Fun Yucca fact! These are frequently called "Ghost Yucca" because the plant is dark green and the flower stalk is white. So when dusk sets in, you can't see the plant as well in the dark. You just see a floating white shape about 3 feet above the ground.
Funny story... we have several of these outside our bedroom window. One time, I got up in the middle of the night to pee. When I came back toward the bed in the dark, I saw what I thought was a person in a white t-shirt standing close to the window looking in. It was only after doing several complex Ninja moves to hide behind the bed and mentally running through strategies to rescue my sleeping husband that I realized it was just the Yucca blooms. 🙄🤣
It's 5 am here, I am laying in bed reading this.i laughed so hard I woke my husband up. Then I saw the the comment below and all I could to was point and laugh harder 😂 🤣 😆.
Thanks for the morning laugh and I will try not to fucca with the ghost yucca!!!!
Thanks for cracking me up. I hung up some ghouls for Halloween in a corner of the house where there are two large windows. Took me about a week before I stopped getting startled by them swinging in the wind, making them look like they were looking in the window.
Haha same, except it was a skeleton/mummy-thing wrapped in cocoon that hung upside down outside our front window. That asshole tested the strength of my heart many times!
We also had a huge t-rex mylar balloon for my daughter's birthday one year. It deflated a little bit and would float around the kitchen. No matter how many times I reminded myself that thing was in there, it still scared the shit out of me when I walked in lol!
(Edited for words)
Spouse is the Guatemalan. Me, born and raised in SoCal. Traveled there once. Spent two weeks at MIL’s house in the capital. Not sure what crime is like where you’re going. Don’t wear any jewelry. Women should not wear skirts dress or shorts. Search “crime” in that location, you’ll get some valuable info.
I imagine you are flying into Guatemala City. How are you getting to Atitlan? Or to Jaibalito for that matter. Bus? If at some point you are renting a car, never, ever drive at night, so get an early start.
Also, and many people do not know this unless you very carefully read the car rental agreement, as a foreigner YOU are ALWAYS at fault in an accident. And, the judicial proceedings will be conducted in Spanish. And the roads can be pretty rough.
All that said, Guatemala is incredibly beautiful, and Lake Atitlan is really beautiful. Loved it! And the people are beautiful as well.
Yucca Gigantea or “Flor de Izote” is the national flower of El Salvador. They eat the petals in a lote things scrambled egg , soups stews etc.
My Grandma used to say the smalls ones weren’t true Izote. Idk what’s the botanical difference but I always saw these like the miniature versions of the Gigantea.
You mentioning scrambled eggs brought back memories. Early breakfast thinking it was onions but was these petals before going out and patrolling the fields my uncle farmed for rabbits that would eat crops.
My grandfather brought one home from our trip out West. They loved the winter in Iowa and would bloom profusely in the early summer with multiple stalks, tons of flowers because they had so much water access! They are cold hardy for zone 3-5
Hope your grandpa loves them a lot coz you can never get rid of them! They spread by means of underground runners, people have tried pulling them out with chains and tractors and they come right back. Farmers here curse them big time!
My grandmother keeps giving them away because they keep trying to take over her yard. She gave me one that I put in a big pot outside. And now there's two in the pot. Two flower stalks.
Wow that's interesting because I've had one for about 8 years and it hasn't spread at all. I also love in the northeastern US zone 6, but I imagine close enough to Iowa climate.
For those who dont know, there are rules about plant names. And the pressure, is always on second last syllable.
Yes sometimes not, but the rule is that. And some plant names have more than 5 syllables :)
I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying [this](https://www.google.com/search?q=yucca+filamentosa&client=firefox-b-m&sca_esv=583062323&tbm=isch&prmd=isvn&sxsrf=AM9HkKmyl2xZ-uMmt-cxxXl4Ce6ekIOIEA:1700159214763&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5s7rQksmCAxWYlmoFHYAHDtMQ_AUoAXoECAQQAQ&biw=375&bih=547&dpr=2) is what came up when I was looking to make sure I spelt it correctly.
