Hands Off The Yucca, Succa!

Y. filimentosa or Adams Needle is common here in Utah and now is the time for these lovely blooms to come out. Adam's Needle is from the eastern United States, but does well out here in the Great Basin Environment as well as the South and Atlantic regions of the United States which are definetly more humid.

Some of these yucca have grown in mounds in the gardener's planting areas. They are common in landscaping here and I assume other areas. They are very cold hardy yucca and tolerate drought conditions as well as wet conditions.

The latter does not mean overwater though.

My second is called a Red Yucca, but it is not a true yucca. It is actually called hesperaloe parviflora var. parviflora. Like true yucca it is in the agave family. My plant that bloomed this year is actually not the best plant. It has been on the cusp each winter, but bounces back. So I put up the picture so that I could show this little "yucca" that could.

Cultivation of yucca is rather less complicated than other types of plants. They largley require little maintenance, many are cold hardy, and they have longevity on their sides.  A good thing to remember is that all desert or drought tolerant plants need some type of fertilizer and regular watering.

During the high summer I water the yuccas that I have weekly to semi weekly depending on temprature. As always use well drained soils to prevent root rot. If you have clay soils, then a mix of clay, sand, and rock type soils will take care of water retention problems and help prevent root rot.

I am not a plant professional, nor play one on TV. But advice is free and if I can lend some experience in yucca care I am willing to do so for the three people that have visited my site. Have a great Independence Day if you are in America, otherwise enjoy the weekend.