Yucca Rostrata: Planting, growing and caring

Presentation of Yucca Rostrata

What light and exposure are ideal for the Rostrate Yucca?

Native to desert regions, the Rostrate Yucca needs to be exposed to full sun to develop well.

What is the ideal temperature for Yucca rostrata?

This is not the hardiest Yucca. Nevertheless, it supports temperatures down to -15°C if installed in perfectly drained soil. This resistance to cold allows its acclimatization in many French regions. As this shrub is accustomed to the hot and arid climates in summer, and cold in winter, of the North American deserts, it is important, as far as possible, to offer it growing conditions identical to those of its origins.

Watering Yucca rostrata

Because it comes from arid desert regions and is used to supporting prolonged periods of drought, Yucca rostrata hardly needs water.

Moreover, like many succulent plants, it resists episodes of drought better than excess humidity which can cause it to rot. Here’s how to water your rostrate yucca:

• If you grow it in the ground: watering is unnecessary, unless during the first 2 years following planting, an episode of drought continues over time. It is then necessary to carry out copious but spaced waterings.
• If you grow it in a pot: proceed to water it when the substrate begins to dry out.

Ideal atmospheric humidity

Accustomed to warm climates, yucca thrives in a dry environment.

What types of soil and fertilizer for your Yucca rostrata?

Earth

The Yucca rostrata knows how to adapt to a poor and dry soil. Its only requirement lies in the drainage capacity of the soil, because Yucca rostrata fears, above all, humidity and heavy soils. If this is the case with your soil, it will be necessary to add sand to your garden soil.

Fertilizer

No special fertilizer is necessary for its proper development since it is accustomed to poor soils.

Planting and repotting roseate yucca

Cultivation in open ground

You can rely on yucca rostrata to bring an aesthetic touch to a rockery, to a flowerbed installed on a slope, around a swimming pool, etc. provided you respond to its needs for sunlight and soil drainage.

Be careful, however, to install it in a place where there is not too much traffic to prevent the sharp ends of its leaves from injuring someone, and to provide a sufficiently large location, because little yucca will grow big. When planting it, do not hesitate to install a bed of gravel at the bottom of the hole and add sand to the soil to promote drainage.

Pot cultivation

If you live in an area where temperatures can drop below -15°C in winter, it may make more sense to grow your yucca rostrata in a pot, so as to be able to protect it from the cold. This can also be the case if the soil in your garden is too heavy and not drained enough.

You can then use either potting soil for green plants in planters and pots, or a mixture of equal parts soil from your garden, sand and potting soil. To avoid repotting, adapt the size of the pot to the mature size of your yucca, otherwise you will have to repot it approximately every 4 years, in spring.

But repotting can be a difficult operation due to the thorns at the tips of the leaves!

How to propagate Yucca rostrata?

Yucca rostrata is very easy to propagate:

• By cuttings: Simply take a portion of about twelve centimeters from a branch, then immerse it in rooting hormone for approximately 1 month. After this time, you can plant your cutting in a pot. You should know that plants grown from cuttings will have fewer roots. They will therefore be less resistant to heat and more sensitive to wind. In the same way, you can take a head cutting.
• By sampling the rejects: To do this, the suckers must be at least 2 years old and measure between 15 and 20 cm. After removing them, plant them in pots about ten centimeters in diameter filled with a mixture of peat and sand. Place the pots prepared in this way in the light, but without direct sunlight. Be careful to keep the substrate moist until the roots have formed, which can take between 6 and 8 weeks. In spring, you can repot your young plants.
• By sowing.

How to prune Rostrate Yucca?

It is a plant that does not require pruning.

Cleaning the plant

The Yucca rostrata requires little maintenance since it boils down to removing the leaves that have dried. As the flower stalk develops, it is possible to remove it when it has faded, but if you do not take care of it, it will eventually fall off on its own.

Yucca species and varieties: there are different species

The Yucca genus brings together around fifty species, some of which are more hardy and can be cultivated in many of our regions, such as:

• yucca filamentosa;
• yucca gloriosa;
• etc.

Other species, on the other hand, are more cautious and will therefore be more adapted to growing indoors, unless they live in a region with a mild climate. Among those :

The 5 points to remember about yucca rostrata

• Yucca rostrata will bring a little pampas air to your land.
• You can grow it in a pot or in the ground.
• Its only requirements are to benefit from good sunlight and to be planted in very draining soil.
• It is easy to grow and requires little maintenance.
• It practically does not need to be watered, as it tolerates drought very well.
• Its resistance to cold, down to -15°, allows it to be cultivated in many regions.