Great pics, Tim :compress:
RIP Treculeana.

Y. rostratas surviving that super cold blast of -30F is fabulous.

-30C or F...incredible, yet some folks say that couldn't have been rostrata.
But we'll find out with our "northern" tests soon enough.

Aaron, if I lived nearby, I'd come over and protect yours...and not step on the stuff under the snow.
Ergo, no funerals. :booty:

Barb

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Aaron, if I lived nearby, I'd come over and protect yours...and not step on the stuff under the snow.
Ergo, no funerals. :booty:

Barb

That's a very nice thought Barb, but I think we may be surpized in the spring. And then everyone will want seed, and I will share! 😉

And then everyone will want seed, and I will share!

Good point, Aaron. 😉

Aaron.........the treculeana trunk was all 'mushy' inside while the leaves were still greenish and not 'mushy'. It sure appeared to me the trunk died from cold and the leaves died slowly thereafter since the trunk was dead. It's only my assumption that other Yuccas will be less hardy in the trunk area. Rot is always a potential problem here.......we get about 4" of precipitation every month of the year and I always hate when it falls 1/2 rain and 1/2 snow..............that type of precipitation is pure death for the southwest plants since after the storm passes the temps typically drop off quickly into the teens the same night. 😥

ps.....the trunk may be turgid with all our moisture?

ps.....the trunk may be turgid with all our moisture?

That's what I think has happened to my yuccas here when the are not raised up enough on slopes/benches/mounds. Some do make it, depending on sp.
A good case study here is j-trees. I have had many look fine all winter only to find them rotted at the base. They would come back from the roots a few years later they would do the same. The only one that ever survived was the big one that I have now, and yes at the time it was the only one planted on a mound. I think my friend in Twin-Falls also mentioned planting them up high. Well to make a long story short I have lost a lot "less" yuccas up high.
What is also interesting to me is how they grow in the wild. J-trees like to grow on slopes, and Y. elata like areas where rain water will collect, like in the barrow pits/drainage on the side of roads.

Yucca elata's in the wild, sorry not the best examples.


The hill to the right of the above pic, you will see Dasylirions on the slopes.

And around Bisbee, Y. schottii growing on the slopes.

This could be why Y. elata does better where there is more moisture, the roots don't need as well drained soil.

nice shots Aaron........that Y. elata bloom stalk has a massive diameter.......very cool. I would be real interesting to do a mass planting of Y. brevifolia to find the most moisture tolerant types. 😉

nice shots Aaron........that Y. elata bloom stalk has a massive diameter.......very cool. I would be real interesting to do a mass planting of Y. brevifolia to find the most moisture tolerant types. 😉

Tim, if mine survives this cold period we know it wont be cold related. So if not the cold It must be moisture in the crown or the roots. Last year we had a very heavy snow and then turned into 2/3 inches of rain over 2 days, and for us that was crazy (flooded our town/drains) but had no effect on my j-tree. They seem to be more picky about wet feet in the winter, probably because in the wild they only get the water in winter? Very rare for them to get precip in late spring/summer.
I'm thinking if you built a mound about 2 feet higher, it might live there?
When I go down there we will try and get a bunch of hardy j-tree seed. If I can get to the seed. I know where there is some very hardy j-trees.
Of cource, just ideas. I've never been back east. 😀

Aaron, thanks for those photos.
Blue skies and blue yuccas.

Great combination.

Aaron, thanks for those photos.
Blue skies and blue yuccas.

Great combination.

No problem.

Aaron.......if you see any J seed please collect some. I would protect the first few years for sure..............they can take our temps it's just the wetness............a mass planting would be fun 😀

Aaron.......if you see any J seed please collect some. I would protect the first few years for sure..............they can take our temps it's just the wetness............a mass planting would be fun 😀

I will see what I can do. I think that would be great if you had the first long term j-tree in the east. 8)

Clary's DNA study on Yucca concluded Y. brevifolia was closest related to Y. rostrata.............I wonder if anyone tried to hybridize Y. brevifolia and Y. rostrata...............I've read reports that Y. brevifolia does not hybridize with other Yuccas. In 20 years I can try! 😆

Clary's DNA study on Yucca concluded Y. brevifolia was closest related to Y. rostrata.............I wonder if anyone tried to hybridize Y. brevifolia and Y. rostrata...............I've read reports that Y. brevifolia does not hybridize with other Yuccas. In 20 years I can try! 😆

If you did, that would be something to talk about! I bet it could be done, I think no one has tried. 😉

lets try! 😀