Yucca gloriosa     
Spanish dagger   
Agavaceae Family     

streetside clump of Yucca gloriosa

Form: single or multitrunked rosette of points; sometimes many clumped trunks
Seasonality: evergreen
Size: to 10ft, spread to 8ft
Leaves: bright green points, 2-3ft long, upright, somewhat flexible, smooth
Flowers: terminal spike growing from mid section of plant; 2-3ft above foliage; creamy white bell-shaped flowers; bloom in late summer
Fruit: not significant (not usually seen)
Stems/Trunks: trunked with age
Range/Origin: tropical areas of SE US; North Carolina to Florida
Hardiness: leaf damage seen at 20°F

LANDSCAPE VALUE:

• accent plant
• tropical effect
• good near pools
• containers and large planters
• indoors

top view (looking down) showing rossette arrangment of leaf points

CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Exposure: takes full sun when sheltered from worst heat; also okay in shade
• Water: needs regular, frequent irrigation (once per week or per two weeks)
• Soil: uniform, good drainage
• Propagation: seed, clump divisions, stem cuttings
• Maintenance: low; removal of dead leaves when larger

flexible leaves of Yucca gloriosa

NOTES:

one of the more popular yuccas, often used as a houseplant, valued for its smooth (relatively) soft leaves

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This page was first created September 21, 2001 and last modified May 16, 2004.

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Web page design and photographs by Toni Moore, Master Gardener
email to: tmoore1@flash.net

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