It looks like Agave attenuata, which has a point on the end of the leaf, but it's not very sharp. They form nice clumps, and prefer morning sun/afternoon shade here. You can separate or let them form a clump. Too much sun and they sunburn, too much shade and they get elongated and droopy. They grow everywhere around here. Above all, good drainage and no frost. Here they grow well on no irrigation (12" of winter rain only). Common name Foxtail Agave (foxtail-like bloom spike).

A. attenuata.

Here it is almost May and I've just noticed your post. We were all beginners once; I lost about 30% of my first plantings, and continue to loose one thing or another from year to year. In most instances it was over-watering in summer, and ill-timed watering in winter. In the end, I developed a policy that, after a killing freeze, I would replace the dead plants with duplicates of whatever survived. This moved me away from a one-of-each look, to a more coherent look; unplanned, but happy results. And fewer and fewer specialty plants that I need to cover each winter. When you put on frost cloths, raise them with long stakes so they don't touch the plant. If they touch, you will get a frozen spot on the plant at any point of contact. Use clothespins to anchor the cloths to the stakes, top and bottom. With new plantings of cacti and succulents (May is the season for planting these), be sure to orient the plant so whatever side was facing south is still facing south in its final position. This will minimize sun damage. Yes, cacti sunburn. Then drape them in cheesecloth their first season, at least into the middle of monsoons, preferably all the way through to late September. This will help them adapt to their new compass orientation. While many of the cacti sold locally are frost hardy, adding cups on frosty night to the growing tips of post-like forms is a good idea. Most succulents sold locally, are specimens from milder climates, should be covered or brought into a porch (and still covered) or indoors when temperatures drop below 33. In a freeze, the water in the cells expands -- just like ice cubes in an icecube tray -- and ruptures the cells, causing the plant to turn to mush when it thaws. For these tender plants, I now limit myself to small ones I keep in pots, one I can load into a couple of beer flats and whisk into the laundry room on frosty nights. But they do like to be put outdoors again when the temperature gets back up to 40. Not always convenient for me when there are a succession of frosty nights. By now you may have heard that some parts of town are colder than others. Quite true. Cold air sinks into the valley, and it also flows to lower places such as hollows or along washes. I live next to a wash, and get more frost on that side of the garden than twenty-five feet away on the other side of the garden. Also, tiny differences in elevations can sometimes make a difference. I inherited a rock garden (well, all rocks, no plants, when I bought the house), and find that a difference in elevation of two to three feet from front to back makes a difference between frost and no frost. Also, south or west facing walls that are such brutal situations for plants in summer, can release heat through much of a winter night and make a slight "warm" patch on a night when a difference of one or two degrees makes all the difference. Consider the losses part of the learning experience, and have a great time developing your desert garden. Good luck enduring the coming summer and next winter.

Palmbob, thanks for the ID! I did a search for A. weberi and I think you got it right. Hey Stan! The majesty was moved and died! My parents decided to expand the front patio area and moved the majesty during the fall of 2015. The palm made it through winter, sulked through summer 2016 and finally collapsed and died at the end of summer. I have a couple of them at my place now but none are trunking yet like that one had. This one was in the ground for about 5 years in this spot. And the cyathea is about to throw out it's uber-large, spring fronds. It has several flushes each year, with summer fronds staying pretty small. Spring fronds get HUGE and cover the front walkway. It's cool to see progression of this yard over the years. It started with big water users like the queens, ravenea and cyathea, then slowly progressed to succulents and drought tolerant ground cover. The Syagrus looked terrible for about two years after we removed the lawn so we tried several options to help keep the roots shaded and moist. It's now a mix of aptenia and another ground-cover I can't remember the name of. The syagrus have had time to adjust to the change and finally look alright.