Yucca schottii surprise :

[WSimpson]

 

 I  used to have a clump of Yucca aloifolia in my yard when I first bought the house , and   I was hoping it would trunk up as a palm looking type plant , but every time I would cut off the dead old leaves it would fall all over the place . So I looked on the internet  for a Yucca that would trunk up , and my decision at that  time was a Yucca schotti . I  read that it was hardy and trunked , and that was good enough for me at that time . 

So about 9  years later it trunked up a  lot ,  and then flowered , so I was happy . 

Well , yesterday I just happened to pull on the lower old dead leaves , after never attempting  to pull on them before ,  and I was amazed that the leaves just pulled right off of the trunk . So here are pictures of  the transformation . 

Here's the last picture I have of the Aloifolia 13 years ago . I cut it back hard realizing it was going to fall over again once it got taller .  I don't dislike Aloifolias , but I don't have the room  for them to flop all over the place :

 

 

Below is  2012 and that Aloifolia is gone and the Schottii was planted . It's front left in the picture . Behind the Schottii  is a Birmingham . Other plants have been moved or are huge like that Agave salmiana  :

 

 

 

Today  , and the first time I realized that the old dead leaves just pull off easily .

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking .

( I'm editing again because even though that Yucca rostrata is older than the schottii , the Yucca rostrata's  lower leaves are still anchored on the trunk and won't pull off at all .  ) 

Will

Edited August 10, 2023 by Will Simpson

[Meangreen94z]

Yeah some species eventually “self clean”, others don’t. Yucca filifera is another that  sheds its lower older leaves without much effort.

[BigBilly]

13 hours ago, Will Simpson said:

 

 I  used to have a clump of Yucca aloifolia in my yard when I first bought the house , and   I was hoping it would trunk up as a palm looking type plant , but every time I would cut off the dead old leaves it would fall all over the place . So I looked on the internet  for a Yucca that would trunk up , and my decision at that  time was a Yucca schotti . I  read that it was hardy and trunked , and that was good enough for me at that time . 

So about 9  years later it trunked up a  lot ,  and then flowered , so I was happy . 

Well , yesterday I just happened to pull on the lower old dead leaves , after never attempting  to pull on them before ,  and I was amazed that the leaves just pulled right off of the trunk . So here are pictures of  the transformation . 

Here's the last picture I have of the Aloifolia 13 years ago . I cut it back hard realizing it was going to fall over again once it got taller .  I don't dislike Aloifolias , but I don't have the room  for them to flop all over the place :

 

 

Below is  2012 and that Aloifolia is gone and the Schottii was planted . It's front left in the picture . Behind the Schottii  is a Birmingham . Other plants have been moved or are huge like that Agave salmiana  :

 

 

 

Today  , and the first time I realized that the old dead leaves just pull off easily .

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking .

( I'm editing again because even though that Yucca rostrata is older than the schottii , the Yucca rostrata's  lower leaves are still anchored on the trunk and won't pull off at all .  ) 

Will

Wow you have such an interesting garden, Hard to believe all that can grow in Winston Salem 

[WSimpson]

On 8/10/2023 at 9:36 AM, Meangreen94z said:

Yeah some species eventually “self clean”, others don’t. Yucca filifera is another that  sheds its lower older leaves without much effort.

 

On 8/10/2023 at 9:36 AM, Meangreen94z said:

Yeah some species eventually “self clean”, others don’t. Yucca filifera is another that  sheds its lower older leaves without much effort.

Thanks ; I guess the Rostrata will eventually shed some of the lowest dead leaves , but it sure takes a while . It probably takes forever in a dry desert location , but they should fall off in my humid climate sooner . 

[WSimpson]

On 8/10/2023 at 9:58 AM, BigBilly said:

Wow you have such an interesting garden, Hard to believe all that can grow in Winston Salem 

Thanks . It's been an interesting 15 years since I first bought some tiny PDN Trachycarpuses  . Some failures , but a lot of successes  .

