Other Names:  Giant Spanish Dagger, Spanish Bayonet

Description:

This giant yucca variety bears long, thick, sword-like leaves of bluish-green; full spikes of nodding cream bell flowers rise up in summer; a striking specimen, and a great barrier plant for hot, dry areas; will eventually form a colony

Ornamental Features

Giant Yucca features bold spikes of creamy white bell-shaped flowers rising above the foliage from early to late summer. It has attractive bluish-green evergreen foliage. The enormous spiny sword-like leaves are highly ornamental and remain bluish-green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Giant 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. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Spiny

Giant Yucca is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Giant Yucca will grow to be about 12 feet tall at maturity extending to 15 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. 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 xeriscaping or the moisture-conserving landscape. 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.

Giant 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.