Hardiest "true" Yucca tree

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Wed Aug 01, 2012 6:36 pm

Aaron,

My Y. gloriosa variegata died to the ground the year after it bloomed too. The whole Yucca was mush....trunk......and leaves. Perhaps they loose a lot of hardiness after blooming?? This would be odd since none of the other Y. gloriosas (green forms) show this trait. My gut tells me the variegated form is less hardy and perhaps after blooming it's even less hardy. We need more testing since that 08-09 winter was bad in our area........we need another to see if the variegata will die without a bloom.

Nov 2008 = 5.33 inches of precip
Dec 2008 = 7.28 inches of precip
Jan 2009 = 3.94 inches of precip

Cold snap in Taunton, MA which likely killed it after all that precipitation.
Jan 15 High 17F Low 1F
Jan 16 High 19F Low -7F
Jan 17 High 19F Low -7F

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 4:15 pm

Tim,
If you want I would gladly send you a start of one. I think I got them from Plant Delights alongtime ago.

I also been thinking about that awesome faxon yucca it could be be cross, if not it sure is awesome form. I will have to ask him where he got them. And good luck with your new one.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 7:03 pm

Hi Aaron,

thanks for the variegata offer but I may dig mine up and toss them since they don't perform well in my climate..........they end up with loads of brown spots all over the leaves......we get too much precip for them. There are a few forms of Yuccas which get these brown spots........not a good trait. On another note.......I plan on sending you a box-o-yuccas so you can test them in your colder climate........my daughter is in a few swim meets (tomorrow and Sunday) so I'll fall behind on free time again. Hopefully I can get you a box soon so the roots can get into the ground.

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... AM0569.jpg>

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 11:41 am

That sounds awesome Tim! But is there any way I can send you some maney for the shipping?

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 6:05 pm

My pleasure......it will be fun to see which Yuccas end up being the hardiest!

MCKATELYN · Post by **MCKATELYN** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 10:43 pm

That is so strange that the gloriosa would actually be less tolerant of moisture than your elata. Is it the wet cold that damages it?

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Sat Aug 04, 2012 12:37 pm

MCKATELYN wrote:That is so strange that the gloriosa would actually be less tolerant of moisture than your elata. Is it the wet cold that damages it?

Wet cold is what does the most damage to my yuccas, I have had much better luck when planted in a raised bed or mound.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sat Aug 04, 2012 9:55 pm

Yes, lots of rain followed by a cold spell is their worst enemy. This type of weather happens all the time here in Mass. The last bad winter was 08-09 which beat up a lot of Yuccas but nearly all survived. I try to remove most snow off the leaf heads as this reduces damage. Snow loads can tip over or break trunks too.

igor.glukhovtsev · Post by **igor.glukhovtsev** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 7:51 am

It is so cool reading any post about any Yuccas at the PN. I love it!

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 5:32 pm

igor.glukhovtsev wrote:It is so cool reading any post about any Yuccas at the PN. I love it!

I agree

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 7:36 pm

Do you ever water them?

The first 2 years I basically never watered my cactus-
they were cracking and what not from to much rain.....
now we are in a drought and even early on last year I lost
cactus to excessive heat and drought....

This year I have been watering them regularly and the growth
has been really amazing-even the mighty cactus can struggle when
temps in the cactus bed exceed 120F!

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 11:52 am

hardyjim wrote:Do you ever water them?

Depends on the sp. I lost many cactus from not watering them here in summer, but found almost all of them to be Chihuahuan desert sp. Great basin and Mojave sp don't seem to need water in the summer, but alittle always helps unless it is ones that needs very dry conditions.

PS you are right about some cactus not liken the very hot places, pediocactus are some that do better out of the high heat. Many cactus need partial shade.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 1:17 am

I'll water Yuccas too......they grow faster. We typically get plenty of precipitation but sometimes it won't rain for a week. I like to water in the morning so water does not sit on the leave too long. I never lost a Yucca from lack of water.