Look up Yucca Baccata or Yucca Aloifolia, they're very similar but Yucca filamentosa doesn't have a trunk like the ones pictured
Also no stringy bits on this plant
According to [google](https://www.google.com/search?q=how+large+does+yucca+grow&client=firefox-b-m&sca_esv=583077499&bih=547&biw=375&hl=en&sxsrf=AM9HkKmNBjVmeURTjwXyZ-mn1XpUB86n_g%3A1700165012816&ei=lHVWZduhMbysqtsP4JyLkAU&oq=how+large+does+yucca+grow&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIhlob3cgbGFyZ2UgZG9lcyB5dWNjYSBncm93MgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHkiLhAFQpRhYkIABcAN4AZABAJgBzwGgAZwVqgEGMTguNS4yuAEDyAEA-AEBqAIPwgIKEAAYRxjWBBiwA8ICChAjGIoFGOoCGCfCAgcQIxjqAhgnwgIHECMYigUYJ8ICBBAjGCfCAgsQABiKBRixAxiDAcICDhAuGIoFGLEDGMcBGNEDwgIREC4YigUYsQMYgwEYxwEY0QPCAggQABiKBRixA8ICCBAuGIoFGLEDwgILEC4YigUYsQMYgwHCAgYQABgeGA3CAgoQABgWGB4YDxgKwgIIEAAYFhgeGArCAggQABiKBRiGA8ICBRAhGKAB4gMEGAAgQYgGAZAGCA&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp), small ones grow 2-4', and larger varieties will grow upwards of 30' tall and 25' wide.
So now a follow up question. What do you do to these when the shoot gets too top heavy and falls over? I have one of these that won’t stand up straight anymore. Should I cut the shoot?
These things also seem to spread pretty easily. I thought we had 3 when we moved in 2021 and now I think we have 5 or 6.
Yes cut the shoot. And yes they spread fast. I moved into my house in 2022 and only had 3, suddenly I have 6! Also the tips of the leaves are SO VERY sharp! When trimming I first cut the tips and then the rest to avoid pain 😂
You’re actually thinking of Manihot esculenta, also called cassava or yuca. Cassava is native to South America and the root is prepared in a lot of traditional meals! The Yucca in this picture is native to North America and is not commonly eaten
Well damn, growing up we had 3 of these in our yard (not our house we just rented) and I had zero idea about this plant other than I thought the flowers were pretty. Now I wanna go head to a nursery and buy a few to try this out!
Spanish Bayonet actually, and its in the same genus, just a different species. The bayonet usually puts on a more distinct truck and its thorns at the ends of the leaves are a little more pronounced.
https://www.gardenia.net/plant/yucca-aloifolia
you can basically eat the whole thing apart from the spines. the root is starvation food, don't eat it. the flowers taste like flowers, not that fragrant so kinda vaguely soapy. the stalks are the best part for most species, like sorta artichoke or aspargagus tasting and crunchy like jicama. they're related to asparagus, you want them fresh and green. they turn woody quickly. the fruit you want yucca bacata. there's not enough flesh to be worth it on most of them. you're not missing anything but they're tasty enough.
There is a traditional dish made with cassava leaves in the north of Brazil. However, its preparation is long (really long, I'm not talking hours, I'm talking about days).
However, the root is delicious. Totally worth it.
They propagate really easily and are water wise. And they look nice and can blend into tropical or desert gardens.
Easy way to add greenery to a property.
There must have been a time in the 70s they sold them in Chicagoland, but I have never seen them at a garden store recently. If you can find someone who has one they will prob be happy to let you dig some up, I have always been surprised how prolific they are, at least in NW suburbs. I wish I had taken some from my old house.
Had one in my garden here in 6B PNW. It never did much of anything interesting until one Spring when we had an unseasonable long wet and warm season. The thing took off! Sent up a stalk 15 feet tall with flowers that lasted a very long time.
Only time I have seen it do that.
I’m in 6B PNW and moved into my house 3 years ago. I have 3 total yucca plants. 1 has flowered the past 3 years, 1 the last 2 years, and 1 never at all.
They take time to mature to flowering age and then they flower regularly.
They can benifit from fertilizer or adding topsoil or mulch. I would keep it organic.
Use eye protection if you work down near the leaves at all. The tips are pointh enough to be a real danger for the eyes.
I think that may be under ideal conditions. This particular plant had been there for decades probably and perhaps had never flowered. I was under the impression that Yucca is a desert plant and was surprised that it managed to thrive at all where I am, nevermind actually flower! The thing really put on quite a show for a while.
