15 gallon Yucca rostrata arrived!

[lucky1]

So excited to receive this Blue Beaked Yucca.

Hope the photo shows the two heads:


Going to need a suit of armor to handle it:


Sure makes my seedling Yuccas look like little twerps


Will be interesting to see color comparison between Plant Delights' Nursery "Sapphire Skies" Yucca rostrata and the new one.


And a HUGE THANKS to John in Kelowna for delivering it!
Barb

[Jay-Admin]

That's a beauty. Are you going to plant it soon or wait till next spring?

[lucky1]

Jay, think I'll wait until next spring.
It'll take me that long to find gloves up to my shoulders.
Barb

[Jay-Admin]

Yeah, When I planted my 5 gallon rostrata I remember getting poked in the arm a couple times.
I didn't bleed that time so I guess it wasn't that bad.

[lucky1]

This guy'll be like playing with a 50 lb. porcupine.
And safety glasses will be mandatory.

Maybe I'll wait until there's a foot or two of trunk

Barb

[DesertZone]

I hope they sent you the right yucca? It looks like yucca rigda to me? Some places call it rostrata. Yucca rostrata should not have very sarp or very stiff leaves, if it does than it could be y. rigda.

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Aaron I ordered 6 15 gal Y. rostrata. If you are telling me that this is not what I should have. I might have to have a talk with Monrovia as misrepresentation of this particular yucca. I`m hoping a big company like Monrovia would get it right. If not I will deal with them to make it good.

John

[DesertZone]

John,
They very well could be y rostrata? But to me they look like (yucca "rostrata rigda") rigda has stiffer leaves and a stiff dark brown spine and a wider less flexible leaf. Yucca rostrata can still poke you but it would be less severe and rostrata would have more of thinner and flexible leaves.

IMO....I think rigda is one of the nicest looking yuccas and I hope to get one to live through the winter here, but so far they have shown not to be very cold hardy.

I hope this helped John
-Aaron

[Barrie]

That's great Barb! You're really getting some specimen plants now! It's very similar to my over crowded 5 gal Yucca rostrata I got earlier this year.

Cheers, Barrie.

[Cowtown Palm Society]

Hi Barb,

Did you deal with Monrovia directly, or through a local nursery? I would be encouraged if you were able to bypass local nurseries who, in Calgary, scoff at the idea of bringing in any special orders, even if I pay for phyto etc. Thanks!

Duncan

[lucky1]

I'm so happy with this plant I don't care if the label says "Trunking Spinach"

BTW, there's no sign of a brown spine anywhere along its length.
Gorgeous blue right down into the heart of the huge rosettes.

John was kind enough to save me one when he placed his order.

Barrie, I remember seeing the pic of your overcrowded one.
It was bustin' right out of the pot too.

Duncan, agree with your point...I've arranged previously to get stuff from the U.S., simply because local nurseries don't think it would sell, and basically refuse to order it.

Barb

[DesertZone]

I'm so happy with this plant I don't care if the label says "Trunking Spinach"

BTW, there's no sign of a brown spine anywhere along its length.
Gorgeous blue right down into the heart of the huge rosettes.

Barb

Very nice yucca Barb, it will be awesome plant when it gets big.

-Aaron

[lucky1]

Thanks Aaron.

Only glitch in my plans is the area I was going to put it is fairly small.
Cultural info stated its head gets 8 feet wide...it's already got a span of 40 inches.
Gotta find a new spot!

Barb

[DesertZone]

I now what you mean Barb, I have yucca faxon that I think I planted way to close to the house and I have moved it once already.

[lucky1]

Aaron, especially with spiny species, it's critical to know canopy size.
I'm up a creek with this one, as that was the ONLY area it could possibly go

Have you posted a pic of your Y.faxon?
Would love to see it.

Barb

[DesertZone]

I have posted a pic once, and I will try and get a recent one posted. It is still small but grows faster every year. I think I might have to move it again becuase it has three heads now and so it will be much larger then I first planted the single headed plant.

Barb,
I have a sharp yucca that was planted to close to the walk and what I do is clip the sharp ends off.

[DesertZone]

Have you posted a pic of your Y.faxon?
Would love to see it.

Barb

I thought I did but I was wrong. I will post one.

[DesertZone]

I have posted a new pic and found the old pic, it was in the desert part of the forum. Remember it is still small. It is one I have grown from seed.

