That is so strange that the gloriosa would actually be less tolerant of moisture than your elata. Is it the wet cold that damages it?

That is so strange that the gloriosa would actually be less tolerant of moisture than your elata. Is it the wet cold that damages it?

Wet cold is what does the most damage to my yuccas, I have had much better luck when planted in a raised bed or mound. 😀

Yes, lots of rain followed by a cold spell is their worst enemy. This type of weather happens all the time here in Mass. The last bad winter was 08-09 which beat up a lot of Yuccas but nearly all survived. I try to remove most snow off the leaf heads as this reduces damage. Snow loads can tip over or break trunks too.

It is so cool reading any post about any Yuccas at the PN. I love it!

It is so cool reading any post about any Yuccas at the PN. I love it!

I agree 😀

Do you ever water them?

The first 2 years I basically never watered my cactus-
they were cracking and what not from to much rain.....
now we are in a drought and even early on last year I lost
cactus to excessive heat and drought....

This year I have been watering them regularly and the growth
has been really amazing-even the mighty cactus can struggle when
temps in the cactus bed exceed 120F!

Do you ever water them?

Depends on the sp. I lost many cactus from not watering them here in summer, but found almost all of them to be Chihuahuan desert sp. Great basin and Mojave sp don't seem to need water in the summer, but alittle always helps unless it is ones that needs very dry conditions.

PS you are right about some cactus not liken the very hot places, pediocactus are some that do better out of the high heat. Many cactus need partial shade.

I'll water Yuccas too......they grow faster. We typically get plenty of precipitation but sometimes it won't rain for a week. I like to water in the morning so water does not sit on the leave too long. I never lost a Yucca from lack of water.

Hey,trust me,I would not be watering cactus if i didn't need to right now!

I think the problem east of the Rockies is,you end up watering and then you get rain too.

The cactus have been the easiest to take care of in the drought we are having-
just shoot some water over them and they are fine-I like that.

I'll water Yuccas too......they grow faster.

I think my yuccas would grow much faster if I gave them more water, mostly give them water the first year or two. Even my j-trees like a little more water, but after I planted that grass next to one and it died I think twice before getting the ground wet around my j-trees. 🙂

I think twice before getting the ground wet around my j-trees.

You're probably right, Aaron, but how about in AZ--in those arroyos (sp?)--where mountain rains 20 miles away becoming raging torrents as they head over the desert?

Rainfall may be sparse there but I thought they could handle a deluge now and then.

Barb

You're probably right, Aaron, but how about in AZ--in those arroyos (sp?)--where mountain rains 20 miles away becoming raging torrents as they head over the desert?

Rainfall may be sparse there but I thought they could handle a deluge now and then.

Barb

2-3 days and its dry, not like when I water every week near the base. Also Yucca brevifolia grows almost only in the mojave desert where flash happen but are rare compared to SE Arizona where Yucca elata is found, they almost prefer growing along washes and low areas where ground water may be. Also my Y. elata was only 3-4 feet away from where my j-tree was and the extra water did not seem to bother it.
Most of the j-trees I see like growing on hill sides or rolling flats. 😉

I don't know but watering my numerous yucca seedlings everyday and even twice when it's hot. No one has died so far 🙄

Yes it's hard to kill a Yucca.........at least when they have 'eastern species' blood in them!

In fact most of seedlings are the Western ones. But I'm gonna keep my eyes on them 😯