Nope, bought them from Plant Delights in the Carolinas...
Fabulous plants, great company/service.
Almost had to sell my first-born to pay for all the border crap and phyto cert.
But that wasn't PD's fault.

I posted the pic because you mentioned "nodes".
Nodes are the lumps that turn into new roots, that eventually darken in color.

The photos also show the roots' thickness (for storing water).
Relatively small plants like these can already survive considerable drought.

Someone said water them in early spring, then to forget it.

Barb

with a low of 13F.................it sounds like your 2 dead ones were something other than Y. rostrata.

I know I have lost the last rostrata I bought, it was small and I even had it covered. The first year is always the hardest on them. Grow them just a bit bigger. Cover them that first and second years atleast. Go to a gravel pit and get the road mix, good stuff for yuccas and cactus. 20 bucks and they will fill the pickup bed. 😉

So I am beging to think whatever killed my Rostratas was not because of the cold. I think it may be gophers causing the problem, they seem to like to kill everything over the winter. I noticed gophers or something ate my 2 variegated yucca gloriosas roots. Also they ate some on my blazing stars and my blanket flowers. I am angry now, anyone know how to control gophers? I am pretty sure thats what it is I see them occasionally and we have moles but I read they are insectivores and do not eat plant material.

do you have a photo of the rodent's holes/tunnels? It could be voles too?

Gophers bring up those gigantic mounds of soil as they do their damage, some of them around here are a foot tall and three feet wide.
But a nice way to get topsoil without a shovel...

Betting on voles too.
The size of the tunnel entrance generally decides what it is.

Barb

No I dont have pics but ill try to take some whatever it is I notice the plants start to wilt and then u pick up the whole plant and there is a burrow underneath and the roots have been eaten. Thats maybe why the rostratas had no roots left, also the gloriosas had no roots attached. I did not notice any mounds of soil so maybe they are voles, not sure I have seen gophers here before though. If its not rabbits and deer eating everything its some other kind of critter.

I have voles too............they haven't been touching my Yuccas..............yet. 😡

Well beware they will destroy everything. I noticed today they killed 3 Trachys and damaged a Needle palm. I only have one Trachy out front left. 🙁 We have lots of predators out here such as owls, foxes, and snakes so I am not sure where we are infested with them. They really only seem to eat everything in the winter for some reason. Here is a technique I found used to kill the Voles I hate killing things but something has to be done. I am going to try this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co0M5mG3gbA

I noticed today they killed 3 Trachys and damaged a Needle palm

Oh NO!!!!! 😯
Terrible news.

Are your Trachies LOOSE in the ground? Falling over? Fallen over?

Sheesh, that reminds me my big Trachy is a bit loose...putting a trap in there today for sure!

Re the video...he talked about the "larger hole" too.
That's definitely not voles/mice then...probably gophers.
Because voles/mice are pretty small and don't dig a larger hole than they need.

Please post some photos, and give scale to the hole size.

Barb

here's my vole tunnels...............or I think they are voles?

<img src= >

<img src= >

I dunno probably voles, since gophers leave mounds I am pretty sure now that what I have are voles. The palms had been chewed off at the ground under the winter protection, and they were no roots left the ground had been dug out underneath them. The main trunk of one of my needle palms was chewed halfway through maybe it will recover, im not sure. I think the voles like to get under the winter protection because its warm.

Here are some pics of the holes and whats left of my yucca gloriosa.

Oh Bryce, I'm so sorry about your yuccas and trachies and needle.
Those photos (Tims and yours) MUST be vole/mice tunnels.

Man oh man, I'd be out there with naphalm (oops...)

I'd do what that guy on the video did...set out 3 mouse traps w. pnt. butter at each plant hole, cover with an inverted bucket to keep dogs/cats from getting hurt.
And order a box of mousetraps on the internet.

Do you have a county extension agency nearby or university? you could talk to them.
Ask your neighbors too if they have destruction on their daffodils and tulips for example.

Let us know whatever more you discover.
Barb

Holy Mice! It looks terrible! Sorry for the such sad news, Bryce!
I have the same problems with my potted trachys and some other plants which are stored in a cold cellar. But my predators are these bloody rats. Hope a poison bite will help.