The Encyclopedia of House Plants

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Yucca

Family: Agavaceae.

Common name(s): Dagger plant, Spanish bayonet, Adam's beedle, Spanish dagger
Yucca Genus of about 40 species of rosette-forming or woody-based perennials, evergreen shrubs, and erect, eventually spreading, evergreen trees from hot, dry places, such as desert, sand dunes, and plains, in North and Central America and the West Indies. A mature Yukka is a False Palm. It will need a deep, well-drained container which can be moved outdoors in summer. In winter it will require an unheated and well-lit spot.
Growing conditions Watering and misting Propagation
Average warmth in summer - minimum 55F in winter. Brightly lit spot. Provide as much light as possible. Keep compost moist at all times but never waterlogged. Reduce watering in winter. Use soft, tepid water. Misting is not necessary. Remove and pot up offsets, or root cane cuttings in winter. Sow seed in spring, at 55-64 F (13-18 C) for hardy yuccas, or at 66-75 F (19-24 C) for tender ones.
Yucca elephantipes
Yucca elephantipes
Yucca toef
Yucca toef

User-submitted additions and corrections:

Brett
Iowa
10th Sep 2008 		This is my Favorite (it is 7 ft. tall) out of my other 70+ houseplants. It is So Easy to grow and every year I will take cane cuttings to root and make dozens of other plants with usually 3 to each pot to give to friends. The mother plant shoots out a few more stems from the cane that I cut to get the babies & also is stimulated and more canes come up from the soil to make the plant more thick. Summer outside, winter indoors, its the Best!
StephenP
UK
14th Nov 2009 		Much hardier than the 55F advertised.. in fact I would suggest it will still look very good even after going to to say 28F (indoors). A very hardy plant for a unheated conservatory in say somewhere like North Carolina, and along the southeastern coasts where freezes do occur.

Unless you're in a climate similar to Ohio or a typical Mid-west, this is a plant that can be left unheated in a conservatory.

If you do live in an area which get say a minimum of 20F, then it may be worth hardening it off in a conservatory then introducing it outside. Realiable plant.
Kakie
USA
22nd Mar 2010 		I have had my Yucca for over 20 years. I have acquired others in potted plants given to us at my parents' funerals. They have all survived. I was amazed this past week when the Yucca bloomed. Has anyone else had the plant bloom? My plant is about 12 ft. high and the bloom came out of the center of the tallest stalk. The blooms are on a spathe from the center and are small balls of flowers with rice size blooms. It is really interesting, but I have not found anyone else who has had one bloom. It has pulled that stem down dramatically, and I had to tie up the branch.
Bob B
WA State, USA
21st Oct 2010 		The Yucca grows very well outside in the Pacific Northwest. I have had them in my yard in the past, and they will some times bloom 2 or 3 times in the summer. Usually from different stems, as I have seen them with 2 or 3 blooms at a time.
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