Yuck, Yuck, Yuccas



Yucca rostrata

   


Yuccas make wonderful background and specimen plants in a desert garden.

But not all yuccas are equal.  Some require more water than others; some require protection from harsh weather; some are tall and some are short; some die after blooming, others do not, and some are less hazardous to the unwary than others.  And like most plants in high desert nurseries, you have to know what you are buying.  I have a large variety of yuccas and here is what I have discovered about them:


Y. aloifolia/Spanish Bayonet           often sold, requires more water, reliable bloomer, 10' clumps
Y. arkansana                                  hard to find, small clump
Y. baccata/Banana Yucca              often sold, native to E. Mojave, but I can't keep it alive in Barstow
Y. brevefolia/Joshua Tree               native to higher elevations, but can be grown here, very little water
Y. constricta/Silver-edged Yucca   hard to find, small clump
Y. elata/Soaptree yucca                
Y. filamentosa/Adam's Needle        requires more water, shrub-size
Y. filifera                                        tree
Y. flaccida                                     small clump
Y. gloriosa/Spanish Dagger            tall clump, requires more water, put in protected spot, leaves not sharp
Y. pallida                                      small clump
Y. recurvifolia/Weeping Yucca      tree, requires more water
Y. rigida/Blue Yucca                     tree, requires more water
Y. rostrata/Beaked Yucca             tree, very attractive
Y. rupicola/Twisted Leaf Yucca    small clump
Y. schidigera/Mojave Yucca         tall clump, blooms reliably, very little water
Y. schottii/Mountain Yucca           tree
Y. thompsona                               tall clump
Y. torreyi                                     tall clump
Y. whipplei/Our Lord's Candle    small  rosette, spectacular bloom, native to local mountains

Yuccas grow slowly, so I am not worried about the tree yuccas taking up too much space in my lifetime.  Except for Y. gloriosa, the differing water needs can be accomodated by adjusting bubblers or using different nozzles on a drip line.  Y. gloriosa is the yucca seen on the edge of lawns in the Los Angeles area.  It needs regular water and in Barstow, to be next to a house wall that provides winter warmth.  Y. whipplei is the gorgeous yucca with the tall blooming stalks that grows throughout the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains.  Unfortunately it dies after blooming, but some nurseries carry a varietal that forms clumps, so that when it blooms, only one rosette dies.  Look for one labelled "caespitosa".


Nolina matapensis



If you like the looks of sharp spiky plants, but not the spikes, then nolinas are a good alternative.  I have a variety of nolinas and here is whaat I have discovered about them:

N. longifolia                             large shrub, mine is too new to describe

N. matapensis/Beargrass Tree  large shrub, very attractive

N. microcarpa/Beargrass         small grasslike clump, reliable bloomer, not very

                                               attractive

N. nelsoni                                tree, mine is too new to describe

N. parryi/Parry's Beargrass      tree, native to area around Pioneer Town,
                                               beautiful in the wild but mine is too new to
                                               describe

N. Texana/Texas Beargrass     shrub, mine is too new to describe

Dasylirions and Hesperaloes are related plants with similar looks.  Dasylirion wheeleri/Desert Spoon and Hesperale parviflora/Red Yucca are the most common.  Although not particularly attractive plants, the hesperaloes have a place in a desert garden because of their reliable flowering.  Dasylirions are planted for their shape.  Most nurseries carry both.