Planted a new bed today!

wxman · Post by **wxman** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 6:27 pm

My first shipment of plants arrived today so I had to put them in the ground. I received (2) Yucca filamentosa 'Garland Gold' and (1) Magnolia grandiflora 'Edith Bogue'. Hoping to get these through my winters with minimal or no protection. How fast do both of these grow?

And to make it "forum" appropriate.

mnpalms · Post by **mnpalms** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 4:38 am

Damn man, you are well on your way to having a yard that resembles Jim's! There seems to be a few varieties of y. filamentosa available. I have a few of them and they do not get protected at all for winter. I planted one a few years ago which started out about the size of yours and it is about 3x3x3' now. Well it's still a little flattened from the previous snow but actually grows out pretty quick each spring. I'm hoping it flowers again this year. They look so cool when they send up that flower spike! Another one I have has wider, more palm-like leaves and grows more compact and upright. It actually looks like it is trying to form a small trunk. That one flowered last year also. It now looks like it did last fall, perfect. The things are HARDY! I chose only the 100% green varieties though there are some available that have color bred in.

My (over 5.5' tall now) y. thompsoniana is actively growing now too. I'm really amazed at its growth speed overall. It grows way faster than y. rostrata based on my observations. I looked to see if the place I bought mine over a year ago still has them. Thought I'd recommend you check them out. Unfortunately they don't have any more right now. The place is in Vegas and I only paid about $80 mail-order. It was a little under 5' tall when I got it. It's almost put on a whole foot since I got it over a year ago! I'm hoping it flowers this year. Ryan and Collector Palms has some big y. rostratas but they are big $$. Tempting if you have a big budget...

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 6:08 am

My filamentiosa survived up her ein nw ontario with no protection all winter. IT got soaked early winter, froze, thawed, and froze again before being buried under snow. I for got to cover it and thought it was a gonner. Even though it was sitting in water for a week ( due to the thawing snow and frozen ground), its growing steadily, even at this time of year.

Make sure they are planted at ground level or slightly higher, so they dont sit in water ( like mine did), while its cool and wet for an exxtended period of time ( fall spring) try to cover it during heavy rains. They seem really tough. And they can handle the cold up here, its the moisture ( like most yucca) that kills them in the winter

I dont know enough about Magnolia to say anything. Although, at first quick glance it looked like a Ficus Elastica LOL

Grats dude!

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 7:32 am

Tim- For the EB to look good after the winter you'll need to wrap it. First year plants of that size can be badly burnt even with low temps in the -15C (5f?) range, where there is a prolonged freeze. They also HATE frozen feet, so a thick mulch layer will go a loooong way! I have limited experience with So. mag, having only successfully overwintered 1 (the others were seedlings killed their first time out!). My BBB was wrapped but came through a very prolonged freeze with lows of -31C and -28.5C (-22f and -19f or thereabouts!). It had some stem tip die-back but has retained ~70% of its foliage. I attribute the stem tip die back to improper wrapping. Whoops.

Yucca filamentosa is rock solid down to -25f with only exposed leaves getting burnt. You may, if you hate the snow-flattened look, want to tie the leaves into a point. Not necessary but gives an extra month or two with the plant looking good, rather than ragged.

Good luck!

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 7:42 am

Good advice there from Paul

Your Yucca remind me of Colorgaurd,wonder if they are the same
thing? If they are/and maybe if they are not-they should really fill in
with some nice color !

I moved mine away from the front of my cactus bed a month or so ago-
to give a better look at the Cactus...and because it was shading my A.neomexicana.

The yellow Yuccas are some of the prettiest IMO.

JackLord · Post by **JackLord** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 8:31 am

Nice additions.

Some yuccas putter along, some grow at near warp speed. There are lots of Magnolias here, some of them quite large. They are so common that I forget there might be hardiness issues. Then again, they are a symbol of the South although I have seen them in New York. Maybe wrapping some burlap would help?

Anway, with palms and magnolias, you should get a white three piece suit and have people start calling you, Colonel.

macario · Post by **macario** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:35 am

Looks like someone has the bug good luck.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 5:12 am

regarding speed of growth of Southern magnolias. My EB was planted in spring 2004 when I moved to Massachusetts.

May 1, 2004
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 0081-1.jpg>

Nov. 13, 2004
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 0006-1.jpg>

Oct. 8, 2006:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... nts012.jpg>

June 2007:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 200712.jpg>

2008:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... c146-1.jpg>

2010:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... AM0629.jpg>

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 5:22 am

Thats a VERY nice lookin Mag

I didnt think they grew that fast...

wxman · Post by **wxman** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 6:16 am

Thanks for the pictures Tim. I think mine will grow comparably to that since we're about in the same climate.

Is there a special way I can prune it to encourage an upright growth habit at first? It's about 3 feet from the edge of the driveway and while I don't mind the branches and leaves overhanging the driveway eventually, they first have to get at least 7-8 feet off the ground so we don't run into them with the car.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 6:30 am

Hi Tim,

the EB seems pretty easy, not much maintenance at all except for picking up the leaves. Select the main stems which are growing the direction you want and trim the others off when small. Keep doing this until the main trunk is 7-8' tall and you should be good. I trimmed some of the lowest branches since I wanted to plant Yuccas under mine and they need sun.

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 6:32 am

Thanks guys... now you got me thinkin magnolias

LOL

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 12:56 pm

Nice additions, Tim.
Man, look at the size of those leaves!
That'll be like raking maple leaves in Fall.

You can just lop off the lower two limbs as it grows, that'll give the car clear access up the driveway.

Wow, that's a lot of growth TimMA in 6 years.

I think magnolias need more water than yuccas.
Just don't drown the yuccas.

Barb