[lucky1]

Aaron,
Small is still a success...from seed.
My seedling y.rostratas haven't grown at all beyond what came out of the seed
And my palm seeds croaked.

So a small y. faxon is still great!
I'll try to find the pic..
Barb

[DesertZone]

I'm sorry to hear about your palm seedlings, but your rostrata seedlings looks awesome.

[lucky1]

Everybody says this isn't a good idea because there's not enough time for roots to develop and settle in before winter hits.

Removed a 10 year old Flowering Quince which left a nice big hole.
Very good drainage in that area.

OK, folks: Why CAN'T the Yucca Rostrata go dormant planted in its new outdoor spot WITHOUT new roots?
Why does it have to have NEW roots?
Won't the old roots suffice until spring?

But if I protect it with a heated winter enclosure (I must be crazy to try this... ), why not?

I must be fighting the end of summer...need to DO SOMETHING outside other than rake leaves!
Barb

[DesertZone]

Barb, I do it all the time, but I think it will do better in the winter if planted in the spring so the plant can "harden" before winter. They do better if they have been through a few cool spring nights.
I plant stuff in the fall all the time, but be careful not to water the plant in so well that it does not drain before winter hits, it could rot.

[DesertZone]

PS. I would hate to see your nice plant not make it through the winter because of my bad advice. Most of the stuff I plant are cheaper seedlings.

[macario]

Looks great barb congrats!

[lucky1]

Hey, Aaron, no worries.
I'd rather receive advice when I ask for it, knowing that any decision I make is MY risk, never faulting anybody who helped answer my question!

It's been sitting in its nursery pot, exposed to storms and cold and heat.
I don't want to put it indoors....sooooo.....DON'T WORRY!

The area is a shale outcrop and so rocky you could pour water from a hose into a hole and just hear it gurgling away between rocks. A friend who was here years ago when I planted the Flowering Quince in that spot said "Sheesh, how the hell do you ever keep grass green with so many rocks down there?" ha ha.

We even had to add sand and topsoil to the area just to fill in BETWEEN the rocks!

First I gave it a haircut so I didn't poke my eyes out trying to coax it out of the pot.


Look at how the roots grew DOWN, and then back UP the inside of the pot!
I didn't dare pull these back down...would probably break them. Strange, huh?


Oops, this pic is in the wrong order!


Done!

Weather's supposed to be nice and mild for the next few days.
Lots of time to build a winter shelter with a heater....(famous last words)

Hey Mike!
Thanks...are you about to start winterizing your gorgeous palms soon?

Barb

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Looks great there Barb. Fingers are crossed for the winter this year. Keep us informed how it progresses.

John

[lucky1]

Thanks John. Those upturned roots were strange, never saw that before.

I've gotta find/buy some OLD Xmas lights...the ones that emit heat, before I put the shelter up.
I don't think anybody sells those any more.
Barb

[Paul Ont]

Barb,
If you can only get the small ones just try wrapping them a little closer togatherthen you otherwise would. They still give off a fair amount of heat, and any shelter you erect will help hold that in.
I'm trying these small lights wrapped around the upper portons of my leaf enclosed Musa basjoo clump. My theory is that this will prevent total freeze of the main stem from occuring... I guess time will tell.
Anyway, ya, a rostrata in a warmish 5a (5b) in a shelter shelter plus some small lights should be more then enough! But I can;t blame you for wanting to baby it!

Maybe we should all post pics of our winter protection to give ideas/stop each other from making stupid mistakes...

[Barrie]

Hey Barb ... Yucca roots will grow any which way but loose (wasn't that an old Clint Eastwood movie title?)
Again, looks great and with faily dry soil it should be OK unless old man winter gets nasty.

Paul ... I've found Musa basjoo psuedostems stay intact and solid as long as the temps don't dip below -4°C (25°F).
Last year that was the case here (-3.7°C winter low) and my unprotected clump was fine. I left the frosted dead leaves in place and they hung along side the psuedostems perhaps providing some protection. In spring they picked up right where they left off and then I trimmed the dead leaves.

Cheers, Barrie.

[lucky1]

Barrie, yup, yet another Oater movie
If I hadn't removed it from the pot, would the roots eventually have come up out of the pot?

