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Yucca rostrata 'Sapphire Skies' (Big Bend Yucca) - A beautiful blue-gray selection of the slow-growing tree-like yucca with upright stems and beautiful gray-blue narrow foliage. Although it can branch, it is most often seen with a single trunk, that can grow to 12-15 feet tall. The 2 foot long, stiff, slightly waxy, pale bluish-green leaves with yellow margins, form a dense rosette on top of the stems. The old leaves fall off leaving a fibrous soft gray covering on the trunk. Large clusters of white flowers bloom on yellowish orange-colored stalks that rise above the foliage on mature plants in late spring.
It performs best in warm sunny areas with good drainage and occasional to infrequent summer irrigation. It is noted as preferring alkaline conditions and is hardy to around 0°F. We have found that gophers are fond of this plant and will tunnel right up the stem - must be yummy!
Yucca rostrata naturally inhabits western Texas and northern Mexico in the states of Chihuahua and Coahuila where is can be found on rocky slopes and ridges. The name Yucca was given to the genus by Linnaeus, perhaps by mistake, as it is the Latinized derivation of "yuca", the Caribbean name for Cassava (Manihot esculenta) an unrelated plant in the Euphorbia family that is native to the Caribbean area. Interestingly it was also Linnaeus who applied the name Manihot to Yuca. The specific epithet 'rostrata' means "beaked" in reference to either the shape of the flower buds or appendages on the fruit. This has given this plant the common name of Beaked Yucca but it is also called Silver Yucca or Big Bend yucca for the region in Texas where it is commonly found. The indigenous people of this area also called it Soyate and Palmita.
We first learned this as Adam's Yucca for an enterprising nurseryman in Texas who was shipping specimen size plants bare root into California, many of which ended up gracing the front of high-end stores such as Nordstrum's, giving rise to another common name, Nordstrum's Yucca. This seedling selection was made by Sean Hogan of Cistus Nursery in Oregon from one of his collections in the early 1990's in northern Mexico - it was selected out of a seed batch of other stunning blue-leaved plants. We grew this variety from 2011 until 2014 but continue to grow another very nice selected form that was purchased as a seedling from our nursery called named Yucca rostrata 'Blue Velvet'.
The information about Yucca rostrata 'Sapphire Skies' displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant. |