Edited August 12, 2023 by Will Simpson

[BigBilly]

1 minute ago, Will Simpson said:

Thanks . It's been an interesting 15 years since I first bought some tiny PDN Trachycarpus . Some failures , but a lot of success .

What palms are you even growing with minimal / no protection? 

[N8ALLRIGHT]

On 8/9/2023 at 7:39 PM, Will Simpson said:

 

 I  used to have a clump of Yucca aloifolia in my yard when I first bought the house , and   I was hoping it would trunk up as a palm looking type plant , but every time I would cut off the dead old leaves it would fall all over the place . So I looked on the internet  for a Yucca that would trunk up , and my decision at that  time was a Yucca schotti . I  read that it was hardy and trunked , and that was good enough for me at that time . 

So about 9  years later it trunked up a  lot ,  and then flowered , so I was happy . 

Well , yesterday I just happened to pull on the lower old dead leaves , after never attempting  to pull on them before ,  and I was amazed that the leaves just pulled right off of the trunk . So here are pictures of  the transformation . 

Here's the last picture I have of the Aloifolia 13 years ago . I cut it back hard realizing it was going to fall over again once it got taller .  I don't dislike Aloifolias , but I don't have the room  for them to flop all over the place :

 

 

Below is  2012 and that Aloifolia is gone and the Schottii was planted . It's front left in the picture . Behind the Schottii  is a Birmingham . Other plants have been moved or are huge like that Agave salmiana  :

 

 

 

Today  , and the first time I realized that the old dead leaves just pull off easily .

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking .

( I'm editing again because even though that Yucca rostrata is older than the schottii , the Yucca rostrata's  lower leaves are still anchored on the trunk and won't pull off at all .  ) 

Will

Man I have a love/hate relationship with reading these posts. So I impulsively searched on Google for yucca schottii, and lo and behold ethical desert had them. You know the rest.

Beautiful plant 

[WSimpson]

On 8/12/2023 at 11:49 AM, BigBilly said:

What palms are you even growing with minimal / no protection? 

Well , my Butia survived 6F last December in a great microclimate as well as a Chamaerops humbles and a Chamaerops cerifera . Frond damage but still a lot of green on all of them . I protect the trunk of my Washy every winter when I see a temperature below 15F . My Trachys and Birminghams are on their own , but I might protect my Sabal palmettos if I see some really cold weather like here in 2018 when my lowest low was only 7F but 8 days didn't get above 32F , and I lost 2 of my 3 palmettos . 

Will

[WSimpson]

On 8/13/2023 at 1:52 PM, N8ALLRIGHT said:

Man I have a love/hate relationship with reading these posts. So I impulsively searched on Google for yucca schottii, and lo and behold ethical desert had them. You know the rest.

Beautiful plant 

Thanks , I think I found a winner in that Schottii  .

Will

[BigBilly]

4 hours ago, Will Simpson said:

Well , my Butia survived 6F last December in a great microclimate as well as a Chamaerops humbles and a Chamaerops cerifera . Frond damage but still a lot of green on all of them . I protect the trunk of my Washy every winter when I see a temperature below 15F . My Trachys and Birminghams are on their own , but I might protect my Sabal palmettos if I see some really cold weather like here in 2018 when my lowest low was only 7F but 8 days didn't get above 32F , and I lost 2 of my 3 palmettos . 

Will

Thanks, I'm down here in Statesville and seeing everything that you're growing is inpirisng. 

[WSimpson]

On 8/16/2023 at 3:40 PM, BigBilly said:

Thanks, I'm down here in Statesville and seeing everything that you're growing is inpirisng. 

You got any pictures ?

[BigBilly]

2 hours ago, Will Simpson said:

You got any pictures ?

