Other Names:  Twisted Leaf Yucca

Description:

This compact, sculptural plant bears multiple, sword-like leaves of blue-green that gracefully twist upwards; beautiful spikes of nodding cream bell flowers in summer; good for hot, dry sites; great for borders, rock gardens, patios and containers

Ornamental Features

Twistleaf Yucca features bold spikes of lightly-scented creamy white bell-shaped flowers rising above the foliage from early to mid summer. It has attractive bluish-green foliage with hints of silvery blue. The twisted sword-like leaves are highly ornamental and remain bluish-green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Twistleaf Yucca is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a more or less rounded form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting bees and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Twistleaf Yucca is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Twistleaf Yucca will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity extending to 5 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 24 inches. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America. It can be propagated by division.

Twistleaf Yucca makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.