Our 2008 introduction of a selection of our native Yucca x gloriosa ‘Lone Star’ has been absolutely splendid in the garden as the fall season begins. Yucca x gloriosa is a natural hybrid of Yucca aloifolia and Yucca filamentosa. We absolutely love that these flower spikes appear at a time when most other plants are past their seasonal prime. Winter hardiness is Zone 7a-9b.
We’ve been playing around with yucca breeding for almost a decade, and now have hybrids that include from 3-5 different species. Here’s a shot of one of our evaluation beds when it was in full flower recently. Flower spike height ranged from 3′ to 10′. There should be some wild and crazy introductions once our trials are finished.
Just over a year ago, we built a new berm garden, adjacent to our Open House welcome tent. Here is that garden today. The soil is composed of 50% Permatill (slate gravel), 25% compost, and 25% native soil). This is in an unirrigated section of the garden. Like all garden spaces at JLBG, no commercial fertilizers are ever allowed. The exceptional drainage and high nutrient content from the compost and Permatill result in an amazing growth rate.
Most folks think of yuccas as only sharp plants, but one that’s sharp without being sharp is our Southeast US native Yucca x recurvifolia…a naturally occurring hybrid between Yucca aloifolia and Yucca flaccida. Here is the clone Yucca x recurvifolia ‘Variegata’ in the gardens this week. Hardiness is Zone 6b/7a and south.
October is a transitional month in the garden, as the plants of summer begin to fade and the stars of the autumn garden begin to shine. Join us Saturday October 8 from 10am – noon for a two-hour class…an interactive outdoor walk through our extensive botanical gardens, discussing the plants in the garden, and how and why they grow.
Garden berm with Agave, Yucca and cactus
These pictures were taken at Juniper Level Botanic Garden today.
The gardens in their fall glory
Brugmansia ‘Charles Grimaldi’ with hundreds of blooms in the garden today
Yucca and Muhlenbergia blooming in the garden today
Here’s one of our weird hybrids that just finished flowering…a cross of Yucca cernua x Yucca recurvifolia, that has a pendulous inflorescence. We think it’s pretty cool, but would anyone actually buy it?