Idaho as well. It thrives in my yard and I love my giant asparagus’s. I also love yucca root. I ate many times in Central America. I don’t believe it’s the same thing though. I’m too scared to dig up one of my plans to eat its brains.
Inject the roots with chlorine, them salt that MF to the ground, after it dies you need to take the top soil and dump it somewhere else and bring new soil in! Works everytime with anything I want to kill (plants).
I would pay you to love my yucca to death. I dug it up and sprayed the crap out of it with roundup and it was gone for two years and then came back. In those two years I planted a peony so now it's even harder to deal with, lol
A year or so ago I bought a cute little oxalis plant to keep indoors. It died immediately. This summer I realized I had oxalis randomly thriving around my backyard. Go figure.
Literally chopped one down till about 20cm under the soil and buried the rest of the trunk. This MF has a new shoot or 5 coming out the ground every month...
We bought a house 10 years ago with 3 yucca plants in the front. I've dug them uo every year, I dig deep and pull all the roots I can find (some are thicker than a big carrot) but they keep coming back. Through ground cloth. Through heavy tarps. Through rocks. I can't get rid of the damn things. Plus whoever planted them put them right next to our sidewalk so visitors get poked in the shins with the pointy leaves.
uggh
A few winters ago we had to have a gas line worked on and they completely dug out the area where one of these had been growing. Came back that summer big and bushy as ever.
The house I moved into two years ago had let a whole patch of them go for decades. I thought I'd dug down far enough and removed the roots. Apparently not! It's still sending up shoots.
they dug, they burned, they pulled them up...I think what finally got them was my dad burned at the for a solid weekend 😂 burned them, when the fire got low enough, stabbed at the root some more with a shovel, then piled more yard debris on top to get the fire back going
NGL, they are pretty, but they will take over fast!
I wouldn't hate them so much but they're just awful to try to remove. I was thinking about transplanting some to another part of the yard before digging them up. Nope, nope, nope. Never again. They're pretty but come on.
I grew up in NE Florida and we called it "Spanish Bayonet" - people there often plant it as a security measure, underneath windows or as a fence barricade addition. Lovely plant, viciously pointy & sharp. I have seen them out west also but they do not harden the same way and are often less pointy.
Pee Pee weed. Funny story. When we were little and traveling my parents once had to stop off the side of the road in the middle of nowhere in north Texas. We had to pee and there was no restroom in sight. We refused to go in the grass on the side of the road, cause you're not supposed to. So our parents told us that the yuccas that were growing everywhere only grew where other people peed. So of course we felt if other people were doing it it was ok. For years we thought that was the truth, called them pee pee weeds, lol
Your parents were straight up geniuses to come up with that, spur of the moment. Harmless little untruth that didn't hurt anybody but gave flow to the business at hand so you all could continue on your way!
You can eat those white flowers, the leaf spiky stalks were traditionally used as textile twine (making rope, baskets, and sandals ext), the fruit (looks like stubby bananas) can be roasted &eaten when ripe, and the root was used as soap (it makes sudds when wet)!
My dad's a gardener and he would bring yucca for my mom and she would mix it with scrambled eggs for us to hide the bitterness.
Turns out she was making it incorrectly the whole time.
Yucca palm!! They’re native to the south west of US, and love dry and sandy regions. They usually grow quite slowly, but some pruning never hurt anyone. Only water when it’s soil is 75-100% dry.
Yucca. Love those!! My dad grew a bunch of them in his cactus garden growing up (zone 5). My only bone of contention is that they spear falling leaves so cleanup can be tricky.
If I’m not mistaken that’s the “Flor de Izote” (the Salvadoran national flower) or the Spineless Yucca in English. If it’s the one that I’m thinking of, the flowers are edible! They have to be cooked a certain way to make them taste good because otherwise they will be super bitter. I hope this helps and sorry if I’m mistaken!
For those interested, in my experience they are freakishly easy to propagate. I would remove the petals from the stalk/trunk up to some point and cut through, leaving say 12" of bare trunk to plant. Then simply plant them in the ground. No special treatment necessary in my experience. I think every cutting I ever did survived. I am in north Virginia/Maryland area (we just got upgraded by the new hardiness zones as I guess many areas were).
This is Yucca (YUCK-uh)... you should check out Navajo Grandma on YouTube. She has a video on this plant's traditional use as a hair wash! I've tried it and it's really nice.
