General Culture:
Easily grown in light, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerant of poor, sandy soils. Surprisingly tolerant of part shade.
Noteworthy Characteristics:
Yucca filamentosa (see C287 herein), commonly called Adam’s needle, Spanish bayonet or yucca, is a virtually stemless evergreen shrub (though it looks more like a perennial than a shrub) that is native to beaches, sand dunes and fields from South Carolina south to Florida and Mississippi. ‘Color Guard’ is a gold-centered variegated form. It features a basal rosette to 2-3’ tall and as wide of rigid, sword-shaped, spine-tipped, leaves (to 30” long and to 4” wide) with green margins and striking creamy gold centers. Long filamentous (as per species name) curly white threads are found along the leaf margins. In late spring, a flowering stalk rises from the center of each rosette, typically to 5-6’ tall, bearing a long terminal panicles of nodding, bell-shaped, fragrant, creamy white flowers. Fruits are elliptical dehiscent capsules.
Problems:
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses:
Borders. Dry garden areas. Dry slopes. Adds architectural height. Also may be grown in large containers. Interest in yuccas for the home garden has been somewhat tempered in recent years by a proliferation of commercial plantings in such areas as parking lots of fast-food restaurants.
© Missouri Botanical
Garden, 2001-2009
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