A tough, easy-to-grow, local geophyte (bulb) in the Agavaceae family with an interesting flowering habit, Soap Plant will add a little late spring drama to your garden. Its spiky, white, short-lived blossoms open only in the late afternoon, giving you an excuse to take a stroll in your garden at dusk to admire them.
Being a geophyte, Soap Plant will die back to the ground after flowering. Leave the stalk in place until it’s fully dried out and has had a chance to broadcast its seed before trimming. This practice not only guarantees more Soap Plant popping up in the vicinity, but it also allows the “energy” output of the plant to return to the bulb preceding summer dormancy.
Soap Plant is extremely versatile. It can take the punishing heat of a southern, full-sun exposure when inter-planted among chaparral species but is also a good understory plant that will flower reliably given just enough dappled sunlight. There is no need to water Soap Plant in the summer after it withers. (Summer watering can actually create conditions in which the bulb will rot.) It will come back after the first winter rains, announcing itself with its characteristically long, ruffled basal leaves.
As for the “soap” in “Soap Plant,” indigenous peoples mixed the crushed bulbs of this species with water to make a slightly foamy, cleaning solution.
