Last fall I planted some yucca roots a friend dug out of a garden...all year long I had nothing to show and I just stepped out day b4 yesterday (Jan.4th) to discover I had 4 sprouts that were several inches long?!? Do they normally stay 'dormant' for a year to finally sprout in cold winter? We've had plenty of snow/ice/cold so far this year but just recently in the last few days the temp. has pretty much maintained a constant 40-50's.....at night chilling down to mid to lower 20's. Is this going to harm my new 'family'?
they take a while to re-establish the root system and then they take off with growth topside. what you're seeing isn't unusual at all. i just noticed that the pups growing from one of mine have gained about 4 inches in the past couple months...basically normal temps for this time of year here with some days warmer than usual and some others much colder than the norm... although they come from the desert, they can deal with cold temps quite well - and then make the most of a few days of warmer to get a bit of a growth spurt going!
Great! Thanx so much for this....I see them commonly here in the more brush-like areas of Kansas but have never grown my own. My area is very windy but the soil is very farm-rich so wasn't sure if something was affecting their growth cycle. Good to know they're ok.
I'm wondering if by roots you mean rhizomes? Any idea of which variety you have. I have 1 rhizomatous variety in particular which came from England (I doubt it originated from there though). It was growing in snow (it was brought back by a local Nursery owner legally. I was lucky enough to get a piece before he went into production on them and probably ruin it with tissue culture) and up til now we've known it as Greg's English Yucca (Greg bring the guy who brought it back). I've narrowed it down to possible Y. rupicola but don't think it's right. The most stand out thing on mine is it's creamy variegation on leaf margins which go pinkish here but I was told go fully red back in the snow through winter. I'll add a photo which won't do it justice because I've recently split the plant and there's little left, this one grows to about 2-3 foot. Any ideas anyone? I doubt the wind would bother them too much unless it's very chilled. The versatility here is great I have a Y. elephantipes in front of my air conditioning unit because it's one of the few plants not bothered by the hot recycled air being blasted onto it.
The roots on this were very thick almost like sweet potatoes? Very sturdy... The adult 'leaves' are almost shaggy with shredded trailers going down to the main body. These have extremely sharp pointed tipes on them. The flowers are a pale cream almost white in color. Full adults stand around 3feet or so in full mass? With the bloom stem reaching over 6ft in height..... I never knew there were so many varieties of this plant...would be interesting to see all the different ones.
It does sound like a rhizome, yours may be a form of Yucca filamentosa. I have 8 species here at home with some variations amongst those like variegated ones. There are quiet a few different species ranging from the small ones to massive trees.
