My favorite Yuccas

[Benny, Northern Denmark]

Hello all,

"On request" I start this new topic "My favorite Yuccas". I will look forward to read about and see all your favorite Yuccas.

So here is the first of the candidates from our garden/greenhouses:

Yucca angustissima ssp. kanabensis X (filamentosa x arkansana) BMJ #2086A.





The photo is from August 12th. 2013.

This specimen were 2009-03-16 and planted in the garden 2009-06-09. has already surivied the horror winter 2009-10 and the following 3 harsh winters without any problems. It is just a SUPER plant.

I very much like the many and quite thick fibers at the edge of the leaves. I have planted more clones in other places of the garden, but they were sown 2½ years later, and thet are therefor not interesting - YET I look forward to see the flowers of this one, when it one day decides to bloom.

At this web page you will find some more photos: http://www.bennyskaktus.dk/yucca-hybrid ... -2086.html

Enjoy

Benny

[Benny, Northern Denmark]

Another favorite of mine is this Hungarian hybrid:

Yucca glauca ssp. stricta x baccata, made by Demeter Janakidisz, Hungary.



I find this one is much more beautiful than the 3x hybrid: Yucca (aloifolia x stricta made by Demeter Janakidisz) x baccata, made by Ferenc Kurilla, Hungary.

The Yucca glauca ssp. stricta X baccata has much more narrow leaves, and they are very blue-grey in color. My specimen is grown inside an unheated greenhouse and were received as a small seedling in 2009, I think it was planted in the spring of 2010.

Best regards

Benny

[DesertZone]

This might be my new favorite yucca. Bought as thompsoniana, but now belived too be a croos from rostrata/thompsoniana x elata?

The owner and his yucca at Plantasia Cactus Gardens.

[Benny, Northern Denmark]

Hello,

It's easy to understand why this in one of your favorites. How long are the leaves 3½ - 4 feet? I had a similar plant, which unfortunately died in the winter of 2009-10, 4 month under snow was too much for it.

Thanks for sharing.

Benny

P.S. I think, that I still have a one "Plantasia Opuntia" left of some I got 15 years.

[DesertZone]

Hello,

It's easy to understand why this in one of your favorites. How long are the leaves 3½ - 4 feet? I had a similar plant, which unfortunately died in the winter of 2009-10, 4 month under snow was too much for it.

Thanks for sharing.

Benny

P.S. I think, that I still have a one "Plantasia Opuntia" left of some I got 15 years.

Yes, I think about 3.5 feet long.

4 months of snow cover ouch! Not many yuccas would like that.

[Benny, Northern Denmark]

You are absolutely right.

The 4 last winters has been quite hard on out plants. The four winters were very different from each other, so those plants which did survive the snow pressure and the long snow cover in the winter of 2009-10, were killed by one of the following winters:
2010-11 1 meter of wet snow, which later froze to a glacier. Followed by a cold summer, with little or no growth.
2011-12 not much snow cover and down to- 17C. Followed by a cold summer, with little or no growth - 5 days above 25C and 21 days above 20C - including the 5 days with 25C!!
2012-13 very dry and with lots of wind, which did freeze-dry incredible many plants. Followed by a extremely late and dry spring, which did dehyrate whose plants which wasn't already dried out during the winter. Many Yuccas and bamboos have had to start from the rhizomes every spring these 4 years, so they are really reduced in size, and most wild species are wiped out in the garden (those in the unheated greenhouse are OK).

The summer of 2013 was OK, it arrived late, but with lots of sunshine, and the temperatures were nice too. In this part of Denmark all up to 28C one day, and many days around 25C in July, 150 km south of here they had temperatures above 30C!

During these 4 winter our collection of Opuntia is reduced with about 95 %, even forms which I have been growing since 1974 is now instinct in the garden. But this leaves us with the 5% of "Untouchables" well worth to grow here

Here is a photo from February 21st 2010:



More photos here http://www.bennyskaktus.dk/winter/2010.02.21/index.html

At this time, many of the plants had been covered with snow since late October ---- and the last snow in the garden melted April 7th. 2010! (and on the same date in 2012 and 2013)

Benny

[igor.glukhovtsev]

Very interesting! You mentioned that the snow cover was occurring from late October until beginning of April last winter. And what is minimum winter temperature there?