Paul, I'm new to this winter protection thingy, so pardon the stoopid question:

small lights wrapped around the upper portons

Since warm air rises, wouldn't the lights be more effective closer to the soil?
Or are you concerned you'll start a fire with the leaf-stuffed enclosure?

Anybody need a good laugh? Proving I have too much time on my hands:


It's a shame to throw out the rostrata's "haircut" without giving it a shot. A very long shot.
Barb

[DesertZone]

That looks real nice.

Can't wait to see it next year.

[lucky1]

Thanks Aaron; hope I've got more than MUSH to show

Here's my first (of many, I'm sure) attempt at early-winter protection.
No heat yet, just a couple of warm blankets (except near the camera end), covered by a 4 mil plastic sheet, held down with rocks, etc.

I'll check the thermometer inside at dawn.
Supposed to be -2C tonite. Not cold enough yet for heat.

I saw some internet pics where a guy erected 4 posts around a palm, added Xmas lights around the plant, topped with plywood, then bubble wrapped the whole thing down to the ground.
I doubt bubble wrap would be enough during an Okanagan winter.



Barb

[Paul Ont]

Barb,
The xmas lights are wrapped around the entire stem of the basjoo, all of which is now buried beneath a giant pile of leaves. What I meant is that I warpped the lights more closely near the top of the cropped basjoo pseudostem (that area closest to the air). My thinking is that the ares closer to the air will be more likely to freeze (since they have less insulation) and therefore would need a little more cold protection.
I've yet to sucessfully overwinter basjoo (not easy in zone 4/5) so I'm hoping this method will work.
Here is the method in more detail:
First I piled a layer of about 8 inches of mulch (cedar mulch) and hammered in 4 large (5 foot) stakes about 3 feet away from the banana clump.
Then I tied the pseudostems togather. Some I covered with frost cloth, others I left uncovered (to see if this makes a diference).
Then I strung the xmas lights around the largest pseudostem.
Next, I placed 2 jugs full of water right next to the clump (on top of the slight mulch layer).
Then I piled mulch up to about 1.5-2 feet all around the pseudostems, within the area bordered he stakes.
Then attached a layer of frost cloth around the stakes to contain both the mulch and the 3 feet of leaves with which I filled the enclosure.

Again, not sure that this will work, but I sure hope so!

[lucky1]

Paul, you've done a lot of work. Thanks for details.

Last year, a poster (forgot who...sorry) lost a very tall palm (9 or 10 feet tall) when he wrapped the Xmas lights against the stem around the trunk. Apparently the Xmas lights burnt/overheated the stem because there wasn't a layer, say, of burlap, wrapped around it first. Musa stems are fleshier than most palms, which could be good or bad.

There are many musa "overwinterers" on PN; how about a few pics.

I'm disappointed at Y.rostrata cage temp early this a.m.
Outside temp 1 C.
Inside 2 C...barely a difference without heat.
Howling winds last night almost dismantled the thing!
Barb

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Barb I would suggest heat lamps to keep things warm. The same lamps used to keep chickens warm during winter. You can buy a three socket landscape lighting system at any hardware store. Each bulb will give you about 4c increase in temps so when it gets really cold you can turn on the other two or three to be safe giving you about 15c better than outside temps. I used these last year with my palms and the radiant heat they give off is better than any normal incandescent light. A remote thermometer is a must also.

John

[lucky1]

John, infra red bulbs?

If I recall your pyramid pics last year, the bulbs heated the ground around the palm.

Instead of hanging them from the top of frame.

Barb

[Okanagan desert-palms]

Barb the infra red heat lamps heated the ground as well as the whole enclosure. You will have to be careful so it doesn`t get to warm in your enclosure. A good remote thermometer will give you peace of mind.

John

[lucky1]

Good point Barrie.

You folks are gonna call me crazy...
but a few days ago I chickened out.

Yup...I dug the bugger out of the ground and potted it into a 20 gallon pot, adding very little water to the pot (just at the outside edges).

Why? Well, the xeriscape area is 200 feet from my house.
A remote thermometer doesn't go that far.

This poor rostrata will either croak from being moved every couple of weeks...
or it'll be THE most adaptable plant.

Anyway thanks!
Barb

[DesertZone]

It will be ok Plant it next spring.

[lucky1]

New spears are still emerging from its two rosettes.

The rostrata seems to like cool weather as much as the T. fortunei and nainital.

Or maybe it's all the "handling".
Barb