Nolina, Beaucarnea, and Dasylirion Oh My.. The not quite Yucca, but not quite Aloes or Agave master thread.

[Silas_Sancona]

Some are tropical, while others occupy thirsty deserts..  They look similar,  but are very different..  Some mistakenly call a few " Palms " ..but they're not..  Many have a long history of usefulness.    I thought we had a master thread for all these " in between " interesting plants,  but couldn't find one so, Regardless..

Whether observed out in the wild, or in a garden this is a thread dedicated to all those great plants in the Genus' Dasylirion, Nolina, Pandanus, Xanthorrea, Draceana, Furcraea, and Cordyline species.. Not man made " Ti "- Plant cultivars.  Keep them in their own thread..

Whether you're growing a few in your yard, or see some great specimens in someone else's garden, in habitat, or a botanical garden's collection,   ...Don't be that person that looks over this thread and doesn't  post any pictures...  Put 'em up! 


A few monsoon season habitat shots of Dasylirion wheeleri, and Nolina microcarpa  from Oak Flat.

Nolina microcarpa







Dasylirion wheeleri









Both sp.  flowering next to each other..




 

Edited August 9, 2022 by Silas_Sancona
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[Silas_Sancona]

Nolina matapensis,  Boyce Thompson Arboretum, 4/ 2021



Nolina beldingii, Boyce Thompson Arboretum, 2/2021


 

[Tracy]

11 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Some mistakenly call a few " Palms " ..but they're not

Nathan, are you "sure" my Beaucarnia recurvata isn't a palm species?  Why are they called "Ponytail Palms" if they aren't a palm?

These were transplants from my first garden.  I planted them as one gallons right along the edge of the walkways at that house and the new buyer wasn't a fan of the leaves on the walkway so let me know and asked if I wanted to dig them up and take them to my new house rather than having her just toss them.  These guys went in the ground in the first garden about 32 or 33 years ago, and ended up in their current spots about 26 years ago and are the ones on the winter shade side of the garden.  While they prefer full sun here, they can perform well in just about anything you give them.

[teddytn]

Another damn good thread to follow! 

[Silas_Sancona]

5 hours ago, Tracy said:

Nathan, are you "sure" my Beaucarnia recurvata isn't a palm species?  Why are they called "Ponytail Palms" if they aren't a palm?

These were transplants from my first garden.  I planted them as one gallons right along the edge of the walkways at that house and the new buyer wasn't a fan of the leaves on the walkway so let me know and asked if I wanted to dig them up and take them to my new house rather than having her just toss them.  These guys went in the ground in the first garden about 32 or 33 years ago, and ended up in their current spots about 26 years ago and are the ones on the winter shade side of the garden.  While they prefer full sun here, they can perform well in just about anything you give them.

 

 

( Clutches Purse/ hand bag  ...or faux designer Pearls / Feather Boa )  ...Auh!   How dare you question my "garden" knowledge Mr. Tracy!  ...I've been " doing this " for years  ...and surely anything that has a bare trunk and a " tuft " of leaves at the top of the stem is  a Palm..

Those Taxonomists - "whatever"   they're called don't know their plants..  I hear they think there is such thing as " Palm Grass "  ...Sit- Tarr- Yee' - ahh  " whatever "..  ...Those are just Palm seedlings that aren't old enough to form a stem yet..  Trust me, i know this..   Those " scientist " folk are just actors trying to sell plant - " Woke-ness"  Hahaha

***Thought you might get a chuckle out of that ***


It always amazes me how easily Beaucs, -B. recurvata at least-  can be moved around and barely wink. Let alone how big they can get..  Never thought the trunk on them could attain a size that would challenge the square footage of our current living room, or my bedroom. ...And i'm probably  under- estimating that.. Those at the Huntington are old, yes, but  ..surprisingly impressive considering how they look when seen sitting on a shelf in the house plant section of X  nursery ...or Wally World.

Edited August 9, 2022 by Silas_Sancona
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[Meangreen94z]

Beaucarnea recurvata at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens in 2020

Pictures I took in Harlingen, Texas in 2019:Pictures of a massive specimen in Harlingen that unfortunately grew into the foundation/corner of the house. I believe Matt-N-Dallas took these.

[Meangreen94z]

Some spectacular pictures of Nolina Parviflora in Mexico by Gabriel Diaz-Infante.

[teddytn]

1 hour ago, Meangreen94z said:

That’s so badass and sad, perfect example of needing to plant according to mature size. 

[Tracy]

The only lawn I have here in my Leucadia garden is in this one patch where I'm growing a special variety of grass:  Dasylirion longissimum, the Mexican Grass Tree. 

[Tracy]

On 8/8/2022 at 7:16 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

this is a thread dedicated to all those great plants in the Genus' Dasylirion, Nolina, Pandanus, Xanthorrea, Draceana, Furcraea, and Cordyline species.

I'm stepping out of bounds of the identified Genera, but I think it actually fits in well with the intent of not quite Yucca, Aloes (by extension I would add Aloidendron) or Agave .  My wife and I were on a spring garden tour in Point Loma and saw one of these in front of home that wasn't on the tour.  It was in bloom with a spectacular pink flower and I knew if I ever came across one I would be adding it to my garden.  I don't think it's labeled, but I it in this forum and I think Josue & Nathan helped me with the correct name:  Beschorneria yuccoides 'flamingo glow'.  I've had this growing now for about 4 or 5 years but no flowering yet which is ok as I like the foliage too.