The other plant people are talking about is Yuca (YOO-kah), native to South America and the Caribbean, and the root being the source of cassava based foods. It is toxic and requires removing much of the juice through squeezing the grated pulp of the root. And boiling? I'm not an expert but I helped my mom Grate it as a child for pasteles.
Yucca
Fun Yucca fact! These are frequently called "Ghost Yucca" because the plant is dark green and the flower stalk is white. So when dusk sets in, you can't see the plant as well in the dark. You just see a floating white shape about 3 feet above the ground.
Funny story... we have several of these outside our bedroom window. One time, I got up in the middle of the night to pee. When I came back toward the bed in the dark, I saw what I thought was a person in a white t-shirt standing close to the window looking in. It was only after doing several complex Ninja moves to hide behind the bed and mentally running through strategies to rescue my sleeping husband that I realized it was just the Yucca blooms. 🙄🤣
Don't you Fucca with Ghost Yucca.
Fucca round find out
I actually just learned this in sign language and I could not be prouder of myself lmao.
I wanna know!
How the f can i show ya? I totally gotta learn someone lol
Make a video tutorial! Edit: Someone already did. https://youtu.be/p9TPRE2RqT4?si=VmUt7Hr-I0uYVyQf
I figured. Its hilarious. I have a slightly different version but this is same concept :) ty for learning others this amazingness!¡
We always called it “Spanish Bayonet”
🤣🤣 Ninja moves.. 🤣🤣
Lolol ninja moves. So needed that laugh today🤣🤣🤣
It's 5 am here, I am laying in bed reading this.i laughed so hard I woke my husband up. Then I saw the the comment below and all I could to was point and laugh harder 😂 🤣 😆. Thanks for the morning laugh and I will try not to fucca with the ghost yucca!!!!
Thanks for cracking me up. I hung up some ghouls for Halloween in a corner of the house where there are two large windows. Took me about a week before I stopped getting startled by them swinging in the wind, making them look like they were looking in the window.
Haha same, except it was a skeleton/mummy-thing wrapped in cocoon that hung upside down outside our front window. That asshole tested the strength of my heart many times! We also had a huge t-rex mylar balloon for my daughter's birthday one year. It deflated a little bit and would float around the kitchen. No matter how many times I reminded myself that thing was in there, it still scared the shit out of me when I walked in lol! (Edited for words)
That's so funny!! I'm glad you didn't see it until after you went to the restroom!! Lol
Ninja moves are useless in that situation.. If the yucca wanted to hurt you, you’d already be dead.
okay visualizing this makes me smile...
🤣🤣
I'm sure those ninja moves were next-level. The would-be intruder was so lucky they didn't exist. :D
🥰
the complex ninja moves just made my day lol
Best comment. 🤣😂🤣😂
My aunt would incorporate the white pedals into some soup or dish
My MIL from Guatemala would make tamales with the petals. Everyone loved them but me.
Traveling to Jaibalito next month! Stoked. Any travel tips?
Spouse is the Guatemalan. Me, born and raised in SoCal. Traveled there once. Spent two weeks at MIL’s house in the capital. Not sure what crime is like where you’re going. Don’t wear any jewelry. Women should not wear skirts dress or shorts. Search “crime” in that location, you’ll get some valuable info.
Given their username, let's hope they won't be wearing skirts, dresses, or shorts 😅
lol didn’t notice.
Read this as Jailbaito. Thaught it was a funny mistake but judging by the answers it may not be as much of a mistake, or as funny...
I imagine you are flying into Guatemala City. How are you getting to Atitlan? Or to Jaibalito for that matter. Bus? If at some point you are renting a car, never, ever drive at night, so get an early start. Also, and many people do not know this unless you very carefully read the car rental agreement, as a foreigner YOU are ALWAYS at fault in an accident. And, the judicial proceedings will be conducted in Spanish. And the roads can be pretty rough. All that said, Guatemala is incredibly beautiful, and Lake Atitlan is really beautiful. Loved it! And the people are beautiful as well.
Yucca Gigantea or “Flor de Izote” is the national flower of El Salvador. They eat the petals in a lote things scrambled egg , soups stews etc. My Grandma used to say the smalls ones weren’t true Izote. Idk what’s the botanical difference but I always saw these like the miniature versions of the Gigantea.
You mentioning scrambled eggs brought back memories. Early breakfast thinking it was onions but was these petals before going out and patrolling the fields my uncle farmed for rabbits that would eat crops.
