Yucca Plants
Forum Archives
kayac2005
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Apr-02-2005 at 12:25pm
Hi all fellow northwest gardeners. I have 2 golden sword yuccas that have been established [in ground] for a year in Redmond. One is growing considerably better than the other and appears to have new shoots this spring. The other seems to be weak, it hasn't grown at the same rate and it has a black center where the shoots come from, and they fall off if touched. Could this be root rot due to the recent abundance of rain? Will it dry out on it's own and recover? Any advice or recommendations are appreciated.
Lisa A
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Apr-02-2005 at 1:58pm
it sounds like rot but i have a few questions before i can say with any certainty. how's the drainage for the ill plant? is drainage the same for both? what is it mulched with and is mulch piled up around the base? when did you first notice symptoms? did it receive summer water last year? overhead watering? sun/shade conditions info would also be useful.
if it is rot, you may need to take steps to improve drainage for it. hard to say if it will dry out on its own without more info or whether action now will salvage it [no way to know how far gone it is].
growest Joined: Oct-14-2003 Location: Western British Columbia
Posted: Apr-02-2005 at 7:36pm
Kayac--I've had problems with yuccas after they have flowered. The centers of those plants tend to do what you've described.
Good news is I've never seen one actually die, they just make a bunch of "babies" around the old dead center...not as attractive to my eye but at least not a total loss.
With the constant rain right now, some kind of cover to keep the plant dry might help it avoid further damage until we get warm, dry weather that will push new, healthy growth. A piece of glass supported by large bricks or pots, or??? Just keep lots of air movement underneath if you do this...trying to avoid rain but keeping things as ventilated as possible at the same time!
Yucca roots are famous for their persistence, so I really doubt you'll lose the plant in the long run...
Glen
basilgirl
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Apr-03-2005 at 9:25pm
I also have seen this as normal after flowering. the parent plant is just done and the babies will take over.
Lisa A
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Apr-04-2005 at 9:20am
i didn't know that yuccas behaved similarly to sempervivums aka hens and chicks; they die after flowering. very interesting. my ahs a-z ency doesn't mention that at all. i'll have to see if any of my other resources note this [you'd think one would since it seems a rather important detail].
kaya, do you see 'babies' around your dying yucca plant?
Garden Spider
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Apr-04-2005 at 9:10pm
My yuccas have bloomed every year since we moved in in 1993, and haven't died yet. Darn. I wish they would. I don't like them.
I like Yuccas elsewhere--I've seen some stunning garden designs with Yuccas--but as with everything else that was planted here originally, no thought was given to how the plant would look where it was when full grown.
Could it be a certain species of Yucca that dies after blooming?
Barb
bakingbarb
Location: Washington, Western
Posted: Apr-04-2005 at 9:53pm
Oh when I first read this post I just drew a blank. Mine have always done that. The parent plant dies off and the baby plant pops up from the base and takes its place. The baby plant then flowers the next year. Yippee I do so enjoy those plants, they are just so majestic.
~BakingBarb
basilgirl
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Apr-05-2005 at 7:32pm
its just been my experience with them- bloom and die. i have a friend who grows them ill ask her what she has to say
Garden Spider
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Apr-05-2005 at 9:03pm
Could my Yuccas not be Yuccas? Maybe that's why they aren't dying after they bloom? As far as I know, there have never been any baby plants, either, unless the parent plant dies during the night and the baby plant shoots up to 3 ft tall the next morning.
Maybe what I have isn't a Yucca. I wonder what it is, then?
Barb
Red Hare
Location: Oregon coast
Posted: Apr-06-2005 at 10:47am
Agave?
JeanneK
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Apr-06-2005 at 1:06pm
What do the flowers look like, Barb? Yuccas have beautiful, tall spires of creamy, gladioli like flowers. Could your plant be a phormium?
Jeanne
Fern
Location: Washington, Western Cascade Foothills
Posted: Apr-07-2005 at 10:14am
My Yucca filamentosa usually dies after blooming and producing babies but not always. One interesting thing is that they were original to the house, very old, and in total shade now. The grow slowly but still flower. Very low maintenance plants.
Fern
Garden Spider
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Apr-07-2005 at 8:37pm
Jeanne, the plant sends up tall flower stalks, and I guess they are sort of Gladiolus-like. Creamy white.
I don't think it's a Phormium. The leaves are different than a Phormium, and not as fleshy as an Agave. The leaves have a sandpapery feel, I think (now I'm going to have to go over there and feel them, to be sure). I think it is a Yucca--it just doesn't die after flowering. Perhaps I should inform it that it just isn't behaving properly!
Barb
JeanneK
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Apr-08-2005 at 8:24am
It is probably a yucca, Barb. Flowers sound right. My yuccas don't die either but I have just the green leaved variety.
That's interesting that the filementosas do. I thought you couldn't kill a yucca! Jeanne
Lisa A
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Apr-08-2005 at 10:23am
This has been a very enlightening thread! kayac2005 hasn't come back yet (it's odd but we have posters who pop in, ask a question and never return) but the rest of us have certainly benefited from her question.
Red Hare
Location: Oregon coast
Posted: Apr-08-2005 at 2:08pm
Yucca Do Nursery in Texas has a website with photos of most of their yuccas - you could try looking there to see if something looks familiar. It's www.yuccado.com.
They've got some succulents that are calling my name....
bakingbarb
Location: Washington, Western
Posted: Apr-08-2005 at 6:03pm
Oh thanks a new site to drool over plants I have never seen before. Where am I going to put plants? There are no more flower beds already made I cannot dig flower beds for anything, hmmmmmmm my son is going to help me with yard work I wonder????
~BakingBarb
Lisa A
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Apr-08-2005 at 6:08pm
www.yuccado.com - Red Hare's link made "hyper" for those of who are too impatient to copy and paste (the finger is pointed straight back at me). "More plants to look at? Cool! But I want to get there right now!"
JeanneK
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Apr-09-2005 at 2:38pm
Whoo wee! Such cool agaves. Can't beat those blue ones for such gorgeous color. It is surprising how many can handle shade. Probably full sun here in the PNW though. You're right, Red Hare, there are several agave that look like yuccas.
Jeanne
bakingbarb
Location: Washington, Western
Posted: Apr-10-2005 at 10:29am
Wow when you go on the new plants page, that agave is a WOW. Can we grow those plants here? Most of the zones I see are 8a, would that be pushing it here or would that be grow the smaller ones and dig in the fall? OR duh I could grow in pots. Maybe I will just stop looking and not buy a thing! I still do not have my fruit tree site ready and there is enough rain now isnt there!
~BakingBarb
kayac2005
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Apr-11-2005 at 12:03pm
Hi guys, thanks for all of your feedback. Having internet trouble in my area has kept me off the forum. I noticed that my really healthy yucca has two shoots coming off the base this spring and is generally more robust, meaning wider and taller, and has more swords. The other one is planted about 3 feet next to it (all share the same large flower bed which gently slopes away from the house) and it doesn't appear to have babies yet, but it doesn't look ill, it just has this one black spot in the center where the middle fell out. All of my other complementary plants, 12+ hostas, 5+ forget me nots, 6+ ice dance sedge, and daisies are doing great so I think the drainage, soil and watering is just right, I wonder if perhaps I didn't originally plant the yucca in a large enough hole which could have restricted it initially? With so many plants in the bed, I may have just not given it the greatest start.
You guys are GREAT!
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
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