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Planting Yuccas

Yucca is usually thought of as a desertor semidesert plant, confined to dry areas ofthe South and the southwestern desert, butseveral yuccas are surprisingly hardy in thecool, moist regions of the North.

Yuccas are very handsome plants. Nearlyall of the 40-odd species have stiff, swordlikesilver green leaves, growing in a clump atground level. From this clump arises a singleleafless stalk bearing a magnificent spike ofhighly fragrant, waxy flowers.

Yuccas blend handsomely in borders,contrast beautifully with the shapes of bothevergreen and deciduous shrubs, and can beplanted to stand as majestic sentinels on eitherside of an entrance gate or door. They alsoserve well lining a driveway, fence or terracewall, or as a dramatic living sculpture againstlow, craggy rocks. Finally, yuccas can be grownin tubs and moved around for special effects.

Planting and Culture: All yuccas require asunny and fairly dry location with a light, sandyor gritty well-drained soil. Digging a deep holeand filling it with a sand-humus mixture willtake care of this. Apply compost, bone mealand dried manure to the plants once each year.Watering should rarely, if ever, be necessary.Drought produces a lovely foliage and stempatina on desert-type plants. Yuccas generallyflower only in alternate years, but the flowerslast four to six weeks.

Yuccas are easy to propagate. They canbe increased by seed, rhizome or stem cuttings,or by digging offsets from the side of an estab-lished plant.

In nature, the yucca is pollinated by asmall white moth, the pronuba. This night-flying insect deposits her eggs in the seed vessel of a blooming yucca, then fertilizes the plantwith pollen from another yucca. When the pro-nuba grubs hatch out, they find a goodly supplyof seeds to eat, but leave plenty to producemore yuccas. Scientists call the yucca-pronubarelationship a perfect example of symbiosis, themutual interdependence of two things in nature.

Types: Two species have trunks. TheJoshua tree ( Y. brevifolia) grows up to 40 feethigh, its branches twisting into grotesqueshapes. The Spanish bayonet ( Y. aloifolia) isabout 20 feet tall, and has very sharp-pointed,long leaves and spectacular white or purple-tinged flowers. Neither of these will stand wetwinters, and they grow only in the South.

blooming yucca, then fertilizes the plantwith pollen from another yucca. When the pro-nuba grubs hatch out, they find a goodly supplyof seeds to eat, but leave plenty to producemore yuccas. Scientists call the yucca-pronubarelationship a perfect example of symbiosis, themutual interdependence of two things in nature.

Types: Two species have trunks. TheJoshua tree ( Y. brevifolia) grows up to 40 feethigh, its branches twisting into grotesqueshapes. The Spanish bayonet ( Y. aloifolia) isabout 20 feet tall, and has very sharp-pointed,long leaves and spectacular white or purple-tinged flowers. Neither of these will stand wetwinters, and they grow only in the South.

Our-Lord's-candle ( Y. Whipplei) hasshort basal leaves but sends up great creamyspikes, bearing many blooms. It will not standfrost or wet soil.

Northern gardeners who have never grownthe hardy yuccas are missing plants that add great beauty and accent to gardens. One of 11best yuccas for northern gardens is the Adamneedle ( Y. filamentosa), sometimes calmneedle palm. It is a deep-rooted, tough-fibenshandsome plant that has no trouble in New England winters. Its flowermay rise 12 feet or higher. Y. flaccida issimilar species.

Other yuccas for the North are Y. gla:zsoapwell or soapweed, and Y. data, soaptaboth good as far north as southern Minnesotagood drainage and shelter against harsh winare provided. Y. gloriosa is reportedly e'iable to stand city smog. Y. rupicola is mathe same as Y. gloriosa, except that its leandroop over.

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