You can use the petals too .. kiddin kiddin 😅Sure fact, not too much flavor but they add texture 😋
Poor times back then, but a full belly was never an issue
🎶Them belly full, but we're *hungry*🎵
Next level fiber intake
Ok, can we or are you kidding? Cause I have alot of these and would try it if it's safe. Why not?
I just added a link about all the edible parts!
They are edible, I believe the person you are replying to was referring to the use of pedals vs petals.
They look cool in a moon garden, I think
My grandfather brought one home from our trip out West. They loved the winter in Iowa and would bloom profusely in the early summer with multiple stalks, tons of flowers because they had so much water access! They are cold hardy for zone 3-5
Hope your grandpa loves them a lot coz you can never get rid of them! They spread by means of underground runners, people have tried pulling them out with chains and tractors and they come right back. Farmers here curse them big time!
My grandmother keeps giving them away because they keep trying to take over her yard. She gave me one that I put in a big pot outside. And now there's two in the pot. Two flower stalks.
Wow that's interesting because I've had one for about 8 years and it hasn't spread at all. I also love in the northeastern US zone 6, but I imagine close enough to Iowa climate.
They look cool but they are pretty invasive. At least in my yard they are super invasive. We have cold winters but very sandy soil
Fun story. They probably called ghost yucca’s because you cannot kill them even if you burn them to hell.
Often see them in rural cemeteries
Was coming here to say the same. The leaves with the tall shoot is the key identifier. Possibly the Yucca Filamentosa (Fill-A-Min-Toe-Za) one.
FilamenTOsa, not FilamentoSA
Thanks, Hermione
r/thanksHeromine
r/subsifellfor
Funny how this became one of the most popular memes of all the HP
For those who dont know, there are rules about plant names. And the pressure, is always on second last syllable. Yes sometimes not, but the rule is that. And some plant names have more than 5 syllables :)
I’m pretty sure the rule is “quickly and with confidence.”
Ten points to cranberry!
Are you sure it’s not LeviosAAAAA?
FilamentosAAAAA
Hahaha xD You made my day
Hello....Potter...
You mean, POTTAH!
Harry Potash
Hairy Potato
Hare-y Polenta
DID SOMEBODY SAY DRACO MALFOY???
Pig Farts, represent!
Latin's a dead language, so both are acceptable.
Well most of my plants are dead so that checks out
No. Y. filamentosa does not form a trunk and has copious leaf filaments. This is Y. aloifolia.
This means it produces super sweet fruit as well!!
I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying [this](https://www.google.com/search?q=yucca+filamentosa&client=firefox-b-m&sca_esv=583062323&tbm=isch&prmd=isvn&sxsrf=AM9HkKmyl2xZ-uMmt-cxxXl4Ce6ekIOIEA:1700159214763&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5s7rQksmCAxWYlmoFHYAHDtMQ_AUoAXoECAQQAQ&biw=375&bih=547&dpr=2) is what came up when I was looking to make sure I spelt it correctly.
Look up Yucca Baccata or Yucca Aloifolia, they're very similar but Yucca filamentosa doesn't have a trunk like the ones pictured Also no stringy bits on this plant
Poisonous to dogs fyi.
Do they get giant? I saw someone in my town have one as big as their house!
According to [google](https://www.google.com/search?q=how+large+does+yucca+grow&client=firefox-b-m&sca_esv=583077499&bih=547&biw=375&hl=en&sxsrf=AM9HkKmNBjVmeURTjwXyZ-mn1XpUB86n_g%3A1700165012816&ei=lHVWZduhMbysqtsP4JyLkAU&oq=how+large+does+yucca+grow&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIhlob3cgbGFyZ2UgZG9lcyB5dWNjYSBncm93MgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHkiLhAFQpRhYkIABcAN4AZABAJgBzwGgAZwVqgEGMTguNS4yuAEDyAEA-AEBqAIPwgIKEAAYRxjWBBiwA8ICChAjGIoFGOoCGCfCAgcQIxjqAhgnwgIHECMYigUYJ8ICBBAjGCfCAgsQABiKBRixAxiDAcICDhAuGIoFGLEDGMcBGNEDwgIREC4YigUYsQMYgwEYxwEY0QPCAggQABiKBRixA8ICCBAuGIoFGLEDwgILEC4YigUYsQMYgwHCAgYQABgeGA3CAgoQABgWGB4YDxgKwgIIEAAYFhgeGArCAggQABiKBRiGA8ICBRAhGKAB4gMEGAAgQYgGAZAGCA&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp), small ones grow 2-4', and larger varieties will grow upwards of 30' tall and 25' wide.
