Yucca brevifolia

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Desert 'Alpines'

Any one growing j-trees (Yucca brevifolia)
I have a few all grown from seed.

Before the freeze, sept 2010

Right after the hard killing freeze of last year, it died by late spring

spring

And my big one that survived, but the crown died.
before the freeze, sept. 2010

right after

Spring

Comments

John P. Weiser's picture

John P. Weiser

Sat, 12/03/2011 - 1:28pm

Araon
Those were and are nice plants. :-\ There are several around Reno that are twenty feet tall with multiple trunks, so they are hardy around here.
I grow one. I got it about six years ago. It was in a five gallon pot and had to be three or four years old at the time maybe a foot tall.That would make it about nine years old or so now. Any way It doesn't grow very much in a year, in fact I'm wondering if it's a dwarf. I measured it today when I saw your nice photos and it's only 24 inches tall. It looks normal in every other respect just short and slow growing. Hasn't even thought about trunking up yet.

Robert Nold's picture

Robert Nold

Sat, 12/03/2011 - 3:49pm

I have a couple Y. brevifolia var. jaegeriana, one of which has been here for years. I don't water them at all, so they grow very slowly. Probably just as well since I'd have to move them if they got big. They're under snow right now.
I suppose I could water them, since that's what everyone else does.

I missed an opportunity to get seed of what might have been a hardy form of Y. whipplei from Ron Ratko. That I would definitely water.

Bob

DesertZone's picture

DesertZone (not verified)

Sat, 12/03/2011 - 4:45pm

The small one was by some newly plant fescue grass lawn and was still growing into the fall, that was when we had a very cold spell.  All the others that were away from a water source lived.  I never had a problem with them before even at much colder temps, but none of the plants were dormant as the arrival of the -0 temps.

John, you are lucky to have such a climate, I seen lots of cool plants the last time I was there.  Also some very cool desert out that way. 8)

Bob, good to hear good to hear j-trees do well there also.

I noticed my big one did about a foot a year after it sarted trucking, and the other did about 4-6inches in hieght a year.  I never water them directly. 

Robert Nold's picture

Robert Nold

Sat, 12/03/2011 - 8:30pm

I didn't notice that the freeze happened in September. That will do it.
Y. brevifolia var. jaegeriana is a "miniature" Joshua tree.

The yucca that I want is Y. baccata var. vespertina. I have a small plant, but I'd like a larger one, too, because they grow fairly slowly. It is too big for a small rock garden.

Bob

Martin Tversted's picture

Martin Tversted (not verified)

Sat, 12/03/2011 - 10:06pm

I have serverel Y brevifolia growing here in Denmark. Rather slow growing but all have been started from seeds. All have been down to -20C and I grow them inside the unheated greenhouse to keep them dry/cold in winter and to keep the day temps high enough in summer.
I have all 3 of Hochstaetters subspecies. Time will tell how different they are.

Martin

DesertZone's picture

DesertZone (not verified)

Sun, 12/04/2011 - 7:31am
Nold wrote:

I didn't notice that the freeze happened in September. That will do it.
Y. brevifolia var. jaegeriana is a "miniature" Joshua tree.

Bob

I'm sorry, sometimes I am not the best with words.  The freeze(s) happened one in Nov. and two more in Dec.  The problem was we had warm weather and than a hard freeze and then a repeat.  The pics from sept are just the last normal pics of the plants I had before the freeze(s).
I had flowers frozen solid all winter, looked wierd when the snow melted in early spring and there was flower just like they were in the fall, as it warmed they turn to mush. :D
The two j-trees that died were b. var. jaegeriana.  Sad :(

Robert Nold's picture

Robert Nold

Sun, 12/04/2011 - 3:52pm
Quote:

I have all 3 of Hochstaetters subspecies. Time will tell how different they are.   

All he did was raise them from varietal level to subspecies. But with Yucca, you can never be sure ...

Bob

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Wed, 11/21/2012 - 11:19pm

Does this look to be Yucca brevifolia? It hasn't formed a trunk but the flowers look similar to what i've been able to find on the interweb.
cheers
fermi

John P. Weiser's picture

John P. Weiser

Thu, 11/22/2012 - 5:41am

In my opinion I would say that it is not brevifolia. The leaves seem to be too long, wide and flexable. Y. brevifolia leaves are narrower and more ridged. They don't grow long enough to arch. They also cup more and would be almost U shaped in cross section. 

Here a two closeup photos of the leaves for you to compare.

DesertZone's picture

DesertZone (not verified)

Fri, 11/23/2012 - 2:35pm
Fermi wrote:

Does this look to be Yucca brevifolia? It hasn't formed a trunk but the flowers look similar to what i've been able to find on the interweb.
cheers
fermi

Love the flowers. 8)

DesertZone's picture

DesertZone (not verified)

Sat, 10/10/2015 - 10:08pm

http://unkowndestination.blogspot.com/2015/09/year-end-yucca-and-cactus-reviewand-few.html