sandy or gritty mix; avoid heavy, wet soil.
Temperature
Tolerates hardiness to about -9 °C (15 °F) once established; protect young plants from frost below that.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Mexico (San Luis Potosí to Hidalgo)
Climate
desert or dry shrubland

About

Dasylirion longissimum, common name the Mexican grass tree, spoon-flower, or grass palm, is a species of flowering plant native to the Chihuahuan Desert and other xeric habitats in Northeastern Mexico.

How to grow it

This drought-tolerant and dramatic Dasylirion is cultivated by nurseries for use in both personal gardens as well as public or corporate xeric landscapes, mainly in the Southwestern United States (from Texas west to California). It is valued for its soft and billowing, Agave-like form, which the plant has in its early life, resembling a thin- and multi-leaved agave plant. As it matures, the plant will grow a small stalk or trunk at the base with the foliage growing out of the top. D. longissimum is naturally hardy to 15 °F (−9 °C).

Other Dasylirion plants

Great Desert Spoon · Texas sotol · Common sotol · Sotols

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Dasylirion longissimum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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