Spanish Dagger is a beautifully symmetrical shrub native to coastal plains, dunes, and sandy woods from North Carolina to Florida. Sword-shaped, spine-tipped leaves radiate from its center. The variegated form has blue-green leaves with creamy-yellow edges. Bell-shaped, creamy-white flowers bloom along a tall central spike from summer into fall, attracting butterflies and pollinators. In age, the basal rosette can form a trunk and grow to 8 feet tall. This ornamental succulent is easily grown in well-drained soils, in full sun or light shade in the hottest inland deserts. Tolerates poor, sandy soils, and resists rabbis and deer. While drought-tolerant, it does need regular water to look its best. This easy-care, exotic accent plant is beautiful in borders and beds, along foundations, on dry slopes, and in dry garden areas. Use as an individual specimen plant, or in mass groupings, on slopes to stabilize soil and prevent erosion, or as a border plant to mark property lines.
