ranking of hardiest yuccas (assuming a dry winter)

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Anyone want to make a semi-educated attempt at a top five (or ten if you can) hardiest yuccas list? I'm gearing this towards drier winter conditions, but feel free to chime in for more wet climes too! Here's my attempt:

1. glauca -no disputing this one-native to southeastern Alberta and hardy in Winnipeg, MN-what more can you say?!)

2. baccata -officially listed hardy to -29 C. I think there are full baccatas (possible x glaucas in Calgary, AB-3B). Interestingly, a baccata x glauca cross will trunk, unlike either species on its own!)

3. filamentosa -root hardy to at least 3B but suffers more leaf damage than glauca)

4. elata -trunking species that has survived minus 25-30 Celsius in northern Washington state)

5. rostrata -trunking specimens survive arctic blasts in Denver, CO)

6. brevifolia -survives in Idaho, Salt Lake City at least -20C without protection)

7. faxoniana-trunking species, will reportedly tolerate short bouts of -23 C

8. thompsoniana- very similar in appearance to rostrata, but less hardy

9. schottii- less spectacular than other trunking species, hardy in the realm of faxoniana and thompsoniana (-23 C)

10. schidigera, filfera, rigida- in a tie for 10th, these species are likely hardy in the realm of -15C.

[DesertZone]

1-gluaca

2-filamentosa

3-baccata, gloriosa verigated, I have had baccata die to the ground in cold wet weather.

4-brevifolia, rostrata, tompsoniana, all do better with age.

5-schotti, faxoniana

6-schidigera, filifera?, ridida.

General info- baccata can have nice trunks depending where they are from.

[Paul Ont]

I'll give 'er a go here:

glauca (-40C?)
filamentosa (-32C)- inc. 'flaccida'
arkansana
angustissima
elata

baccata (high altitude forms)
harrimaniae (and similar)
brevifolia
thompsoniana
recurvfolia

I reserve the right to revise this if I've forgotten any species!

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Very cool, thanks guys!

Aaron, I assume the trunking baccata is less hardy? That's cool, didn't know there was one!

Paul, looks like there's some other species I need to learn about. Have you tried either arkansana, angustissima?

Thanks!

Duncan

[Paul Ont]

I have a small arkansana that survived last winter with no leaf burn, where filamentosa had some burn... But it being small might have meant the eaves were covered in snow.
I have seed from angustissima that I collected at c. 8000' in Utah. I haven't gotten around to trying it outdoors yet though. Maybe next year!

[DesertZone]

Very cool, thanks guys!

Aaron, I assume the trunking baccata is less hardy? That's cool, didn't know there was one!

Paul, looks like there's some other species I need to learn about. Have you tried either arkansana, angustissima?

Thanks!

Duncan

I think the trunking baccata is just as hardy?, but I don't know first hand. I only know of two areas where they have nice trunks. A place by the Grandcanyon and South-East Arizona. The ones by the canyon had long trunks "some longer than 5 ft" but most grew along the ground. S.E. AZ had nice upright trunks.

Here is some baccata from my place in AZ, you can see that they are sarting to trunk. A little water and clean them up and I bet they would be real nice.

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Very nice Aaron! Must be nice to have two places suited to all kinds of yuccas!

Duncan

[DesertZone]

Very nice Aaron! Must be nice to have two places suited to all kinds of yuccas!

Duncan

So far it's been great.

[hardyjim]

Y.aloifolia and Y.gloriosa are said to be hardy to 0(F) if kept dry.