Beaked Yucca (Yucca rostrada) Height: 25'. Width: 10'. Low water use. Evergreen. Slow growth rate. White flowers. Full sun to partial shade. A great yucca for any landscaping looking for some vertical foliage. One of the most use characteristics of this plant is it looks similar to a Joshua tree but grows quicker and is easier to transplant at an older age. It's ability to take more water use allows it to root a lot easier.
Blue Yucca (Yucca rigida) Height: 10\'. Width: 6\'. Low water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 10 degrees. Slow growth rate. White flowers. Full sun partial shade. Certainly one of the most attractive yuccas with its clear blue leaf and vertical growth. Generally a branching variety at maturity can be very striking with multiple heads. The leaf is very rigid and even seems to point down sometimes growing in almost a perfect sphere. Blue yucca also transplants easily so don't be afraid to buy a more mature one.Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia) Height: 20'. Width: 20'. Low water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to -10 degrees. Very slow growth rate. White flowers. Full sun. One of the most recognized yuccas in cultivation thanks to U2. This large yucca can grow to be very old and have many branches, making it stand out in even the barest deserts. Joshua trees have thin green leaves at the top of the branches and generally quite a bit of dead older leaves. Leave those on there they help insulate and protect from bugs. Very important piece of information they are very hard to transplant so if you buy a large one take the time to care for it properly, you know how much they cost.
Pendulous Yucca (Yucca recurvifolia) Height: 6'. Width: 4'. Low to moderate water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 15 degrees. Moderate to fast growth rate. White flowers. Full sun to partial shade. A great smaller yucca with wider, less rigid leaves that drape down giving a portrait rosette. The grayish leaves do have a thorn at the tip, but its not that sharp and since the leaf isn't very rigid, it gives you a chance if you brush against the plant. One of the most exciting things about this yucca is that it gives you that great yucca flower in relatively young plants.
Soaptree Yucca (Yucca elata) Height: 10'. Width: 6'. Low water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to -10 degrees. Very slow growth rate. White flowers. Full sun. This is one of our native yuccas similar to the joshua tree but their leaves are not nearly as rigid and twice as long. Soaptree also has almost a gray leave with not so sharp of a tip. That and they transplant much better than most large yuccas.
Spanish Bayonet (Yucca gloriosa) Height: 10'. Width: 6'. moderate water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 22 degrees. Moderate to fast growth rate. White flowers. Prefers afternoon/evening shade. This yucca is more of a tropical yucca with large green soft leaves and not nearly as sun or cold tolerant. It certainly has its place in Tucson but looks better in greener gardens and maybe near a water use feature.Spanish Dagger (Yucca aloifolia) Height: 8'. Width: 6'. Low water use. Evergreen. Cold tolerant to 0 degrees. Moderate growth rate . White flowers. Full sun to partial shade. At Silverbell we call it 'ouch-afolia' one of the most rigid and sharp of all the yuccas. Never the less it is a wonderful, low-branching yucca that will have a purple tinge in colder areas. Generally won't bloom until established.
Twisted Yucca (Yucca rupicola) Height:4'. Width: 4'. Cold tolerant to 0 degrees. Low water use . Evergreen. Slow to moderate growth rate. White flowers. Full sun to partial shade. This yucca has more of a tropical feel with it's bright green leaf. It is smaller than most yucca so it will fit well in a xeriscape garden or in tighter spaces where a rosette look is desired, without real sharp leaves.
