no winter light for my protected yuccas

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Hi Guys,

I brought this up under the weather section. Would love some of the yucca experts to chime in on this. I might need to redesign my yucca huts when the weather warms.

My protective yucca (rostrata and bacatta) huts seem to really be doing the job. Last night we probably hit somewhere in the 6-10f range. Both of my huts hovered around between 30-34f. I used plumber's heat tape in both huts. I just turn them on for like an hour before bed, and it seems to hold the heat incredibly well. Some of this is due to residual heat still in the ground, I think-but overall I think it will definitely meet the warmth requirements. Now I'm starting to worry about the fact the neither of these huts allows for any light whatsoever. I was hoping to induce the kind of dormancy folks here seem to pull off with their palms. I know I can keep the harmful temps. off these plants, but what do guys think about no light for 3-4 months, before I can go to a lighter kind of protection?

BTW, -23c -9f last night. Both huts bottomed out around -3.5c (26f)!

Thanks for any insights!

Duncan

[igor.glukhovtsev]

I wouldn't bother of them. Cold is cold, winter is winter. It's not just temperature effects your plants but the season. There are no worries until the middle of the March, Dude!

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Igor, that's the way I'm leaning. Thanks dude !

Duncan

[hardyjim]

Man,that's cold!

Coming here next week!

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Jim,

I tell ya, I'm in the wrong part of the world for this hobby! I would like variation in seasons for my plant hobby-say like Denver, SLC, Reno, that kind of thing but Calgary's just all around ridiculous ! Or, I'd take San Diego and just grow everything and never worry-just enjoy the most livable climate in the world, perhaps !

Hope it doesn't hit you too hard Jim. Hey, what do you think about the no light for my yuccas situation?

Take it easy in Iowa!

Duncan

[DesertZone]

Thats cold. You might need lights for some yuccas? Grow a lot of seedlings, then try different methods.

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Thanks Aaron! These two yuccas are probably a good 3-5 Idaho years, at least, (30-50 Calgary years) away from seedling, so I'd like to bring 'em through, they'd be hard to replace in short order. Perhaps I should have brought them in . Anyhow, we'll see what happens! Thanks!

Duncan

[Paul Ont]

Hey- I'm not convinced that Yucca truly have a dormancy period. I see my plants here (including Yucca glauca) will try to keep pushing the leaves out throughout the winter. This can lead to some loss of pigment in the newly expanding leaves (not sure why, but it is something that I notice each winter). I can say that the only Yucca glauca I ever lost was covered with a bucket for the winter, it rotted. It may have been due to condensation, or it may have been due to the lack of light, I don't know.

I would say that the southwest types would be the least likely to have a dormancy, and, if some do require light, they would be the most likely candidates... However, and counter to the rest of this, if you keep them at 32f (0c) for the winter, there will be little growth and therefore little need for light... I am curious to know whether they would survive. I say try it (if you can spare the plants) and if it works we'll all have a new way to overwinter tender Yucca! FYI- for plants with a true dormancy (e.g. Rhododendron) you can, after hardening, cover the seedlings completely (even frozen, and in 100% dark) and they will come through the winter unscathed (see Leach, 1972 (or so)).

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Hey- I'm not convinced that Yucca truly have a dormancy period.

I've been meaning to bring this question of winter yucca dormancy up on the forum. It's a great point you make.

The plan is to keep them cool all winter, so as to not induce growth, hence not a great need for light. I worry about the inevitable chinook stints at 5-20c. They won't have air conditioning too . I'm thinking of modifying to allow light. I'll have to wait for a warm up though-or I could just dismantle the protection every time a chinook hits-okay I need to get a life .

Thanks Paul, appreciate it!

Duncan

[DesertZone]

If you ever have a chance try yucca glauca from the north. It should be hardy in your climate. Get some seeds this winter they grow fast from seed.