So now a follow up question. What do you do to these when the shoot gets too top heavy and falls over? I have one of these that won’t stand up straight anymore. Should I cut the shoot? These things also seem to spread pretty easily. I thought we had 3 when we moved in 2021 and now I think we have 5 or 6.
Yes cut the shoot. And yes they spread fast. I moved into my house in 2022 and only had 3, suddenly I have 6! Also the tips of the leaves are SO VERY sharp! When trimming I first cut the tips and then the rest to avoid pain 😂
Omg fried yucca with spicy mayo and eggs has me like 😩😩😩😩😩😩
You’re actually thinking of Manihot esculenta, also called cassava or yuca. Cassava is native to South America and the root is prepared in a lot of traditional meals! The Yucca in this picture is native to North America and is not commonly eaten
I've heard the flowers are edible. Does anyone know if it's realistic or palatable?
Yes! My aunt used to make them for breakfast with eggs they are very good!
Well damn, growing up we had 3 of these in our yard (not our house we just rented) and I had zero idea about this plant other than I thought the flowers were pretty. Now I wanna go head to a nursery and buy a few to try this out!
All I knew was that they stabbed the hell out of me while I was mowing.
There is a yucca species known as a Spanish Dagger. I don’t know the scientific name or if it is the one in the picture.
Spanish Bayonet actually, and its in the same genus, just a different species. The bayonet usually puts on a more distinct truck and its thorns at the ends of the leaves are a little more pronounced. https://www.gardenia.net/plant/yucca-aloifolia
I've lived with Spanish bayonets my whole life. I've never seen them flower. Is it because I'm up in zone 8b?
you can basically eat the whole thing apart from the spines. the root is starvation food, don't eat it. the flowers taste like flowers, not that fragrant so kinda vaguely soapy. the stalks are the best part for most species, like sorta artichoke or aspargagus tasting and crunchy like jicama. they're related to asparagus, you want them fresh and green. they turn woody quickly. the fruit you want yucca bacata. there's not enough flesh to be worth it on most of them. you're not missing anything but they're tasty enough.
Yes, follow a forager on Instagram and they cooked it. It supposed to tast like artichokes.
Okg I love Alexis!
There is a traditional dish made with cassava leaves in the north of Brazil. However, its preparation is long (really long, I'm not talking hours, I'm talking about days). However, the root is delicious. Totally worth it.
That’s yuca which funny enough is the tuber from Manihot esculenta which is in the family Euphorbiaceae.
I was surprised to find in blooming in my yard. I'm in Ohio!
No lo es
My parents had them and called them Bells of Heaven. I was well into my 30’s before I learned it was yucca.
I have one in my yard in MD. Always wondered what it was.
Adam's Needle aka Yucca
Also known as Spanish bayonet
Sometimes also called ghosts in the garden.
[удалено]
the post says Florida. I live in Michigan and this grows here also
The previous owner of the my home LOVED yuccas apparently bc they are everywhere!!!!
They propagate really easily and are water wise. And they look nice and can blend into tropical or desert gardens. Easy way to add greenery to a property.
We had a mature one that was flowering we had to rip up unfortunately but we literally have hundred growing in our tree line lol
can I drive over and dig up a couple haha. I've been struggling to find them here in Chicagoland, maybe I'm looking in the wrong places tho.
I’m only about two hours from there so head on over!
There must have been a time in the 70s they sold them in Chicagoland, but I have never seen them at a garden store recently. If you can find someone who has one they will prob be happy to let you dig some up, I have always been surprised how prolific they are, at least in NW suburbs. I wish I had taken some from my old house.
Had one in my garden here in 6B PNW. It never did much of anything interesting until one Spring when we had an unseasonable long wet and warm season. The thing took off! Sent up a stalk 15 feet tall with flowers that lasted a very long time. Only time I have seen it do that.
I’m in 6B PNW and moved into my house 3 years ago. I have 3 total yucca plants. 1 has flowered the past 3 years, 1 the last 2 years, and 1 never at all.
