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Yucca (Soapwort)
We are in our Southwest mode and have discovered the beauty of the structural yuccas. While they are not for everyone, especially young kids, there is something magical about yuccas. This year, we have gone yucca-crazy with a wonderful selection of hard-to-find species as well as an array of variegated foliage forms...I hope you are as yucca-crazy as we are! |
Yucca aloifolia 'Variegata' (Margined Spanish Bayonet)
Sun Zone: 7-9 84" tall Origin: USA
Finally, we are able to offer this splendid variegated selection of our southeast US native, Yucca aloifolia. This has long been one of our favorite garden plants; however, propagation difficulties had limited our offering of this gem...but not anymore. Each 6" thick trunk can reach 7' tall and is adorned with rigid bayonet-like leaves of medium green, surrounded by a bicolor margin of light green and edged in creamy yellow. When the plants reach 3-4' tall, they are topped with 2' tall flower plumes of white bells in early summer...simply stunning! Although it handled -9 degrees F in 1984/85, it seems to dislike extended periods at or below 0 degrees F. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #02105
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Yucca angustissima var. kanabensis (Kanab Soapwort)
Sun to Part SunZone: 6-7, at least 36" tall Origin: USA
(aka: Y. kanabensis) This US native hails from northern Arizona and southern Utah, where it grows on dry hillsides and in desert woodlands among native junipers and Pinyon pines. The non- or short-trunked specimens form a rosette of 3' long stiff leaves, topped in spring with 3-4' tall spikes of white flowers that are often pink to purple in bud. Very well-drained soils are critical to its survival. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #01765
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Yucca coahuilensis (Coahuila Soapwort)
SunZone: 8-10, guessing 24" tall Origin: Mexico
Yucca coahuilensis hails from the grasslands in the northern Mexico State of Coahuila...imagine that! This south of the border relative of the US Yucca louisianensis makes a trunkless 3' wide rosette of concave blue-green leaves, highlighted by white hairs along the leaf edges. When mature, the clump is topped in late spring by a 5' tall paniculate flower stalk of white bell-shaped flowers. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07598
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Yucca decipiens (Palm Soapwort)
SunZone: 8-10, possibly colder 180" tall Origin: Mexico
This yucca hails from the San Luis Potosi region of Mexico where it can be found growing up to 8,000' elevation. Y. decipiens is painful...make that also painfully slow growing. With age, (yours and your grandkids') Y. decipiens will make a massive 30' tall, candelabra-like branched single trunk specimen. The 2' long x 2" wide stiff, olive-green, bayonet-like leaves are often edged with thread-like filifers...great for turf wars, frog-gigging, and when you just can't find a thumb tack. Expect a 3' tall plant in 10 years and a 15' tall plant in your lifetime. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07099
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Yucca endlichiana (Creeping Dwarf Soapwort)
SunZone: 8-10, guessing 18" tall Origin: Mexico
Yucca endlichiana is so far out on the yucca family tree that it's almost unrecognizable as a yucca. Endemic to a small area in Mexico's Chihuahuan Desert at 3,000', this is the only stoloniferous species of yucca. The tightly-packed clumps are reminiscent of Agave lechuguilla, with pencil-thick, 1' tall, upright blue-green leaves emerging directly from the ground. In May, the white bell-like floral clusters open among the foliage. If you've got hot, dry, slightly alkaline soils, you've got a chance at growing this strange yucca. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07115
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Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard' (Variegated Yucca)
SunZone: 5-10, at least 20" tall Origin: USA
This fabulous yucca selection was brought into the US from Japan by hosta-guru Paul Aden. This is the best gold-centered variegated yucca on the market. The growth habit is similar to Y. 'Golden Sword', except that the center coloration brightens to a creamy-gold in midsummer, when others begin to fade. The foliage is also covered in hundreds of curly white hairs, which can be shaved off if the lack of grooming bothers you. Dan Hinkley, founder of Heronswood, rates this in his Top 10 most indispensable plants! Each 3' wide clump is topped with 6' stalks of white flowers in spring...AWESOME! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #01568
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Yucca filamentosa 'Golden Sword' (Golden Sword Soapwort)
SunZone: 4-10 20" tall Origin: USA
This easy-to-grow yucca is one of our favorites and is planted regularly around our display garden. The bright yellow foliage with a dark green edge is less rigid than some of the more anti-social types, with the leaf tips on the old foliage becoming pendent. The leaf coloration is at its brightest in spring, fall, and winter...a striking accent plant. In late spring, the 20" tall x 36" wide clump is topped with 6' tall stalks of white, bell-shaped flowers. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #01172
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Yucca gloriosa 'Lone Star' (Lone Star Soapwort)
SunZone: 7-9, at least 48" tall Origin: USA