[Benny, Northern Denmark]

Hello Igor,

The winter of 2012-13 was not very cold, "only" very long and very dry. I think, that the coldest were -16C and most of the time only -2 to -5 to -9C, also during the daytime (at December 21st. the "daylenght" just over 6 hours and the sun is very low in the horizon, so a sunny day does not give much "heat effect". We live in a windy area, so most snow were actually evaporating without melting. And this made the very dry spring even more dry, as there were no precipitation.
Us Danes up here in the part called Vendsyssel, usually joke and say "it is only windy 300 days a year - pause - the rest of the year it's stormy

Have a nice day

Benny

[Benny, Northern Denmark]

I forgot,

The reason why we get so much snow in our garden, is that we have farmers fields on 3 sides of our garden. So if it snows with just a little wind from either W, NW, N, NE, E or SE, the snow from maybe 25 to 35 hectares will end in our garden. In the snow-rich winter of 2009-10 the minimum snow layer were about 75 cm and maximum about 2½ meter. This is the thickest layer of snow in the 23 years I have lived here. The coldest winter were in 1995-96, 4½ month below freezing and in 3 weeks not above -15C, not even in the daytime - brrrrr all my South African plants an loads of other plants died that winter, on May 8th. I think, there were still 5 cm of frozen soil about 20 cm down in the peat-beds!

Benny

[igor.glukhovtsev]

Thanks Benny! A reason I'm asking is an information from Dr.Rusanov book stated that Y.rigida survived after minus 24C in 1954. I have a ton of seedling hopefully to be planted outside next year... What should I expect... Our winter is as long as yours is. It's badly cold. There is a lot of snow during January-February. A plenty of sun in summer and the fall is dry and no freezing rain during the winter months. And no wind... Thanks Gosh, no wind any time of year.

[DesertZone]

Dr.Rusanov book stated that Y.rigida survived after minus 24C in 1954. I have a ton of seedling hopefully to be planted outside next year... What should I expect...

I hope they all grow well for you, but from what I have seen they are atleast a zone 7b yucca. If you find a hardier rigida that would be great.
I sure would like seed from the one that survived -24C

[DesertZone]

. Followed by a cold summer, with little or no growth.

Benny

The summer here has been warm with temps close to or at 100f most of July and Aug. What I have noticed is the new growth on the yuccas have been much more blue/silver color. I wonder if this is a increase in plant sugars? And I wonder if they will do better through the winter now.

[DesertZone]

Yucca schottii
Sunsites AZ

[TimMAz6]

Benny....your Yucca angustissima ssp. kanabensis X (filamentosa x arkansana) BMJ #2086A is a very interesting hybrid and I can't wait to see the blooms on these with the angustissima genes in them.

Here's an update from the two forms in my garden...I think 2086 and 2087. They don't appear to be super aggressive like some Yuccas in our climate can be.....the lack of aggressiveness is likely due to the angusitissima genes since this species performs very poorly in our climate.....not sure why?

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 243215.jpg>

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... f4638d.jpg>

This one is being overgrown.....I need to cut that other plant back.
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 732514.jpg>

Currently my favorite Yucca in my garden is Benny's Y. filamentosa x filamentosa since it looks GREAT year-round here. Many Yuccas only look good in August and September here since the snow loads beat up the leaves and they need time to fill out again.

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... ac598d.jpg>

Another Yucca which tends to look great year round in my garden is the Y. filamentosa x glauca with it's short trunks
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 30c844.jpg>

Yucca elata v verdiensis is another great Yucca in my climate
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... a72b3c.jpg>

Yucca elata is great but only looks good in August and September......not as great in other months. It's very slow to break dormancy here in our climate and new leaves don't grow until late June.
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 9e6b65.jpg>

Another great Yucca is Y. filata 'Big Mama' but this Yucca is in 'full glory' only 1 in 3 years! But when it looks great it is a show stopper and I can't stop looking at it.
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 01823a.jpg>

PS, Yucca rostrata is great too. Nice big trunk and NO maintenance at all.
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 0a91ae.jpg>

Yucca constricta is a beauty too.....sorry no current photo.

Y. constricta x filamentosa has great looking blooms but the plants are nothing special and very high maintenance which I don't care for.

Aaron,

that Y. thompsoniana x elata hybrid is WAY too cool. I love that massive Y. shottii too.

[DesertZone]

Currently my favorite Yucca in my garden is Benny's Y. filamentosa x filamentosa since it looks GREAT year-round here.
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... ac598d.jpg>

I thought this was filamentosa x rostrata? Whatever it is, it is just awesome.

