| Nate |
| | April 04, 2008 | Reply with quote | #1 |
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Hey everyone:
I noted in a post a long time ago that I was very interested in trying Yuccas. As of today I am 100% sure of 6 different varieties that have performed very well in Edmonton zone 3 climate. For a little background on them, they enjoy lots of sun and the least moisture possible. They are very tropical looking, some of them grow trunks like palm trees but none of the ones I've tried are trunking. They grow flower stocks that can grow up to 4 feet tall with huge white creamy blooms. I will add links for pictures throughout.
Noting this past winter as the lowest temps we've had in 10 years, it was a great one to check out how the yuccas performed. I'll start with the yucca glauca. This one is native to southern alberta and performs exceptional in our climate. There are many great examples all over Edmonton that have looked great for many years and are of mature size. http://www.yuccaagavaceae.com/yglauca.html
The second one is Yucca Harrimaniae. This one is much more compact with yellow edges. There is a good example that has been growing at a local nursery for many years. This is considered a zone 4 plant. http://www.yuccaagavaceae.com/harrimaniae.jpg
The last 4 are all considered zone 5 by many but have performed well in Edmonton. The first is a Yucca Flaccida. This one has been growing in a friend's yard for 3 years now with no winter damage. http://www.yuccaagavaceae.com/yflaccida.html
Yucca Filamentosa has a main variety and 2 variegated varieties. I planted a "color gaurd" that performed perfect in a customers yard this year and even flowered! I will be sure to drop by their place and take a photo. The other two varieties are also known to do well here.
http://www.yuccaagavaceae.com/yfilamentosa.html
http://beautifulbotany.com/STOCK%20T-Z/Yucca%20filamentosa%20'Color%20Guard'.jpg
These plants are beautiful and great for dry climates. I would like to see much more experimentation with them and even trying some of the trunking variety which I will probably do this year.
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| Nate | |
| Jim Kohut |
| | April 05, 2008 | Reply with quote | #3 |
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You'll get my vote on these! It's taken me some time to warm up to yuccas, but having seen them in full glorious bloom around here, and now with the exciting new variegated varieties, I'm sold! I might even try one in my gardens, although I have a difficult time envisioning how to use it in my stylings.
Now as for palm trees in Edmonton...
Good luck with that! 
Jim K.
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| Nate |
| | April 05, 2008 | Reply with quote | #4 |
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Comon Jim, you gotta admit it looks pretty tempting when you see those palms braving near -30c temperatures in that Colorado backyard.
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| Glen |
| | April 08, 2008 | Reply with quote | #5 |
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After growing yucca filamentosa for a few years now, I am of the belief that these are very tough plants. For those that don't know, they have a rhizome-like root. That alone ensures that should something happen to the top of the plant, they usually resprout from the root. They seem to tolerate clay soil and short periods of soggy soil too (when we have our annual June wet spell). The one problem I have consistently is winter damage (to the evergreen blade leaves) but I cut away the dead leaves and by July the plant recovers fairly nicely. Mine has only bloomed once, however, so perhaps winter damage limits the blooms the next summer?
I also have the variegated color-guard yucca, but this one doesn't seem as hardy, that is, it consistantly dies back to the ground level. Because of this, I just kept it in a clay pot last summer, we'll see how it survives this year. Definitely pretty though.
P.S. I was reading on a forum about one person who actually grows hardy palms in zone 4. He chooses the hardiest varieties such as windmill palm and covers them in fall with a large (6 foot high?) wooden box (with insulation) for winter and the box has a light fixture in it which keeps the temperatures inside at a moderate level. I guess it's enough to keep the soil from freezing around the roots too. It's interesting to see the lengths people will go to in order to grow their favorite plants.
Then there are bananas such as musa bajoo. Apparently some people dig them up in fall and store the plant (stem and root) in a cool cellar. The next spring you replant them and they grow bigger and better each year. In milder climates (zone 6) you can actually leave in the ground and insulate it well so the ground doesn't freeze around the roots. I have a different type of banana plant (actually a relative of banana called ensete) and just reduced watering and kept in a window all winter. It looks scraggly, but hopefully it will make the transition back outside.
Glen
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| Brenda Burgess |
| | April 18, 2008 | Reply with quote | #6 |
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Hi, I purchased an Adam's Needle yucca about 5 years ago simply because its' foilage made for a fantastic focal point in one of my perennial beds. I didn't know much about yuccas at all, but was assured by the nursery folks that it would winter here in the Edmonton area. Well, it wintered fine, and the second year it got so big that I had to move it to a roomier location. I was surprised at how deep the root went, and was unable to unearth all of it. I broke it off at about 16" and replanted it, worried that I had done it irreversible damage. Not to worry, though - it performed so well it bloomed that year! I was pleasantly surprised to see the 4' stalk loaded with creamy white, beautifully fragrant blossoms. Now I have several yuccas growing from the original broken off root, which I plan to relocate this year into my front yard where the entire neighbourhood can enjoy them. Great plant, and now, with the info gleaned here, I will be adding some new varieties. Thanks! |
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| Jim Kohut |
| | April 24, 2008 | Reply with quote | #7 |
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You guys are driving me nuts - I DON'T NEED TO FALL IN LOVE WITH ANY MORE PLANTS!!
Now I want to try a Yucca....
 
Jim K.
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| Michelle |
| | June 17, 2008 | Reply with quote | #8 |
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I have found these threads very interesting. I have been "toying" with twoYucca that I bought three summers ago. Interesting enough, I live in Southern Wisconsin and I did not know what to expect from the two that I purchased and I originally potted. I planted as a perennial survivor in the fall of the first summer. They seemingly survived as next spring they produced some great regrowth and greenery. However, this third summer they are finally producing blossoms. I love it! They are remarkably tolerant of cold weather ( and I was on my snowmobile almost every weekend this past winter with fresh snow) and when they finally produced a bloom it is so exciting. It seemingly requires patience and no skill. I gave them very little care. I imagine with care this event would have come much sooner. Nonetheless, it is gratifying! The plant somewhat gives you the feeling that they survived the Cretaceous age and are our human link to a plant-life time we never new! I am increasingly impressed. I intend now on getting to know the plant a little better and nurturing it more and seeing what happens.
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| eieioooo |
| | Oct 26, 2009 | Reply with quote | #9 |
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Well... you've convinced me... I'm going to try them in Sask this coming spring! |
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| Daryl |
| | Nov 02, 2009 | Reply with quote | #10 |
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I have a yucca glauca happily growing in my front flowerbed close to the house. It's only two years old, but it looks good, takes the heat well in summer and doesn't mind being dry. It even looks fine in the winter, until the snow piles up high enough to bury it.
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| vernon getzler | |
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