It's a rare occasion when a variegated plant sports green and actually becomes a better garden plant, but that is exactly what happened with Yucca 'Lone Star'. This green reversion of Yucca 'Tiny Star' has dazzled both us and visitors with what is unquestionably the best green yucca in our extensive collection. The longer we grow this, the more we think this might actually be a Y. gloriosa hybrid. Yucca 'Lone Star' makes a 4' tall x 4' wide specimen in 4 years, with 2' long x 3.5" wide leaves that radiate out from a thick central stalk. In late summer the clumps are topped with 3' tall spikes of hanging large white bell-shaped flowers....simply stunning. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #08263
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Yucca gloriosa 'Tiny Star' (Tiny Star Soapwort)
Sun to Light ShadeZone: 7-10, at least 10" tall Origin: USA
(syn: Yucca sp. 68-2) This cute little yucca is a slow growing selection of the southeast US native Y. gloriosa, first brought into the US from Japan by plant explorer Barry Yinger in the '70s. This tiny yucca has labored in obscurity, due to its very slow growth habit. Our 15-year-old clump has finally reached 10" tall x 2' wide, and has never formed an offset. Each leaf is mostly creamy gold, edged in a narrow green band. Although it must eventually flower, no one has ever observed the blessed event. If you have been looking for a nice evergreen yucca in proportion to other small rock garden plants, your prayers have been answered! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #02209
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Yucca gloriosa 'Variegata' (Variegated Mound-lily Soapwort)
Sun to Part SunZone: 7-10, at least 48" tall Origin: USA
We have grown this wonderful yucca...originally from the JC Raulston Arboretum, for years. Each 2-3' wide, trunked clump reaches 48" in height in 10 years. The blue-green, rigid leaves are bordered with a wide margin that emerges gold, then changes to a rich cream. The good color contrast holds all season! In midsummer, this stunning yucca is topped with 3' tall spikes with attractive, large, white, bell-shaped flowers. Y. gloriosa is a great addition to the perennial border and deserves a special place in the dry garden! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #02104
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Yucca gloriosa 'Walbristar' PP 17,653 (Bright Star Yucca)
SunZone: 7-10, at least 24" tall Origin: USA
Another idiotic plant name...sounds like time for a revolt! Yucca 'Walbristar' is one of the most unusual new yuccas to hit the market recently. It was discovered as a sport of the southeast US native Y. gloriosa in David Tristam's UK nursery by Tim Crowther. The rosette will eventually reach 2' tall x 2' wide, composed of stiff medium green leaves which are surrounded by a wide border that emerges yellow and then fades to creamy white. Mature clumps are topped in late summer with 3' tall flower spikes of white bell-shaped flowers. This is a dreadfully slow-growing plant...slower than DC Beltway traffic. I'd plant this in the rock garden and if it ever decides to grow, move it to another location. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07581
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Yucca linearifolia (Linear Leaf Yucca)
SunZone: 6-10, guessing 48" tall Origin: USA, Mexico
(syn: Yucca rostrata var. linearis) Imagine taking the wonderful Yucca rostrata and making the blue leaves narrower but longer (to 32"). If you can envision this atop a short phone pole, then you can image Yucca linearifolia. This native to Texas and adjacent Northern Mexico was long considered a form of Y. rostrata but has been elevated to species status...at least by some taxonomists. This is surprisingly little-known in cultivation, but we aim to help change that. Expect a 4' tall specimen in 10 years. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07190
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Yucca madrensis (Madre Soapwort)
Sun to Part SunZone: 8-10, guessing 84" tall Origin: Mexico
Yucca madrensis hails from 5,000' to 6,500' in the dry Mexican pine-oak forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental states of Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico. The 18" long green leaves adorn the 7' tall solitary stalks...essentially a shorter and smaller version of Y. schottii. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07375
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Yucca nana (Dwarf Soapwort)
SunZone: 4-7 12" tall Origin: USA
(syn: Y. harrimaniae ssp. harrimaniae) This dwarf form of Yucca harrimaniae was given species status in 1998, although there is an ongoing taxonomic war over this plant. Yucca nana is endemic to a small area, around 6,000' elevation, on the Utah/Colorado border, where it can be found growing on sandy/gravel slopes among tall scrubby pines. The compact plants, 1' tall x 1' wide, are composed of narrow green leaves covered in white filaments. When mature, the clumps are topped with 3' flower spikes of white, bell-shaped flowers. This is a superb rock garden plant that deserves to be more widely grown. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #06809
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Yucca peninsularis (Our Lady's Candle Soapwort)
SunZone: 8-10, guessing 36" tall Origin: Mexico
(aka: Hesperoyucca whipplei ssp. eremica) Forming a monocarpic (dies after flowering) 3' wide, often clustering rosette of silvery-grey leaves, this form of Yucca whipplei is found in the Mexican State of Baja California Norte...yes, this is really a Mexican state. The stunning flower spike often has purple on the buds. Perfect drainage is essential for survival...for advanced gardeners only. Recent DNA work has shown that this is more closely related to hesperaloe than yucca, but we're waiting to hear if this stands up in court, under protest that the DNA was illegally obtained.
Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07763
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Yucca potosina (Palm Soapwort)
SunZone: 8-10, guessing 180" tall Origin: Mexico
From 5,000' to 6,000' in the Central Mexican State of San Luis Potosi in the Chihuahuan Desert comes the 15' tall palm-like Yucca potosina. The 2' long concave green leaves with grey/brown twisted hairs resemble the nearby Yucca carnerosana. It is often mistaken for this species until flowering, when Y. carnerosana produces a huge upright spike, while Y. potosina has a porn star-size, very pendent flower spike in need of a massive dose of Viagra. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07805
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Yucca recurvifolia 'Cousin It' (Cousin It Yucca)
Sun to Part SunZone: 6b-10 72" tall Origin: USA
This bizarre yucca was shared with us by Florida plantsman Alani Davis, who named it after finding it growing in Leon County, Florida. We are uncertain if this is a mutant wild form of the trunked Y. recurvifolia, or an old hybrid with that species. Regardless, it's a cool garden plant that forms a 3' tall trunk in three years, topped with a large 3' tall head of narrow 4' long blue green leaves that weep more so than typical Y. recurvifolia. Y. 'Cousin It' also doesn't get the winter leaf spotting that can bother some forms of Y. recurvifolia. In fall, the clumps are topped with 4.5' tall spikes of large white bell-shaped flowers. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #08342
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Yucca rigida (Rigid Blue Yucca)
SunZone: 7b-10, possibly colder 144" tall Origin: Mexico
Yucca rigida is another of the beautiful blue-leaf species which is often confused with Y. rostrata. The 30" long powder blue leaves adorn this 12' tall upright grower from the northern Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, and Zacatecas. In comparison to Y. rostrata, the leaves of Y. rigida are generally wider, less twisted, and less flexible than Y. rostrata...in other words, more anti-social. The 2' tall flower spike adorned with pendent white bells is also held slightly down in the foliage as compared to Y. rostrata. Y. rigida is a stunning specimen plant for the dry garden.
Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #01379
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Yucca rostrata (Beaked Blue Yucca)
SunZone: 5-10 50" tall Origin: Mexico
This is truly one of the most elegant (and user-friendly) yuccas for the garden, and certainly one of the most hardy of the trunk-forming species. The narrow, powder-blue foliage radiates out from the head of the central stalk like one of those "Rostrata-farian" hairdos. In 10 years, expect a 4' trunked specimen (eventually to 10'+) that will branch with age...much faster in alkaline soils. The species name 'rostrata' refers to the fruit, which truly resembles the beak of a bird. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #00127
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Yucca rostrata 'Sapphire Skies' (Sapphire Skies Blue Beaked Yucca)
SunZone: 5b-10 48" tall Origin: USA, Mexico
This selection of Yucca rostrata comes from an early 1990s Sean Hogan collection in Northern Mexico. Sean grew out a batch of seed and selected the most powder blue form for tissue culture under the name Yucca rostrata 'Sapphire Skies'. Yucca rostrata is one of the hardiest species of trunked yucca, forming a 4' tall plant in 10 years. The narrow powder blue leaves are quite flexible and subsequently worthless as a weapon, so just enjoy yours as a garden specimen. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #06697
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Yucca thompsoniana (Thompson's Yucca)
SunZone: 5-10 72" tall Origin: USA
(syn: Y. rostrata var. thompsoniana) This is one of my favorite tree yuccas. As the plant ages, the spectacular single trunk will be attractively adorned with dried foliage flattened to the trunk, and topped with a toupee of narrow, blue-grey foliage...most closely resembling a spray-painted '60s afro hairdo on a tall Al Gore-shaped fence post. In late spring, the plants are topped with 4' spikes of white flowers...COOL! Our plants are 1-year-old seedlings that are ready to explode in growth. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #01767
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Yucca torreyi (Torrey's Soapwort)
SunZone: 7-10 96" tall Origin: USA, Mexico
This easy-to-grow specimen yucca will eventually make a tree to 15' tall. In 10 years, expect a stunning 8' tall architectural specimen with wide, rigid, blue-green bayonet-like leaves to 3' long. When the plant gets established, it will reward you with a 4' tall spike of white, bell-shaped flowers plus lots of laughs as you ask friends to weed around it. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #01774
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