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seeker1122

red yucca

seeker1122
11 years ago

I asked another sight and didn't get the answer.
OKgarden ws is the best and know all.
I was wanting to know if I can winter sow
red yucca.
I got some seeds at a friends in NM last year
and I planted them in potting mix after soaking
them and nothing happend.
will ws do the trick.
TREE

Comments (4)

  • Macmex
    11 years ago

    I bet winter sowing would work. Here's a quote and link to an article on red yucca.

    George
    Tahlequah, OK

    "Propagate by dividing the rhizomes and offsets. Ripe seed can be started in the fall (but much patience is needed). One report was that after two years, seedlings were only 6 inches tall. Red Yucca is slow growing in the beginning (maybe even sulks for a year or two). "

    Here is a link that might be useful: Laptop Gardener on Red Yucca

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    11 years ago

    Seeker,

    I looked up Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) in Jill Nokes' book "How To Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest" and will paraphrase what she said.

    For seed collection and storage she said to collect the seeds after the seed pod has dried but before it starts to split. She recommends you store the seed in a cool, dry place.

    To grow from seed: use fresh seed as soon as possible after it was collected. Sow in deep seed flats or in 4-6" containers. She stresses any container used must be at least 4" deep and must contain a well-drained growing medium. (If I was going to start these from seed, I'd likely buy a bag of cactus soil and use it.) She said to premoisten the growing medium and then press the seeds into it. Do not water afterwards.

    She then recommends keeping the flat outdoors in a cold frame from the time the freshly-collected seeds are collected (presumably in summer or fall) over the winter. This provides the scarification the seeds need to facilitate germination. Some seeds will sprout fairly quickly, but the others will germinate over a longer period of time.

    Ms.Nokes said that some growers keep the young plants in 4" pots or deep flats for the first year, or you can transplant them to larger gallon containers after a few months. Once they are about 6 months old you can move them into strong sunlight. Some growers feed them to push them to grow a little more quickly because by nature they grow slowly while young.

    She also said that these yuccas are only reliably hardy down to about 12 degrees and need very well drained soil. They also need to be protected from deer.

    Based on her description of how to grow it from seed, it sounds to me like it is a perfect candidate for winter sowing. Good luck with it.

    Dawn

  • seeker1122
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Wow I told Dh I was digging up all the Plants in the front of the house this spring and planting cactus and yuccas.
    It has just cost too much to water them and make them look good the last 2 years.
    I collect cold hardy cactus and yucca seeds when I travel for this purpose of my goal didn't know it would take years.
    Thank u
    Dawn and George
    Reality sucks
    Attwoods seals a real yucca but they are 25 bucks each and I'm broke and cheap I'll have to break down and buy some.
    TREE

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    11 years ago

    Tree, Yes, sometimes reality does suck. Watch for red yucca in one gallon pots at Lowe's, Home Depot and Wal-Mart. I see it there every year in the stores down here in southern OK. They usually get it in only once and when that shipment is sold, they do not necessarily have it in stock again until the next year. I don't remember when it shows up in stores, but I'll try to remember to post here when I see it. I am pretty sure that Lowe's and Wal-Mart have it earlier in the season, like in spring time, but that Home Depot usually has it in the summertime.

    We have a few native prickly pear cactus plants here on our land, and these last two years even they have had trouble surviving. In 2011, they dehydrated and the cactus pads wrinkled up like old prunes. I tried to water them to help them, but I think the heat and dry air were sucking up all the water before the cacti could get it. Some of those died. I am hoping maybe we'll get new growth from the roots this year, but since it didn't happen last year, they may be completely gone. They were in full sun. The prickly pear cacti growing on the southern edge of the woodland get shade part of the day and did much better these last two summers. Who would have thought that cactus plants would need shade to survive? Our weather is even making the plants crazy, not just the people. At least we'll all be crazy together.

    Dawn

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