[Meangreen94z]

What I believe to be Dasylirion glaucophyllum. Atleast 8 feet wide and tall

[Meangreen94z]

Dasylirion texanum 

[Meangreen94z]

A few Nolina from around the Austin, Texas area. Nolina nelsonii, siberica,and longifolia are sold in the area. There may be others. All of these should are survivors of 7°F or so during February 2021.Nice big Dasylirion quadrangulatum after the freeze:

[miamicuse]

I understand if you cut off a ponytail palm it will grow multiple heads?

I have some on my property that has gotten tall and leaning, and I am wondering if I can get it to produce more heads instead of just getting taller.  Here is a picture, and it may be difficult to see them clearly so I include the same image with the trunk hilited in red below.

There are three of them but their bases are not as swollen as others I have seen.

Can these be trimmed get them in better shape and symmetry?

[Silas_Sancona]

9 hours ago, miamicuse said:

I understand if you cut off a ponytail palm it will grow multiple heads?

I have some on my property that has gotten tall and leaning, and I am wondering if I can get it to produce more heads instead of just getting taller.  Here is a picture, and it may be difficult to see them clearly so I include the same image with the trunk hilited in red below.

There are three of them but their bases are not as swollen as others I have seen.

Can these be trimmed get them in better shape and symmetry?

That is actually a Yucca.. Regardless, you could cut everything off and let it regrow and hope that new growth will be symmetrical..  Doesn't mean it will though, and as old as that specimen is, there's a good chance it may not respond at all.   You could replant the cut off portions though and work with them as they grow.

[miamicuse]

10 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

That is actually a Yucca.. Regardless, you could cut everything off and let it regrow and hope that new growth will be symmetrical..  Doesn't mean it will though, and as old as that specimen is, there's a good chance it may not respond at all.   You could replant the cut off portions though and work with them as they grow.

That's a yucca?  Oops!  My apologies I should have put this in the Yucca thread and not here.  I am thinking I may cut off the skinny left most one at the base and regrow the cutting somewhere else.  Can I chop it into three segments and turn that into three yuccas?

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, miamicuse said:

That's a yucca?  Oops!  My apologies I should have put this in the Yucca thread and not here.  I am thinking I may cut off the skinny left most one at the base and regrow the cutting somewhere else.  Can I chop it into three segments and turn that into three yuccas?

No worries... 

You could that.. That skinny one is kind of throwing everything off.. Can take any tops you might remove from the bigger one and plant those too. Yucca cuttings generally root pretty easily. Once they gain a little size, you can cut the heads off  < again>,  if you choose to,  and the part in the ground should re sprout. Hopefully, you'll get several new growths you can direct as they grow.

As old as the other ones are, i don't want to guarantee  they'll put out new growth after being chopped.. Most older yucca like that will regrow, but,  there's = chance they might not push new growth as well..

Have seen BIG Yucca elephantes cut in half and go on to push lots of new growth, while with some others, what was left of the trunk / stump decided to rot.. Kind of surprising since they're generally very hard to knock down.  Thinking your specimen is Yucca aloifolia, one of the native ones there.. They're also pretty tough and can regrow fairly easily after being chopped.

[Meangreen94z]

A nice Nolina nelsonii in San Antonio 

[Meangreen94z]

A few from John Fairey Garden.

Dasylirion acrotrichum:Dasylirion quadrarangulatum :

Dasylirion wheeleri:Dasylirion quadrangulatum and Nolina nelsonii:Nolina nelsonii:10+ foot tall twin nelsonii:nelsonii on the right:Nelsonii back right and Dasylirion on the bottom left and background :

 

[SailorBold]

I think that's how you spell Allbeargrassey.. I wouldn't even know where to start.. literally everywhere around here..

[freakypalmguy]

Excellent thread everyone, tons of beauty in these pics.

I’ll add a few of my Xanthorhoea and Dasylirion

these are special to me, The first seeds ever germinated approximately 15 years ago, Xanthorhoea preissii. The water got cut off to them for a number of years, but they are looking better

Xanthorhoea glauca that I acquired a few years back has been growing well

a Dasylirion with a bit more blue to it

my flowering Dasylirion longissimum

a few more Dasylirion, these I grew from seed

 

 

[Meangreen94z]

A few Nolina nelsonii in Austin, some recently flowered(no seed). The tallest two had probably 7-8 feet of trunk, bigger than the pictures indicate.

[JeskiM]

Until now I have never looked for Nolina in the local Austin TX nurseries.  I am finding myself really attracted to the Nolina Nelsonii.

Does anyone one know which nurseries around Austin carry that species ? ... particularly in smaller sizes like 5-7 gallons.

I am redoing several beds that either died out back in the big Feb. freeze or died in this years drought / heat wave.  Been switching those beds to be more yucca, agave, dasylirion, nolina and cold hardy palm centric; so suddenly I found myself interested in Nolinas ! ... I blame this thread 😃

Thanks,

-Matt

 

[Meangreen94z]

13 minutes ago, JeskiM said:

Until now I have never looked for Nolina in the local Austin TX nurseries.  I am finding myself really attracted to the Nolina Nelsonii.

Does anyone one know which nurseries around Austin carry that species ? ... particularly in smaller sizes like 5-7 gallons.

I am redoing several beds that either died out back in the big Feb. freeze or died in this years drought / heat wave.  Been switching those beds to be more yucca, agave, dasylirion, nolina and cold hardy palm centric; so suddenly I found myself interested in Nolinas ! ... I blame this thread 😃

Thanks,

-Matt

 

Barton Springs Nursery carry’s them off and on in different sizes. They usually have something instock 

[SailorBold]

[Meangreen94z]

Dasylirion leiophyllum in Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

 

[Meangreen94z]

Dasylirion texanum outside Sisterdale, Texas