[DesertZone]

This one is being overgrown.....I need to cut that other plant back.
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 732514.jpg>

What salvia is that?

[Benny, Northern Denmark]

Hello Tim,

Thanks for showing some of your favorite Yuccas.

Yes, many Yuccas look their best right now. But soon the "fungi-season" starts, and the weak ones which need to be removed, will be easy to point out.

The hybrids with the Yucca angustissima ssp. kanabensis is behaving very variable, some has grown quite well, whereas others had died back. I have not been very observant and I have not made any notes about it, because the winter and the summers has been so harsh on most plants in the garden. I'm just glad for all those, which has started growing new rosettes again from the rhizomes below. The "mother-father" specimen of Yucca angustissima ssp. kanabensis has also died back, but there are now 4 small plants comming up, and I hope for a mild winter, so they don't have to start again from deep below.

I used to have a Yucca elata ssp. verdiensis with a small trunk, but I think it's gone during one of the last winters, it was a very nice little plant with lots of fibers - I just love fibers, the more the merrier. Maybe it's because I have so little left on my own head

Here is a photo of one of our cactus/Yucca-beds:



In here there used to be at least 50-70 different Opuntias, two big Yuccas with 40 to 50 cm trunks (Yucca glauca ssp. stricta and an elata, somewhat like DesertZone's ). some trunking Yucca glauca (from New Mexico), Yucca baccata (Texas and New Mexico), and lots of other wild species. But as you can see, are there only small Yuccas growing, most starting from rhizomes. And you need to know where the remains of Opuntisa are growing. Almost all the regrowing Yuccas are man-made hybrids!

Have a nice day

Benny

[Benny, Northern Denmark]

Igor,

I haven't had much luck with Yucca rigida. I have tried some in the unheated greenhouse, but none of them has survived for long. The same goes for Yucca rostrata (BIG plant), thompsoniana and linearifolia. At the moment I have one small 2-3 year old seedling of a Yucca thompsoniana which is still alive, it's planted inside an unheated greenhouse. All it's siblings from the same batch of seeds growing in pots died (about 30 plants). I might have a small rostrata somewhere in the greenhouse also, but as you have seen in the photos, the bed in the greenhouse is jammed with plants, all fighting to outlive their neighbors So I need to look close to find it ...!

I would try planting a few plants on several different places in the garden or better in an unheated greehouse. You seem to have a much shorter winter and better summers, which I am sure of will improve your chances.

Have a nice day

Benny

[araliaman]

Hi Benny and Tim,
one of my favorite Yucca is the hybrid from you , Benny, growing in the garden of Tim Behan..I'm talking about Yucca filamentosa X Yucca rostrata.
An another one is Yucca x 'Bishe' from Germany
In France, growing in my garden, my favorite Yucca is Yucca desmetiana (the real one !) and Yucca linearifolia.

[seedscanada]

Welcome to the fore, Araliaman. We would love to see some pictures!

[TimMAz6]

Benny.......yes your climate is very demanding on Yuccas since they thrive on sun/heat. I can only imagine your climate is similar to parts of Nova Scotia?

Fred......welcome to the forum....and yes, lets see some photos!! I too like Y. 'Bische' very much too and so far it's hardy in my climate.

[Benny, Northern Denmark]

Tim,

Oh-No, Nova Scotia is a tropical isle More like France or southern Germany, I would guess. Halifax, Nova Scotia is at latitude 44.38 and we live at 57°25'0.35"N 9°59'27.00"Ø. 1. latitude is 111 km, so we are 1425 km further north. I have a friend just north of Stockholm, Sweden, he also grow Yuccas and Opuntia in his garden! His garden is at approximately Latitude 59.3 and at his place it is however a little warmer during the summer, but a lot colder in winter.

If you plot the coordinates into Google Earth, you can see our garden from above. And you will be able to see the greenhouses and the cactus/Yucca beds too.

Here is a Google Earth snapshot I just made:



Our property is marked black (with a shaky hand) and the yellow numbers refer to our 4 greenhouses. I think, that the satellite took the photo maybe 2-3 years ago, in spring and at about in the late afternoon from the length and direction of the shades.

More favorite-Yucca-candidates will be added later.