Oh yeah, I have a few things in the ground, Sabal Minor, Needle, Windmill, and a King Sago for some reason, I've only had the Minor and Needle this year so they haven't got any growth on them, But next on the list is Sabal Palmetto, Sabal Birmingham and maybe a Mediterranean Fan Palm. Not sure how the Sago will do in 7B but I plan on protecting it.  

[N8ALLRIGHT]

Thread resurrection 

Here's my yucca schottii after it's first zone 6 winter. We did hit - 8 or so.No protection but some oak leaves and snow cover.  Early results are good. @WSimpson@Silas_Sancona or anyone else with experience with this yucca. I Have no experience with this yucca other than this one. Purchased from ethical desert. My question is do they look odd , convoluted and fleshy at this size? Pictures I have seen of others look more symmetrical. Perhaps it's expressing some of it's yucca baccata background? Don't get me wrong it's staying, curious more than anything. Anyways

[Silas_Sancona]

9 minutes ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

Thread resurrection 

Here's my yucca schottii after it's first zone 6 winter. We did hit - 8 or so.No protection but some oak leaves and snow cover.  Early results are good. @WSimpson@Silas_Sancona or anyone else with experience with this yucca. I Have no experience with this yucca other than this one. Purchased from ethical desert. My question is do they look odd , convoluted and fleshy at this size? Pictures I have seen of others look more symmetrical. Perhaps it's expressing some of it's yucca baccata background? Don't get me wrong it's staying, curious more than anything. Anyways

Curvy leaves / filaments along the margin definitely suggest some deg. of Y. baccata expressing itself,  to my eye at least, < fine if others disagree >  but, at that age, some other Yucca sps can look similar and then change a bit as they grow larger..

Same general look after a good season of growth ahead, would have me thinking the baccata lean in that one is pretty strong, exp if the leaves are quite rigid. Y. elata leaves are a little thick, but reasonably flexible

Regardless, looks like a winner for K.C.

I'll have to pay extra attention to any plants of similar size i might come across when i head back down south later this year.

Might look over this thread for some extra insight ( if you hadn't already ) :
https://www.agaveville.org/viewtopic.php?t=291

[N8ALLRIGHT]

Those are some good pictures.  They look fleshy, but not as twisted and asymmetrical as mine.  Granted, mine is a little guy. So we will wait and see. It's planted in disturbed native clay with a fair amount of limestone gravel in it,under the cobbles. Plus it's location near the retaining wall with it's backfill of gravel and on a slope means it should drain quickly.  I'm sure that's helped it's ability to withstand the cold. I don't know if locale type could be at play as well.  This one was listed as the hatchita,NM type. Maybe this location has more baccata influence than other locations? Just my random thoughts 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Lovely looking yucca with the clean trunk and rigid blue leaves. Didn’t even know it existed until today. 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

Those are some good pictures.  They look fleshy, but not as twisted and asymmetrical as mine.  Granted, mine is a little guy. So we will wait and see. It's planted in disturbed native clay with a fair amount of limestone gravel in it,under the cobbles. Plus it's location near the retaining wall with it's backfill of gravel and on a slope means it should drain quickly.  I'm sure that's helped it's ability to withstand the cold. I don't know if locale type could be at play as well.  This one was listed as the hatchita,NM type. Maybe this location has more baccata influence than other locations? Just my random thoughts 

Tough call, though you're thinking makes sense.. baccata is pretty common here and in N.M. and i've seen both it and elata growing within yards of one another but don't recall ever noticing younger ...possibly mixed.. plants that stood out.

In a different area,  obvious mixed plants might be scattered everywhere..

Part of a road out to a spot i frequent was just paved an extra 4-7 miles and goes deep into prime baccata habitat so i might get out there soon to see if anything interesting exists out there..

Agree with your thoughts on how schottii / madrensis should look.. Having seen them in Madera Canyon and the Cienegas in Sonoita, leaves are definitely much straighter, somewhat flatter / less cupped,  and more flexible than baccata. Much wider than elata too.