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 7:07 am

Hey,trust me,I would not be watering cactus if i didn't need to right now!

I think the problem east of the Rockies is,you end up watering and then you get rain too.

The cactus have been the easiest to take care of in the drought we are having-
just shoot some water over them and they are fine-I like that.

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 11:28 am

TimMAz6 wrote:I'll water Yuccas too......they grow faster.

I think my yuccas would grow much faster if I gave them more water, mostly give them water the first year or two. Even my j-trees like a little more water, but after I planted that grass next to one and it died I think twice before getting the ground wet around my j-trees.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:16 pm

I think twice before getting the ground wet around my j-trees.

You're probably right, Aaron, but how about in AZ--in those arroyos (sp?)--where mountain rains 20 miles away becoming raging torrents as they head over the desert?

Rainfall may be sparse there but I thought they could handle a deluge now and then.

Barb

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:53 pm

lucky1 wrote:You're probably right, Aaron, but how about in AZ--in those arroyos (sp?)--where mountain rains 20 miles away becoming raging torrents as they head over the desert?

Rainfall may be sparse there but I thought they could handle a deluge now and then.

Barb

2-3 days and its dry, not like when I water every week near the base. Also Yucca brevifolia grows almost only in the mojave desert where flash happen but are rare compared to SE Arizona where Yucca elata is found, they almost prefer growing along washes and low areas where ground water may be. Also my Y. elata was only 3-4 feet away from where my j-tree was and the extra water did not seem to bother it.
Most of the j-trees I see like growing on hill sides or rolling flats.

igor.glukhovtsev · Post by **igor.glukhovtsev** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 7:21 pm

I don't know but watering my numerous yucca seedlings everyday and even twice when it's hot. No one has died so far

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Wed Aug 08, 2012 4:04 am

Yes it's hard to kill a Yucca.........at least when they have 'eastern species' blood in them!

igor.glukhovtsev · Post by **igor.glukhovtsev** » Wed Aug 08, 2012 9:19 am

In fact most of seedlings are the Western ones. But I'm gonna keep my eyes on them

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Wed Aug 08, 2012 11:36 am

igor.glukhovtsev wrote:In fact most of seedlings are the Western ones. But I'm gonna keep my eyes on them

I bet they will be fine as long as the soil drys out before winter. Even j-trees can take lots of water in the summer, but they don't like wet roots in the winter.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Wed Aug 08, 2012 6:16 pm

I should plant a 1,000 Y. brevifolias here to see if one could survive our moisture! That would be a cool test.

MCKATELYN · Post by **MCKATELYN** » Wed Aug 08, 2012 7:28 pm

That would be really cool to start with a whole field of western yuccas and see if maybe a few could live, then use those for propagation. Or maybe hybridize a filamentosa with the j tree (or a few western species) and grow a field of those hybrids. Then , you could back cross the western species into the hybrids that are hardiest to get more western traits yet keep eastern cold/moisture tolerance. I wish I had a few acres of land for that experiment.

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 7:22 am

Arg! I went to California this year in May and missed the J-tree flowering by about a month. Damn. I really wanted to get some pollen for the hybridizers to mess around with.

igor.glukhovtsev · Post by **igor.glukhovtsev** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 9:00 am

DesertZone wrote: I bet they will be fine as long as the soil drys out before winter. Even j-trees can take lots of water in the summer, but they don't like wet roots in the winter.

So when should I stop watering my various seedlings or when should I start protecting them from the rain? What min night temperatures particularly?

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 11:51 am

igor.glukhovtsev wrote: So when should I stop watering my various seedlings or when should I start protecting them from the rain? What min night temperatures particularly?

That's going to depend on your weather/climate, it is dry here so I can't say for other places. I'm in a zone 5b and our fall is warm to cool and dry, so I stop watering bigger plants in October and small plants by November, unless it rains/snows by then. It is tricky, but you try and keep things alive and dry them up before winter. New growth is less cold hardy, and wet roots can rot a plant in the winter.

