Accent Plants for Arizona

Statement accent plants for Arizona — ocotillo, red yucca, desert spoon, and other sculptural focal points.

9 plants · every one a full care + fact page

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Native

Desert Milkweed

Asclepias subulata

A vital native butterfly host plant with rush-like stems that supports monarch and queen butterfly populations.

Very Low Waterfull sunPool Safe

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Grass Tree

Dasylirion quadrangulatum

A sculptural accent with twisting narrow leaves that cascade like a living fountain from atop a slender trunk.

Low Waterfull sun

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Sago Palm

Cycas revoluta

A prehistoric-looking cycad that adds tropical elegance to desert landscapes, but all parts are highly poisonous to pets and people.

Low Waterpartial shade

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Native

Desert Spoon

Dasylirion wheeleri

An exceptional native specimen with a dense sphere of blue-gray leaves and a towering summer flower spike.

Low Waterfull sunPool Safe

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Native

Ocotillo

Fouquieria splendens

An unmistakable desert icon whose thorny canes erupt with fiery red-orange blooms that hummingbirds cannot resist.

Very Low Waterfull sun

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Native

Beargrass

Nolina microcarpa

A graceful native grass-like accent that softens harsh desert hardscape with its flowing cascade of narrow leaves.

Low Waterfull sunPool Safe

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Native

Soaptree Yucca

Yucca elata

A treelike native yucca that depends on the tiny yucca moth for pollination, creating a timeless desert silhouette.

Very Low Waterfull sun

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Paleleaf Yucca

Yucca pallida

A compact pale blue-green yucca perfectly sized for containers and small garden spaces, pollinated by yucca moths.

Very Low Waterfull sun

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Native

Banana Yucca

Yucca baccata

A rugged native yucca bearing dramatic white blooms and fleshy banana-shaped fruit once prized by indigenous peoples.

Very Low Waterfull sun