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And to Phillip, and all those people that post flower/plants photographs, in this forum, thank you so very much, they are really beautiful and we appreciate them!
I think the yucca is one plant that would totally survive a nuclear war. I got rid of some growing around the foundation of my house and out in the yard. I think the root system goes halfway to China. I chopped it down, waited for sprouts to come up and chopped them too. (They're rough on lawn mower blades!) Then I got another idea. When I cut the spikes or whatever you call them, I had some good Round Up. Now the kind you get at Walmart, but the good stuff a friendly farmer might let you have. Don't mix it with water. As soon as you cut the plant, pour straight Round Up on the cuts. it will take it down through the roots. It will still take a while, but not as long as otherwise.
I love yuccas so much . I have had many of them and I threw off because of my small house , I had a beautiful garden as well but I stoped taking care of it . I wish I can have yuccas and a garden again.
Yes! I didn't realize they grew so large. We have some over here in the northeast. I have seen them grow outdoors and survive the winters, but they don't grow very big. They DO flower though. I love them because they remind me of warm tropical climates. I got a few for my patio, but they froze over the winter and died. One of them grew shoots and did come back this spring, though. I guess you need to keep them close to the foundation in winter, or inside if they're in pots like mine are. Thanks for the lovely pictures. Can you guys grow agave out there, too?
Some more Yucca plants I spotted in Chicagoland over the weekend. I picked up a Y. filamentosa as well (first pic).
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e295/envenomate/Yfilamentosa.jpg (broken link)
Location: somewhere close to Tampa, but closer to the beach
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yuccas are great accent plants and i really like using them in appropriate landscape situations..all of them, except one..and heres why:
...as anyone who lives south of zone 8b-9a could tell you, ...giant yucca, or Yucca guatemalensis is used extensively in home landscapes.. infact,here in California,it is planted almost everywhere...and i do mean EVERYWHERE..
..the main trouble with it is that it is rarely cared for enough to look good...
the trunk which forms on it gets HUGE...sometimes up to 4' across at the base!!!...trust me, its a very impressive sight. as to taking one out..better be prepared for a ton of work..and even then..this thing will find a way to re grow..
..trunks also tend to hold old foliage for quite awhile and can look quite ugly unless cleaned..
...another potential problem was noted this past winter when we had a moderately strong wind storm...the tops of several dozen of this specimen were completely lopped off..leaving behind very ugly looking sticks... many were later whacked nearly to the ground..or huge base of the tree..
.....this species also requires thinning on a yearly basis. this past spring, an un-thinned specimen on my property started dropping branch ends..when i examined them,as well as the tree itself, i noted all sorts of insect activity..some sort of beetle which had infested it..later, i noted this on other specimens in other neighborhoods...
....perhaps a better alternative for similar areas might be Draceana draco
or the 'dragon tree'..which looks like a cross between a yucca,a burly oak( the trunk and large branch pattern) and a huge agave or tree aloe..it also gets impressive large but looks better...id like to see it used or experimented with more in favored spots here in the bay area..
Yeah, the yuccas in the original thread are awesome! The ones here are not like that.. we have the ones like in the lower post, but some of these around here grow long stalks like little trees. We have alot of these (which can be seen in the background part of this photo of my Live Oak). I also have a Spanish Dagger and a Spanish Bayonet. One of them thrives (I think its the dagger), but the other dies out every winter and comes back in the summer... strange.
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