I try and let my plants see a frost or two before I cover them, I don't want them growing under the covers (unless you add heat?) So I try not to cover untill after mid Nov. or early Dec. That is what I do, but others add heat, and I know nothing about that.

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 4:47 pm

TimMAz6 wrote:I should plant a 1,000 Y. brevifolias here to see if one could survive our moisture! That would be a cool test.

That would be a cool test. Have you tried one and cover the crown?

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 8:06 pm

I like how you think Kate...... That would be a great project.........all we need is more land!

Let the soil surface dry between waterings Igor. I think your doing a good job!

I did mess with some JT seedlings back in 2001. They survived with a roof with no sides but died without the roof. I need to mess with JTs again.

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Fri Aug 10, 2012 6:57 am

Igor

I think once the temps are not making it into at least the 70s(21-26C)or you see growth
has slowed/stopped...good time to cut back on the watering.

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Fri Aug 10, 2012 7:25 am

Just my 2cents, I had luck with J-trees covered here too (down to -32C) but they can't handle the long wet winter uncovered. I've done the large field trials with other species (recurvfolia and gloriosa) and have selected a few gloriosa that are hardy here in zone 4/5 (so far). had no luck with recurvfolia.

If I can find a spot and the time, I'd like to experiment with large batches of other species... Right now most of the space is given over to hybrids.

igor.glukhovtsev · Post by **igor.glukhovtsev** » Fri Aug 10, 2012 8:29 am

hardyjim wrote:Igor I think once the temps are not making it into at least the 70s(21-26C)or you see growth
has slowed/stopped...good time to cut back on the watering.

Thanks to all for empathy. Gonna try keep them outside with no precipitations protection until the beginning of October. By the way I had bad luck with growing mature Y.glauca plants (taken from ON) 5-6 times. It rot every winter....

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sat Aug 11, 2012 5:38 pm

Hi Igor,

Y. glauca rotting out? Do you have a photo of your Y. glauca? I'd try another source. They seem rock hardy here and we get loads of precipitation in winter. They are always wet!

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Sat Aug 11, 2012 5:53 pm

Tim

I was thinking(in regard to the hardiness)of your post flowering Gloriosa.

When mine bloomed I remember worrying that the bloom stalk was like
having another spear to rot out....can't recall if I removed it...must have-anyway

I guess you had a bad winter too....

igor.glukhovtsev · Post by **igor.glukhovtsev** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 8:12 am

TimMAz6 wrote:Hi Igor,

Y. glauca rotting out? Do you have a photo of your Y. glauca? I'd try another source. They seem rock hardy here and we get loads of precipitation in winter. They are always wet!

Yeah, I know... Perhaps, these well developed plants don't like replanting. The last one has died being brought to Kazakhstan from the Humber Nurseries (ON) this May. Of course I do not take pics of my dying plants... And now I have three variations of the Glauca seedlings. Hope it would help having them growing in my garden.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 11:20 am

Of course I do not take pics of my dying plants

I know the feeling well, Igor.

Barb

MCKATELYN · Post by **MCKATELYN** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 8:05 pm

This is a picture of my new Yucca elata that is ging to be dug and shipped to me. It's in Idaho. The nursery assured me they will get all the taproot so it can survive. I'm so excited

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 8:36 pm

MCKATELYN wrote:This is a picture of my new Yucca elata that is ging to be dug and shipped to me. It's in Idaho. The nursery assured me they will get all the taproot so it can survive. I'm so excited

Looks too be a nice one, good luck.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 10:36 pm

Igor

I think your 'glauca' which died from moisture is really a form of Y. angustissima. They can look very similar but angustissimas perform VERY poorly in my climate too. I think it's due to our moist air.

I can't figure out angustissima and harrimaniae.......they don't like my climate.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 10:38 pm

Kate

That's a beauty of a Y. elata. Keep us updated on it's progress.

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 8:04 am

Agree on the angustissima. The things just won't take the wet winter here... Maybe another 1000 plant grow-up is in order!