African Spear plant Sansevieria cylindrica

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I have to admit to neglecting the hotter parts of the backyard here at The Tropical Paradise. Where there is a lot of shade, closer to the back door, I have been happily growing tropical plants, like cannas, and cycads. But I am starting to experiment with the area that I have been calling *The Outback*.

Here in the Phoenix, Arizona area, the temperatures get into the 100s F (40s C) consistently all summer. But the heat isn't really the problem for most of the tropical plants that I have, it's the lack of shade. So The Outback gets a little shade, but not much.

So I have been experimenting with sansevierias. The most common one was called *Mother-in-Law's Tongue* when I was a kid, but mostly now it's just called a snake plant. But they are just the most common type of sansevieria. And since the treasurer of the Arizona Palm and Cycad Association is also a sansevieria enthusiast, I have been given lots of cuttings in the last few months, and lots of encouragement. And I have to admit that, while most are doing poorly, and at the best just hanging on, this Sansevieria cylindrica (African Spear plant) is doing great.

It's planted in an area that gets a lot of sun, but not all day, maybe until late afternoon. The soil is very sandy and on a slight slope, and it gets daily water from the automatic system. It was just a little stump when I planted it last fall, but it's now well over two feet high, and I have read that they can get up to five feet. This plant has room to grow, so I'm hoping that it will. I'll let you know.

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