[TimMAz6]

Yuccas are the hardest plant to overwinter in my unheated garage and/or basement. Like Paul said......they keep growing in winter and become very leggy unless they get strong sun. I try to keep Yuccas outside unless they aren't hardy in my area.......but I"m USDA zone 6B nothing compared to your area. My recommendation is to keep them very cold if kept dark....don't let the temperature get above 40F.

[hardyjim]

I was going to mention the same thing Tim just did ...so I will


I have not seen any growth out of any of my Yuccas during winter in the cactus house/enclosure.

Maybe I missed this but what did you do(exactly) to cover them?

If it is to cold to change the protection then they should be fine...
in my opinion the less light the cooler they need to be kept.


Palms kept in leaf cages all winter are fine with the no light situation.

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Thanks guys !

Aaron,

I have two y. glaucas in the garden. They're relatively common here. There are some specimens at the University I've been meaning to photo. Really mature and beautiful. They flowered this spring.

Tim and Jim,

I think I'm going to go with the cold and dark approach. Problem is, we almost always see at least 50-60f every month in the winter with our chinooks. We'll see what happens though .

Thanks!

Duncan

[canadianplant]

Thats where my thoughts came to about calgary duncan. Sure it can get -40C there, but the next day it can be 15C... For some plants i bet this makes or breaks it in your climate. Not to mention the fact that the soil there is wicked for yucca. You dont have to worry about drainage to much.

Because of the freeze thaw cycles there, i would think covering it ( say a bucket, or plastic etc) would probably cause it to rot. You would pprobably have to uncover it, and cover it more then youd like. I would worry about covering it, when the snow is melted, and the temps plummet ( we both know its going to happen), or use lights as you suggest.... at least with lights, the heat should keep it dry ( as assumption there)

IF there is any city i can think of that woulld have a challange gardening in, calgary would be it. Between drout, massive rain storms, wind, cold, heat, fast weather changes, and the hail you get.... im suprised i seen things growing there at all...... Then again i bet it would make it that more rewarding to have success with plants there....

Ive always wondered how well bamboo would do there, since the odd thaw freeze cycles never really let the ground freeze for long...

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Canadian, what's your real name?

For many of the reasons you just mentioned-as counter-intuitive as it might seem to some-I think palms and yucca make a great deal of sense here-mainly as annuals that can be brought in during winter...and for some yuccas as perennials. What other kinds of plants can withstand say -8 to +35 from mid April to the end of October?

Landscape designers around here are starting to agree. For several years now there have been many Trachys downtown. I've also seen beautiful rows of Washys and many yuccas and bananas.

Duncan

[canadianplant]

My names Jesse

Ive neevr sen any rachys down town, or bananas..... Then again, i did see 2 huge cordyline somewhere northwest downtown.. As you mentioned im assuming they are annuals.....

I agree i really couldnt figure out anything that may do good long term. I think people see it rated as zone 2 ( ive seen it rated on the canadian zone map.... but it doesnt seem to take into account the heat island effect), and instantly get turned off from trying anything worth wild. I did see alot of bulbs there. Mabey elephant ears will make it there, with a good deal of multch.....

As ive asked.... i wonder how well bamboo would do there... We all can attest to how tough the stuff is. Lots of it is from mountains, and as far as im aware, the temps go back and forth all year round ( ive seen banff at -C in july and august, and ive seen it 5C or 10C in the middle of winter...). Isnt calgary a good place to grow alpine plants???

One thing i shoudl say dude, is that everysingle older person i talked to there about the weather, said its been hotter, and dryer then they ever remember. Most if not all of them mentioned calgaary used to get heavy snowfll for all winter, with a few chinooks. Climate change? HEat island effect? Who knows??

I say grow what ever you want, just be aware that things may last a long time or fail miserably. I think it may be easier to grow things there then in southern ontario, becasue of how dry it is in general, let along the winters. And because of the constantly fluctualting temps. IT is similar to that guy in colorados situation, except generanly colder.....