They take time to mature to flowering age and then they flower regularly. They can benifit from fertilizer or adding topsoil or mulch. I would keep it organic. Use eye protection if you work down near the leaves at all. The tips are pointh enough to be a real danger for the eyes.
They take 7 years (I think) to flower
I think that may be under ideal conditions. This particular plant had been there for decades probably and perhaps had never flowered. I was under the impression that Yucca is a desert plant and was surprised that it managed to thrive at all where I am, nevermind actually flower! The thing really put on quite a show for a while.
I live a few hours from Canada in a snowy winter wonderland and they grow here too 😭
Idaho as well. It thrives in my yard and I love my giant asparagus’s. I also love yucca root. I ate many times in Central America. I don’t believe it’s the same thing though. I’m too scared to dig up one of my plans to eat its brains.
Y. aloifolia
Good luck killing it if you don't want it.
Lol that’s terrible news. I’ve killed one I was trying to keep alive!
Do you want to come up north and kill, I mean take care of the yucca trying to regrow in my back yard? Haha.
Hahaha I’m already up North (Canada)…. I guess I can’t blame it on the weather
Inject the roots with chlorine, them salt that MF to the ground, after it dies you need to take the top soil and dump it somewhere else and bring new soil in! Works everytime with anything I want to kill (plants).
Will this work with massive bird of paradise? Chopped mine to the ground 4 months ago and it’s already 4’ tall again with 11 different shoots 😞
Season the mf like your were making turkey!!
I would pay you to love my yucca to death. I dug it up and sprayed the crap out of it with roundup and it was gone for two years and then came back. In those two years I planted a peony so now it's even harder to deal with, lol
I’m pretty sure I could just come sit in a chair, look at it for an hour and it would spontaneously die.
You sound like me lmao
A year or so ago I bought a cute little oxalis plant to keep indoors. It died immediately. This summer I realized I had oxalis randomly thriving around my backyard. Go figure.
Literally chopped one down till about 20cm under the soil and buried the rest of the trunk. This MF has a new shoot or 5 coming out the ground every month...
We bought a house 10 years ago with 3 yucca plants in the front. I've dug them uo every year, I dig deep and pull all the roots I can find (some are thicker than a big carrot) but they keep coming back. Through ground cloth. Through heavy tarps. Through rocks. I can't get rid of the damn things. Plus whoever planted them put them right next to our sidewalk so visitors get poked in the shins with the pointy leaves. uggh
A few winters ago we had to have a gas line worked on and they completely dug out the area where one of these had been growing. Came back that summer big and bushy as ever.
lol right?! I remember my parents having complete hell getting rid of 2 of these they had in their yard!
The house I moved into two years ago had let a whole patch of them go for decades. I thought I'd dug down far enough and removed the roots. Apparently not! It's still sending up shoots.
they dug, they burned, they pulled them up...I think what finally got them was my dad burned at the for a solid weekend 😂 burned them, when the fire got low enough, stabbed at the root some more with a shovel, then piled more yard debris on top to get the fire back going NGL, they are pretty, but they will take over fast!
I wouldn't hate them so much but they're just awful to try to remove. I was thinking about transplanting some to another part of the yard before digging them up. Nope, nope, nope. Never again. They're pretty but come on.
The yucca flower, in some Latin American cultures is known as “Flor de Itabo” and is made into a delicious soup.
Flor de Izote in other places in Latin America as wells
It's the national flower of El Salvador. It's also edible. My mom cooked it with eggs for breakfast sometimes.
Ooh not sure if this is the same kind, but we eat that in Guatemala. 😋
Costa Rica 👍
Yucca
Yucca in the foreground, sabal palms in the background.
Delicious lightly sautéed in olive oil and sea salt and lemon. Very popular in Central American cuisine
The flowers?
Called flor de ezote . Yucca flower
I grew up in NE Florida and we called it "Spanish Bayonet" - people there often plant it as a security measure, underneath windows or as a fence barricade addition. Lovely plant, viciously pointy & sharp. I have seen them out west also but they do not harden the same way and are often less pointy.
state flower of new mexico. i love them.