I just hope E.D. didn't accidentally miss label what you picked up.. Y. baccata is a great Yucca ofcourse, but maybe not what you were after if it was a mix up..

Soil you planted in sounds exactly like what i'd provide if living there / somewhere where the native stuff wasn't as ideal as i'd like



 

[N8ALLRIGHT]

25 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

I just hope E.D. didn't accidentally miss label what you picked up.. Y. baccata is a great Yucca ofcourse, but maybe not what you were after if it was a mix up..





 

I have thought of this.  It looks very baccata to me. I'd wanted a small trunker,but we'll see what happens 

[Silas_Sancona]

7 minutes ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

I have thought of this.  It looks very baccata to me. I'd wanted a small trunker,but we'll see what happens 

Provided i'm in the right spots at the right time,  i'll keep my eyes out for seed off any elata  and /or madrensis / schotti i come across while out..

 

[N8ALLRIGHT]

Here's the picture from E.D.s site. Some of the lower leaves have the cupping and a bit of the twistieness. Assuming that this is typical of the hachita type 

[Silas_Sancona]

Links to both species via iNat.. Would look through the photo galleries of both..

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/170394-Yucca-schottii

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/290852-Yucca-madrensis

What few pictures i got of one ( or both?? ) species from down south when down there a few years ago.. -Need -better -shots asap, lol..


Madera Canyon



Near Sonoita, AZ.. 





.. 🤔

[N8ALLRIGHT]

I contacted the seller,he responded quickly and said that his had shown similar cupping and growth patterns as well. I gathered he'd collected them himself from habitat.  It's a hybrid so I'm sure we'll see some interesting things as it grows. 

Your shot from Madera canyon displays some oddly shaped leaves at the bottom. 

Thanks man 

[Chester B]

I bought some Yucca schotti and they looked just like yours, I was thinking maybe I had gotten Y baccata by mistake too.  I never go to see them mature as i moved.  The rabbits like to eat them though, so be aware.

[N8ALLRIGHT]

On 3/9/2025 at 5:53 PM, N8ALLRIGHT said:

Thread resurrection 

Here's my yucca schottii after it's first zone 6 winter. We did hit - 8 or so.No protection but some oak leaves and snow cover.  Early results are good. @WSimpson@Silas_Sancona or anyone else with experience with this yucca. I Have no experience with this yucca other than this one. Purchased from ethical desert. My question is do they look odd , convoluted and fleshy at this size? Pictures I have seen of others look more symmetrical. Perhaps it's expressing some of it's yucca baccata background? Don't get me wrong it's staying, curious more than anything. Anyways

Odd,fleshy, convoluted 

Yep

Found this on Etsy 

Mine has grown substantially. I'll try to post a pic this week 

[N8ALLRIGHT]

On 3/9/2025 at 5:53 PM, N8ALLRIGHT said:

Thread resurrection 

Here's my yucca schottii after it's first zone 6 winter. We did hit - 8 or so.No protection but some oak leaves and snow cover.  Early results are good. @WSimpson@Silas_Sancona or anyone else with experience with this yucca. I Have no experience with this yucca other than this one. Purchased from ethical desert. My question is do they look odd , convoluted and fleshy at this size? Pictures I have seen of others look more symmetrical. Perhaps it's expressing some of it's yucca baccata background? Don't get me wrong it's staying, curious more than anything. Anyways

March to November growth. It's not a rocket but it's pretty quick. Let's see how this bigger version deals with winter 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Very nice color to it. Is it a sharp yucca or is it safe to touch?

[N8ALLRIGHT]

A little stabby on the end but not too bad.  We'll see once it gets above jeans level 

[Palmensammler]

Y. schottii is growing well here in Germany too.  As I remember the big ones in Arizona where my seeds came from where very stiff and had a sharp spine at the end of each leave. Needs to be planted away from any foot path or playing children.

Keep us updated. 

Eckhard