The yucca plant is a tough perennial known for its long, spiky foliage and desert aesthetic. Native to Mexico, the Caribbean, and the southwestern United States, yucca is a showy addition to a full-sun garden. This plant works well in a dry garden as an architectural accent and makes a prized container plant. Whether your yucca plant is sited in a garden bed or pot, you’ll want to place it away from walkways to avoid uncomfortable run-ins with its thorny tips.
The foliage of the yucca plant is the main draw for growing this perennial. Its leaves come in many colors but are most often a silvery green. You can also find variegated varieties with gold, green, cream, blue, and even pink coloring. The texture of the foliage can vary from thin, almost grass-like fronds to thick, wide leaves. Some yuccas have thread-like filaments that curl off the foliage’s edge. Though it’s grown primarily for its spiny foliage, some yuccas bloom fascinating candelabra-like blossoms on an extremely tall stalk. The flowers line the top foot or so of the stalk in masses of white, cream, and sometimes blush pink blooms.
Yucca Overview
| Genus Name | Yucca |
| Common Name | Yucca |
| Plant Type | Perennial |
| Light | Sun |
| Height | 1 to 30 feet |
| Width | 3 to 15 feet |
| Flower Color | Pink, White |
| Foliage Color | Blue/Green |
| Season Features | Colorful Fall Foliage, Fall Bloom, Summer Bloom, Winter Interest |
| Special Features | Attracts Birds, Fragrance, Good for Containers, Low Maintenance |
| Zones | 10, 11, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 |
| Propagation | Division, Seed |
| Problem Solvers | Deer Resistant, Drought Tolerant |
Where to Plant Yucca
Select a location in full or partial sun for your yucca plant. The most essential requirement is that the soil drains well. If it doesn’t, the plant will die. In areas with less than ideal drainage, site yucca in a raised mound 2 to 3 inches above regular soil level to keep the crown and rhizomes drier. You can also plant yucca in containers as a full-time houseplant or to be moved inside and out, depending on the weather.
Because of the plant’s thorny tips, yucca should not be planted where pets or people, especially kids, might accidentally brush up against it.
The yucca plant is toxic to cats, dogs, and horses. If pet owners choose to grow yucca outside or as a houseplant, they should take caution to place the plant out of these animals’ reach.
How and When to Plant Yucca
Plant yucca in early spring in a full-sun location. As long as the soil is well-draining, no amendments are needed. Dig a hole three times the width and equal depth of the plant’s nursery container. Put on long sleeves and gloves if the yucca has thorny tips—safety glasses are a good idea, too—and take the plant out of the container. Rinse the potting soil off the roots. If you see any circling roots, cut them off before positioning the yucca in the hole. Yucca is drought-tolerant, but for the first year after planting, water it regularly.
Yucca Plant Care Tips
Because many species of the yucca plant are native to the most arid areas of the United States, the spiny perennial is an excellent rugged garden companion.
Light
Yucca plants’ native growth in wide-open areas with little overhead protection means they thrive in full sun, which provides prolific flowers across all species and intense foliage colorations in variegated varieties. While the yucca plant can survive in part sun, the perennial often becomes sparse with its leaves growing narrow and leggy. Part sun also increases the likelihood of root rot, as the soil is less likely to dry out.
Soil and Water
Yucca plants require well-drained soil, or they quickly rot and die. When planting alongside other perennials, avoid pairing yucca with plants that need continuous water, as this is not an ideal environment for yucca.
Native to southwestern regions, yucca naturally grows in sandy soil. The plant has adapted to the East Coast and states throughout the Midwest, so it’s tolerant of varying soil conditions. Regardless of soil type, it must remain dry.
Temperature and Humidity
As a desert plant, yucca is drought-tolerant and withstands temperatures of 90°F and higher. Yucca plant also survives below freezing temperatures, with desert nights cooling to the 30°F range. The perennial withstands temperatures as low as 10°F in northern states. Some varieties are even known to tolerate subzero weather.
The yucca plant grows best in low to moderate humidity. Because of its desert plant nature, yucca should never be misted.
Removing dead or brown leaves from your yucca for the first few years will help prevent rot in wet, humid climates.
Fertilizer
Yucca plant is a slow grower that lives in a relatively stark environment. Still, it benefits from fertilization a few times throughout the year. Use a low-nitrogen fertilizer (either granular or liquid) following product label instructions.
