At least I think this Yucca is Y. elephantipes (aka Y. gigantea). It's another plant that came with the garden. It grows all over the hills in this area of Southern California. At the moment, it's also in bloom everywhere I look so it's hard to ignore. The flowers, some of which I can see from my home office window, are downright spectacular.
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Not that it's easy to get a close-up picture of the flowers. The pictures above were taken from a distance. The yucca sits on the side of our slope, dividing our property from that of one of our neighbors. Actually, it may be more appropriate to say that it sprawls along the side of the slope.
The tree has multiple trunks and appears to have spawned progeny, although it's hard to make out where one tree stops and another starts. Ivy covers the base and lower portion of the trunks.
Cleaning up this area is a future project. A neighbor told me that there are a lot of squirrels and rats living in the area surrounding the yucca, which is off-putting. And the fact that the tree borders the property of a neighbor complicates things - it's not even 100% clear to me which one of us owns the yucca as the property line is fuzzy.
In the meantime, I enjoy the flowers. Yucca elephantipes is hardy in USDA zones 9b-11 (Sunset zones 12,13, 16, 17, 19-24, H1 and H2). It's native to Mexico and Central America and grows fast to 15-30 feet tall and 8 feet wide.
This is my contribution to Loree's favorite plants meme at danger garden.
Not that it's easy to get a close-up picture of the flowers. The pictures above were taken from a distance. The yucca sits on the side of our slope, dividing our property from that of one of our neighbors. Actually, it may be more appropriate to say that it sprawls along the side of the slope.
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| Yucca, photographed from the top of the stairs that run down to the bottom of our slope |
The tree has multiple trunks and appears to have spawned progeny, although it's hard to make out where one tree stops and another starts. Ivy covers the base and lower portion of the trunks.
 |
| Thicket created by ivy and other plants grows up the trunks of the Yucca |
Cleaning up this area is a future project. A neighbor told me that there are a lot of squirrels and rats living in the area surrounding the yucca, which is off-putting. And the fact that the tree borders the property of a neighbor complicates things - it's not even 100% clear to me which one of us owns the yucca as the property line is fuzzy.
In the meantime, I enjoy the flowers. Yucca elephantipes is hardy in USDA zones 9b-11 (Sunset zones 12,13, 16, 17, 19-24, H1 and H2). It's native to Mexico and Central America and grows fast to 15-30 feet tall and 8 feet wide.
This is my contribution to Loree's favorite plants meme at danger garden.