The following are notes by the Plant Sciences
Center Horticultural Technician on the salvage, care, and planting for Dasylirion wheeleri -
Desert Spoon .
Salvage Method:
- bare root (roots should not
be exposed to the sun, wrap in wet materials)
- pots (plant was dug up in either one,
five, ten, or fifteen gallon sizes and immediately put into containers in the
field)
- salvageable size is a one, five, ten, or fifteen gallon
plants; salvaging larger Desert Spoons is possible, these should be boxed at the
salvage site
- when salvaging mark south side, at the nursery or planting
site orient and plant south side facing south to prevent sunburn
Temporary Holding Method:
- bare root: immediately
heeled into holding beds or potted up (soil mixture for both is 45% washed sand,
45% compost, 10% native soil) and held under shade cloth
- bare root plants heeled into holding beds should be
transplanted into pots as soon as possible
- pots: were placed under shade cloth for a few weeks then
gradually moved into direct sun
Pests & Diseases:
- no signs of pests or
diseases upon arrival
- plants heeled into beds: upon transplanting plants six
months later mealy bugs were found - treated with a soapy water solution
Watering Schedule:
- holding bed plants watered
1-2 x per week
- potted plants received irrigation 2-3 x per week
Misc. Notes:
- potted specimens
fared better than the bare roots, ones that were heeled into holding beds
suffered shock, sometimes completely browning out but slowly threw out new roots
and new green growth from the center of the plant.
- experiment: 10 one gallon salvaged plants in pots with
native soil vs. 10 one gallon salvaged bare roots plants potted up in the PSC
mix (45% washed sand, 45% compost, 10% native soil)to see which would fare better. The plants that came in pots in their
native soil did better, less shock damage. The repotted bare roots showed shock
damage but did eventually recover, with some plant losses, but did not look as
good as the others.
- plant size that seem to adjust the best is the 5, 10, and
15 gallon sized plants. The PSC has two large Desert Spoons in holding beds (24
inch box size). These plants are due to be relocated to a permanent
planting site soon which we will monitor the success rate.