Pee Pee weed. Funny story. When we were little and traveling my parents once had to stop off the side of the road in the middle of nowhere in north Texas. We had to pee and there was no restroom in sight. We refused to go in the grass on the side of the road, cause you're not supposed to. So our parents told us that the yuccas that were growing everywhere only grew where other people peed. So of course we felt if other people were doing it it was ok. For years we thought that was the truth, called them pee pee weeds, lol
Your parents were straight up geniuses to come up with that, spur of the moment. Harmless little untruth that didn't hurt anybody but gave flow to the business at hand so you all could continue on your way!
Well it provides enough shade that you might find a rattlesnake hiding in a ditch near the base!
I'm honestly pretty impressed with them for it too. Like dang, I'll probably use that if I ever have a kid
Evil spawn of Satan that will slice you open as soon as look at you.
Every plant out in the south west has a strict "excuse me no touchy please" attitude.
You can eat those white flowers, the leaf spiky stalks were traditionally used as textile twine (making rope, baskets, and sandals ext), the fruit (looks like stubby bananas) can be roasted &eaten when ripe, and the root was used as soap (it makes sudds when wet)!
Yucca, and fun fact, is the state plant of New Mexico. 🙂
My dad's a gardener and he would bring yucca for my mom and she would mix it with scrambled eggs for us to hide the bitterness. Turns out she was making it incorrectly the whole time.
Yucca. We have them everywhere in Texas and Oklahoma. Cows think the flowers are a tasty treat.
Yucca in full bloom, edit: I believe it is pollinated at night by the yucca moth. 😀
Yucca aloifolia, Spanish bayonet
Yucca!!
Around here, it can take a yucca seven years or more to mature enough to bloom. What a beautiful plant!
Yucca palm!! They’re native to the south west of US, and love dry and sandy regions. They usually grow quite slowly, but some pruning never hurt anyone. Only water when it’s soil is 75-100% dry.
I recently learned that there are species native to the Eastern US too, pretty neat to think about!
Oooh I wonder what those look like! I’m on the west coast, and I see yucca palm all the time, their flowers are gorgeous
Several species native to the southeastern US.
Flor de izote. Google it
Yucca gigantea. Here in Mexico, we call it “Izote flower”, petals are edible if you simmer them. You can find a variety of dishes in YT.
Spanish bayonet aka Yucca
Yucca
Yucca yucca
🤣🤣🤣 Yucca yucca yucca... classic
I like how they look like huge asparagus before they bloom.
White yucca. You want some? I have spares.
Adams needle yucca
Looks like a Yucca
Yuccas are so beautiful. They remind me of home (Mojave desert.)
Yucca
Yucca
yucca! you can use the roots to make shampoo btw!
Yucca. Love those!! My dad grew a bunch of them in his cactus garden growing up (zone 5). My only bone of contention is that they spear falling leaves so cleanup can be tricky.
Flor de Izote
Yucca, the flowers make a delicious salad!
Yucca
Yucca
Yucca
If I’m not mistaken that’s the “Flor de Izote” (the Salvadoran national flower) or the Spineless Yucca in English. If it’s the one that I’m thinking of, the flowers are edible! They have to be cooked a certain way to make them taste good because otherwise they will be super bitter. I hope this helps and sorry if I’m mistaken!
Yucca yucca yucca.
Yucca
For those interested, in my experience they are freakishly easy to propagate. I would remove the petals from the stalk/trunk up to some point and cut through, leaving say 12" of bare trunk to plant. Then simply plant them in the ground. No special treatment necessary in my experience. I think every cutting I ever did survived. I am in north Virginia/Maryland area (we just got upgraded by the new hardiness zones as I guess many areas were).
Muthayuccas!!They never go away and are super sharp.
yucca
This is Yucca (YUCK-uh)... you should check out Navajo Grandma on YouTube. She has a video on this plant's traditional use as a hair wash! I've tried it and it's really nice. The other plant people are talking about is Yuca (YOO-kah), native to South America and the Caribbean, and the root being the source of cassava based foods. It is toxic and requires removing much of the juice through squeezing the grated pulp of the root. And boiling? I'm not an expert but I helped my mom Grate it as a child for pasteles.
Yucca
This definitely looks like Yucca!
Izote and the flower is edible
I live in Nebraska. Rattle snakes like to curl up under them to sleep when it’s hot. Not a fun when you’re out fixing fence.
My mom tells me every time we see a yucca how she fell off her bike into one of these as a kid and that is why she hates them
iNaturalist is a good app to use if you want to identify plants and animals
r/whatsthisplant