Have a nice day

Benny

[TimMAz6]

Hi Benny,

here's a quick summary between your area, Nova Scotia and Boston, Massachusetts. Boston gets a few nice warm months where your area and Nova Scotia miss out.

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 52657c.png>

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 500a55.png>

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... ffae02.png>

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... cfa79f.png>

[andym]

Well this yucca is the bees knees for me which I have shown before and resides in the garden of Nick Macer's Pan Global Plants. I'm sure this Yucca is a hybrid but has some Linearifolia genes in it.






A pretty unique plant that loves the rain, took -18C without a blink and is currently around 8ft tall

[DesertZone]

Well this yucca is the bees knees for me which I have shown before and resides in the garden of Nick Macer's Pan Global Plants. I'm sure this Yucca is a hybrid but has some Linearifolia genes in it.






A pretty unique plant that loves the rain, took -18C without a blink and is currently around 8ft tall

That is one cool yucca!

[TimMAz6]

Hi Andy.......that is a cool Yucca.........since it's so cold/wet hardy I can only imagine it has some elata genes in it too??

[DesertZone]

Hi Andy.......that is a cool Yucca.........since it's so cold/wet hardy I can only imagine it has some elata genes in it too??

I bet you are right, looks something like the one from Plantasia Cactus Gardens.

[Benny, Northern Denmark]

Tim,

Thanks for the great weather/climate site. Yes it does seem, as we have a very much equal climate as Nova Scotia. Unfortunately is there no weather date from near out garden. We live an garden in the northern part of Denmark and our climate is very much influenced by the mountains in Norway! This gives us a colder, more sunny and somewhat drier clima, than the weather data of the towns available on the website - Well today it's not at all sunny or dry, it's raining, but actually much needed, it has been a very dry year.

Maybe if the global warming makes the Golf-stream swing towards Denmark's west-coast in stead of the Norwegian West-coast, then we will be able to grow palms up here too

Have a nice day

Benny

[Benny, Northern Denmark]

Hello again,

Here is another favorite Yucca:

Yucca 'Elena's Star':

Here as 4 years old:



Here as 6 years old:



Here is a photo of the flower, you can see why this Yucca has the word "star" in it:



Here is a photo of the specimen later with lots of seed pods growing:



At this webpage you will find more photos of this Yucca:

http://www.bennyskaktus.dk/yucca-hybrid ... _Star.html

Yucca 'Elena's Star' is easy to grow and does not show any damage after the winters. It's a hybrid I made in 2003 a cross of a Yucca glauca as seedparent and a big Yucca in the Yucca flaccida-filamentosa complex (BMJ#1402), this plant has very glaucous leaves and despite it very dry growing place, it make flowers up to 180 cm tall. The flower stalk is very rigid and it is never blown over as most "garden Yuccas" does here in our very windy climate.

But when the hybrid flowered and had tons of huge seedpods, I had to support it because of the heavy weight of the pods:



As you can see, did I made a lot of seedpods on this plant, and those pods pollinated with pollen from another Yucca has germinated well, whereas those pollinated with it's own pollen had a much lower germination-rate. The seedlings of the "next-generation-hybrids" grows well, and I look forward to see, if any has inherited the large star-formed flowers.

So far have I only been able to make one cutting, so propagation is very slow, I hope that I can get it propagated in Tissue-culture, so it can be available to other gardens.

Best wishes

Benny

[Benny, Northern Denmark]

Hello again,

Here is another of my favorites:

Yucca "Karlsruhensis type 2" x elata, a hybrid I made in 2004.

Here is the biggest clone in our garden at the moment:

http://postimg.org/image/jhp0cv6r9/

in 2011 I had another clone which flowered:



The reason I like this hybrid so much, is because of all the fibers it has on the leaves, they give a nice look together with the very dark green color of the leaves. The flower-stalk is 3 times taller than the seed-parent and at least 3 times shorter than it's pollen-parent. The flowers are not so big, but but this gives the plant even more elegant appearance.

Here you can find some more photos, and see how the parent-plants looks:

http://www.bennyskaktus.dk/yucca-hybrid ... -2001.html

Have a nice day

Benny

[elburro]

Hello Benny and all my fellow yucca fanatics!
While surfing the internet for information on cactus, yucca and succulents I have often come upon your web site and it is a wealth of knowledge for the cold hardy desert plants of the north american south west.I noticed on your website that you requested pictures yucca glaucca ssp. albertans and I happen to have some pictures of these in native habitat on the on the montana / alberta border south of where i live in Medicine Hat

[igor.glukhovtsev]

Welcome aboard "Elburro"! Thanks for sharing the pics of the South Alberta glaucas and fantastic landscapes too!

