YUCCA

Yuccas grow over much of North America; hardiness depends on species. All have tough, sword- shaped leaves and large clusters of white or whitish, rounded to bell-shaped flowers. Some are stemless, while others reach tree size. Best in well-drained soil.

Taller kinds make striking silhouettes, and even stemless species provide important vertical effects when in bloom. Some have stiff, sharp-pointed leaves; keep these away from walks, terraces, and other well-traveled areas. Yuccas are not usually browsed by deer.

Young plants of some species can be used as indoor plants; they withstand the dry indoor atmosphere and will grow well near hot, sunny windows. Give moderate water; feed monthly during growth with a balanced liquid fertilizer. Buy 1-gallon size or smaller; set out in ground when plants become too large for indoors. Successful indoors are Yucca aloifolia (but beware of sharp-pointed leaves), Yucca elephantipes, Yucca filamentosa, Yucca gloriosa, and Yucca recurvifolia.

spanish bayonet, spanish dagger

yucca aloifolia

• Zones MS, LS, CS, TS; USDA 7-11.
• Native to the South.
• Slow growth to 10 feet by 5 feet or larger; trunk may be single or branched, sometimes sprawling in picturesque effect.
• Stems densely clothed in dark green, sharp-pointed leaves to 212 feet long and 2 inches wide.
• White flowers (sometimes tinged purple) to 4 inches across, in dense, erect clusters to 2 feet tall in summer.
• Moderate water.
• Variegata has green foliage edged in yellowish white.

banana yucca

yucca baccata

• Zones US, MS, LS, CS, TS; USDA 6-11.
• Native to the Southwest.
• Slow growth to 3 feet high, 5 feet wide.
• Foliage clump may have no stem or a short, prostrate one.
• Thick, stiff leaves to 2 feet long, 2 inches wide have fibers along the edges.
• Large, fleshy flowers in late spring are red-brown outside, white inside, in dense, 2 feet-long clusters.
• Fleshy, edible, bananalike fruit to 6 inches long.
• Little water.
• Compactum is somewhat smaller than the species.

soaptree yucca

yucca elata

• Zones US, MS, LS, CS, TS; USDA 6-11.
• Native to the Southwest, northern Mexico.
• Slow growth to 620 feet tall, 810 feet wide, with single or branched trunk.
• Leaves to 4 feet long, 12 inches wide.
• Tall spikes of white flowers in summer.
• Little water.

GIANT YUCCA

yucca elephantipes(Yucca gigantea)

• Zones CS, TS; USDA 9-11.
• Native to Mexico.
• Fast growing (to 2 feet per year), eventually 1530 feet tall, 8 feet wide, usually with several trunks.
• Leaves 4 feet long, 3 inches wide, dark rich green.
• Striking silhouette alone or combined with other big-scale foliage plants; out of scale in smaller gardens.
• Large spikes of creamy white flowers in spring.
• Does best in good, well-drained soil with regular water.
• A variegated form has pale green leaves with broad cream-colored stripes.

adam's needle

yucca filamentosa

• Zones US, MS, LS, CS, TS; USDA 6-11.
• Native to the Southeast.
• Stemless plant to 212 feet tall, 5 feet wide.
• Stiff, dark green leaves 212 feet long, 1 inches wide, with long, loose fibers at edges.
• Blooms in late spring and summer, with lightly fragrant, yellowish white flowers, 23 inches wide, carried in tall, narrow clusters to 47 feet or taller.
• Looks similar to Yucca flaccida and Yucca smalliana.
• One of the most cold hardy and widely planted yuccas.
• Moderate water.
• Bright Edge has leaves edged in yellow; 'Color Guard' and 'Garland's Gold' have creamy gold leaves widely edged in green.
• Variegata has green leaves edged with white.

yucca flaccida

• Zones US, MS, LS, CS, TS; USDA 6-11.
• Native to the Southeast.
• Stemless.
• Differs from Yucca filamentosa in having less rigid leaves, straight fibers on leaf edges, and somewhat shorter flower clusters.
• Moderate water.
• Golden Sword has yellow leaves edged in dark green.
• Ivory has out-facing rather than drooping flowers.

soapweed

yucca glauca

• Zones US, MS, LS, CS; USDA 6-9.
• Native to central and southwestern U.S. To 34 feet high and wide or larger, with short or prostrate trunk.
• Stiff, narrow, 1- to 212 feet-long leaves form a clump 34 feet wide.
• Leaves are grayish green, edged with a hairline of white and a few thin threads.
• White summer flowers bloom on a spike 45 feet tall.
• Moderate water.

