African Spear Plant - Sansevieria Cylindrica in Phoenix, Arizona

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This morning I planted an African Spear Plant (Sansevieria Cylindrica) here in my garden in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. I have been very pleased by how well they grow here, and was anxious to add another.

In this photo you are seeing morning light. Here in the desert, most non-native plants appreciate a bit of shade, so by afternoon this plant will be in dappled shade from the tree, then deep shade from the house. It's planted in free-draining soil with its own dedicated water dripper (on a low-pressure drip system).

This is actually the back side of it, as mostly it will be seen from over where the main garden is (where you can see the artificial turf). I call this area "the Outback" and it has mostly plants that require very little fussing over, and look good from a distance. The African Spear Plant has a nice sculptural quality about it, so it makes a good "from the distance" plant.

This plant is actually a pup from a plant in a friend's garden, and it had gotten a little bit too close to where people need to walk, so it needed a new home. The ends aren't razor sharp, like that agave back there, but you don't want this anywhere that people might bump into it. To get to where I'm standing, taking the picture, you have to walk back and around, so it's well away from traffic.

I think this plant will be very happy here in its new home!

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