[Benny, Northern Denmark]

Hello "ELBurro",

Thanks for showing us the super nice photos of Yucca glauca ssp. albertana in habitat.

How early do they bloom in habitat? In the article; Hurlburt, Donna, Status of Soapweed (Yucca glauca) in Alberta. Alberta Wildlife Status Report No. 35 (2001).
(PDF here: http://srd.alberta.ca/Fishwildlife/Spec ... apweed.pdf).

Does Hurlburt write, that the Albertan population of Yucca glauca has the longest stretch of flowering time, here there can be blooming specimens up to 89 days from the first specimen to bloom and to the last specimen drops it's last flower.

In your photo is looks as they start quite early in growing season.

Btw. do I see a big piece of petrified wood on one of this photo, or is it just a large boulder of sandstone?

http://postimg.org/image/7ek1y25s5/

May I use some of the photos on my website?

Yucca glauca is actually a favorite of mine I have not had much succes with the subspecies Yucca glauca ssp. albertana, but I have some forms from South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska, which has survived for quite a lot of years in our garden.

Here are some photos of two South Dakota specimens in bloom in 2011:







The plant to the left is grown from seeds collected at Rapid City, 1100 m. South Dakota, fh1178.61, the seeds were sown in 1998.
The plant to the right is grown from seeds collected at St. Onge Peak, South Dakota. fh1178.94, the seeds were sown in 1998.

After flowering in 2011 both plants has started growing a new rosette inside the old one and there are also new rosettes forming from the rhizomes on both of them.

Have a nice day

Benny

[TimMAz6]

Hi Benny,

your Yucca 'Elena's Star' hybrid and Y. karls2 x elata are great looking Yuccas.......I wish I had a 10 acre garden so I can grow out EVERY hybrid Yucca seed.

[TimMAz6]

a couple other nice Yuccas include

Y. gloriosa 'treculeana' form collected by Rob of Tenn.....great rigid leaves
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 592fd5.jpg>

Yucca gloriosa x elata hybrid.......not sure who created this....Jost of Germany sent me seed back in 2005.
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... c490a2.jpg>

[TimMAz6]

Hello ELBurro

great photos of Y. glauca v albertiana........very nice landscape out there!

[elburro]

Hello Benny ,Igor and Tim......
I'm glad you liked the photos and Benny you are certainly welcome to use any of them on your website.The time stamp on image was June 26 2010 and that was the year we had a cool spring with rains of biblical proportions.I went down to the Onefour research station after the weather finally became summer like in hopes of finding the yucca in bloom but I was a little too early.In a normal year i'm sure they bloom sooner in the season.This is the only time I have ever visited this place and I am not really sure when the flowering begins and ends but if it's true that the time window is 89 days it would be interesting to see if they are blooming right now since we have had abnormally hot September so far.
I don't think thats petrified wood in that picture but I'm sure there is some to be found in that area as well as dinosaur fossils.The badlands of Alberta are excellent places to hunt for these.
Your yucca glauca seem quite happy in your garden and with perpendicular flower stalks. Mine always seem to lean over to the side for some reason.
Here is link to some pictures of the other place in Alberta where yuccas grow.
http://people.uleth.ca/~dan.johnson/pinhorn.htm

[Henoh_Croatia]

Hi elburro,

thank you for sharing pictures and link. It's nice to see them in natural habitat. I have young plants grown from seeds collected in Platte County, Wyoming (1985.72 Mesa Garden). The seeds were sown in February 2011.


Benny and Tim, good looking Yucca species and hybrids!

[Benny, Northern Denmark]

Hello all,

I have to let you know, that one of my most favorite Yuccas will bloom this year. It's a hybrid I made in 2008, Yucca angustissima ssp. kanabensis X (filamentosa x arkansana) BMJ #2086A.

Here is a photo of this specimen looked yesterday:





This specimen were sown 2009-03-16 and planted in the garden 2009-06-09. It has survived the horror winter 2009-10 and the following 4 harsh winters without any problems, it is just a SUPER plant. I really look forward to see how the inflorescence will be looking and how tall it will grow to be.

Best wishes

Benny

[andym]

looking good Benny.... what are you going to pollinate it with?