mound-lily yucca, spanish dagger, soft-tip yucca

yucca gloriosa

• Zones MS, LS, CS, TS; USDA 7-11.
• Native to the Southeast.
• Much like Yucca aloifolia; generally multitrunked to 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide.
• Plant is usually stemless in youth.
• Leaf points are soft and will not penetrate skin.
• Summer bloom.
• Good green color blends well with tropical-looking, lush plants.
• Needs moderate water; too much moisture may produce black areas on leaf margins.
• Leaves of 'Variegata' are edged in creamy white.
• Bright Star is a slow-growing dwarf form (to 2 feet tall, 5 feet wide) with broad margins of golden yellow.

pale-leaf yucca

yucca pallida

• Zones MS, LS, CS, TS; USDA 7-11.
• Native to Texas.
• To 112 feet tall, 212 feet wide.
• Compact rosette of 1- to 2 feet-long, pale blue-green leaves with thin yellow or brownish margins and a spine at the tip.
• Branched spikes to 7 feet high hold many pale green to creamy white flowers in spring.
• Little to moderate water.

curve-leaf yucca, soft-leaf yucca

yucca recurvifolia

• Zones MS, LS, CS, TS; USDA 7-11.
• Native to the Southeast.
• The botanical name of this plant is a bit of a moving target: You may find it listed as above or as Yucca gloriosa recurvifolia, Yucca g.
• tristis, or Yucca pendula.
• Whatever its name, it forms a single trunk to 610 feet tall; it is unbranched in younger plants but may be lightly branched in age.
• Reaches 68 feet wide; spreads by offsets to form large groups.
• Beautiful blue-gray leaves are 23 feet long, 2 inches wide, sharply bent downward; leaf tips are spined but bend to the touch (they aren't dangerously sharp).
• Less stiff and metallic looking than most yuccas.
• Loose, open, 3- to 5 feet-tall clusters of large white flowers in late spring or early summer.
• Easy to grow in all garden conditions; give moderate water.
• Banana Split has golden yellow leaves edged in gray-green.

blue beard yucca

yucca rostrata

• Zones US, MS, LS, CS, TS; USDA 6-11.
• Native to Mexico, extreme southwestern Texas.
• To 12 feet tall, 9 feet wide.
• The most notable feature is the trunk: up to 8 inches thick, covered with soft gray fuzz (fibers remaining from old leaf bases).
• Needle-pointed blue- green leaves to 2 feet long, 12 inches wide.
• Blooms in autumn, bearing 2 feet clusters of white flowers on a 2 feet stalk.
• Little to moderate water.
• Sapphire Skies has narrow, flexible, powder-blue leaves; just 4 feet tall after 10 years.

twisted-leaf yucca

yucca rupicola

• Zones MS, LS, CS, TS; USDA 7-11.
• Clump-forming Texas native to 3 feet high and wide.
• Sharp-pointed, green leaves reach 2 feet long; they are straight when young, then twist with age.
• In spring, stalks to 38 feet tall bear bell-shaped, creamy white flowers with a yellow-green tinge.
• Little to moderate water.

yucca smalliana(Yucca filamentosa smalliana)

• ADAM'S NEEDLE, BEAR'S GRASS.
• Zones US, MS, LS, CS, TS; USDA 6-11.
• Native to southeastern and south-central U.S. Like Yucca filamentosa but has narrower, flatter leaves and smaller flowers.
• Moderate water.

thompson's yucca

yucca thompsoniana

• Zones US, MS, LS, CS, TS; USDA 6-11.
• Native to Texas.
• Tree to 610 feet tall, 5 feet wide.
• Trunk (sometimes branched) is topped with an asymmetrical rosette of narrow, foot-long blue-green leaves; old brown leaves hang from its sides.
• Blooms in late spring, when white to cream flowers with green-tinged petal bases appear on a 4- to 5 feet spike.
• Moderate water.

torrey yucca

yucca torreyi

• Zones LS, CS, TS; USDA 8-11.
• Native from New Mexico and Texas into Mexico.
• Eventually forms a tree to 15 feet tall, 9 feet wide.
• Begins as a rosette of rigid, sharp-tipped, blue-green leaves on short trunks that slowly elongate.
• White flowers are borne in late spring on a 4 feet spike.
• Needs very little water but tolerates wetter conditions.

giant spanish dagger

yucca treculeana

• Zones MS, LS, CS, TS; USDA 7-11.
• Native to Texas and Mexico.
• Single-trunked or branching tree to 25 feet tall, 12 feet wide, topped with symmetrical rosettes of sharp-pointed, thick, stiff, dark green to blue-green leaves to 2124 feet long.
• White or purple-tinged white flowers bloom on a 3 feet spike in late winter or early spring.
• Little to moderate water.