Pruning
Yucca plants in the garden don’t usually need any pruning except to remove a damaged or diseased area.
Potting and Repotting Yucca Plant
Yucca makes a great container plant that thrives even if you neglect it. When potting yucca, choose a container slightly larger than its existing container, and make sure it has drainage holes. Fill the pot part of the way with a mixture of three parts peat moss and one part sand (or any well-draining potting mix). Take the yucca plant out of its nursery pot and loosen its roots with your fingers. Position it in the new container at the same depth it was previously buried. Fill the rest of the space with the potting mix and water the plant.
Yucca grows well with crowded roots, so you won’t need to repot the plant for two or three years unless it becomes too top-heavy for its container. Repot the yucca plant when water runs through the soil quickly without moistening it—this indicates the plant has overcrowded roots.
Overwintering Tips
Bring potted yucca into an unheated garage or shed over winter in cold climates to prevent lengthy snow cover and lessen cold damage. Water sparingly in winter, reducing watering in late summer and halting entirely by early fall.
The stalks of garden bed yucca plants will die back naturally, as the plant stores nutrients in its roots. In particularly cold winter environments, cut foliage to the ground, cover the yucca plant with 6 to 8 inches of mulch before the first frost in fall, and then cover the pile with burlap or plastic sheeting. Remove the covering and mulch once the danger of frost has passed the following spring.
Pests and Problems
Agave plant bugs pierce yucca leaves and suck out the juices. These half-inch-long pests are easy to see and identify. Several applications of insecticidal soap will remove them from your yucca plant. The desert perennial is also vulnerable to the usual culprits: aphids, mealybugs, and scale. These pests are treated with sprays of water or neem oil.
How to Propagate Yucca
Propagate yucca by cutting off a section of a mature plant. Give the cutting a few days to heal, then strip off any leaves at the bottom and plant it in a container filled with good-quality potting soil or a cactus and succulent mix. Keep the propagation warm and water it occasionally. Rooting will start in three to four weeks.
The best way to propagate an outdoor yucca plant is through division in fall. Lift a small but mature yucca out of the ground using a shovel. With your hands (wearing gloves), separate sections of the yucca plant and roots until you have several new plants. Replant the parent and plant the divisions in areas that receive full sun.
Types of Yucca Plant
‘Bright Edge’ Yucca
Yucca filamentosa ‘Bright Edge’ makes a substantial clump of rigid, spiny-tipped, variegated leaves about 2½ feet long. The leaves are broadly banded in a creamy yellow and edged with curly threads. Yucca plant displays 8-to-10-foot-tall spires of white flowers that appear in mid to late summer. It is hardy in Zones 4-11.
‘Color Guard’ Yucca
Yucca flaccida ‘Color Guard’ has beautiful foliage streaked with bright gold down the center. It looks stunning year-round and has stalks of white blooms as tall as 6 feet that may appear in spring. It is hardy in Zones 4-10.
Spineless Yucca
Yucca elephantipes is a variety often grown as a houseplant. This type of yucca plant lacks needle-like spines and can reach staggering heights of up to 30 feet. It is hardy in Zones 9-10.
Variegated Yucca
This variegated selection of Yucca aloifolia is native to the southeastern U.S. and reaches up to 7 feet tall. It is hardy in Zones 7-9.
Yucca Companion Plants
Coreopsis
One of the longest bloomers in the garden, coreopsis produces sunny yellow daisy-like flowers that attract butterflies. Some varieties of coreopsis also bear golden-yellow, pale yellow, pink, or bicolor flowers. It blooms from early to midsummer or longer if it’s deadheaded.
Hens and Chicks
A favorite of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers, hens and chicks are popular once again. Darlings of today’s xeriscape gardens, trough gardens, and rooftop gardens, these plants are appreciated for their easy care and tolerance of extremely dry conditions. The neat rosettes multiply freely by runners that form dense colonies. Flowering rosettes die after bloom time but are quickly replaced. Hens and chicks are excellent between pavers on patios and walkways.
Salvia
There are hundreds of different types of salvia, commonly called sage, but they all tend to share beautiful, tall flower spikes and attractive, often gray-green leaves. On square stems, covered with often aromatic leaves, sages carry dense or loose spires of tubular flowers in bright blues, violets, yellows, pinks, and reds that mix well with other perennials in beds and borders. Countless sages (including the herb used in cooking) are available to decorate ornamental gardens, and new selections appear annually.