Yucca rostrata
Beaked Yucca, Big Bend Yucca
A popular compact and drought-tolerant architectural plant, Yucca rostrata boasts an iconic dense crown of silvery blue thin lance-like foliage, perfect for a container or arid display in a sunny spot of the garden.
Also known as Yucca linearis, it can be distinguished from other similar Yuccas by the characteristic yellow edges of the long, narrow leaves which form the pin-cushion rosette.
Plant Biography
Native to dry, arid lands in the USA and Mexico, the purpose of Yucca rostrata’s stunning glaucous blue colour is an adaption needed to reflect some of the extremely bright light and heat in its native desert home.
For thousands of years these plants have been used by Native American people, who refer to them as ‘palmita’ and ‘soyate’, as a source of both food and fibres.
More recently, the Beaked Yucca has grown greatly in ornamental popularity as when planted they make for a great accent in gardens with succulent or mixed arid planting. Kept in a container they can add shimmering blue interest to an intensely sunny spot in any garden with very little maintenance.
Expert Tip
Care & Size Guidance
Once the plant is mature, towering flower spikes can emerge from the plant around spring and summer and produce large bell shaped white flowers.
It will eventually grow upwards to form a trunk, covered in the creamy straw coloured remnants of its older foliage which can be trimmed or left to form a ‘skirt’ beneath the crown as it would in nature.
