Yucca harrimaniae

[Merlin]

I am not really familiar with the cultivation of the Yucca but the plants i am growing came from seed from a very compact population of this species. I have been growing the plants in the included picture for about ten years now. my question is how in the heck long does it take for these plants to bloom??? as you can see, they are spreading by offsets but so far not even a hint of flowering. Any enlightenment on this would be appreciated. The largest of the plants in the picture is about the size of a grapefruit.

 
[Edit by moderator:  spelling of species name.]

[cohan]

Wow, that is compact! I knew the species was small, but didn't realise it was that small! Good luck on the flowering! Maybe John Weiser will know, otherwise one of us could ask on TooColdForCactus where many people grow Yuccas.

[Weiser]

Jim
 There is a lot of genetic diversity in this species as I'm sure you know. The plant I grow has not pupped but has flowered the last two years.  It's hard to say how old it is, I purchased it as a baseball sized plant six years ago. It's about 16"-18" in diameter now with four growth points.

Ten years seems to be a more than reasonable waiting period. I wish I could advise you on a fullproof method of speeding things up. I was wondering if cutting through the rhizomes connecting the pups to the mother plant would induce it to try an alternate reproductive strategy.  I don't know for sure but it may be worth trying.

Here are a few shots of my plant in bloom. I belive it is Yucca harrimaniae var. gilbertiana.

[DesertZone]

Hi Merlin, mine bloomed in about four years.  How would you like a trade of suckers?  My yuccas are just a bit bigger, say about 12-14 inches wide.
I also live in Idaho and do most of my posting in the desert part of the forum.

[Martin Tversted]

I had Yucca nana (kind a like the same thing) blooming after 10 years from seeds. Then the main rosette died and multiplied into serverel new rosettes.
Martin

[DesertZone]

I had Yucca nana (kind a like the same thing) blooming after 10 years from seeds. Then the main rosette died and multiplied into serverel new rosettes.
Martin

Thanks for the info, I did not know that.

[Merlin]

I had Yucca nana (kind a like the same thing) blooming after 10 years from seeds. Then the main rosette died and multiplied into serverel new rosettes.
Martin

Thanks for the info. Maybe there is hope that it may flower sometime before i die of old age. I tried to move one of the other plants that came from the same planting and was quite surprised at how huge the rootstock was. The move was a failure as the the plant rotted almost immediately. I had hoped to move them all to some other spot in the garden but after that i have had to reconsider. thanks to all for the help.

[Martin Tversted]

I had to move all my plants last year. What also surprised me was the fact that my biggest nana had at least 40 cm stem below ground. They get a good grip in the ground so dont move these plants unless you move....