PlantFiles: Adam's Needle, Spoonleaf Yucca, Needle Palm
Yucca filamentosa

Easy to grow plant. You can plant them and forget about them. Mine only flowers once every 3-5 years though. Foliage does look nice all year long. Brush snow off them if you want to keep the foliage neater.

A positive vote for this Yucca due it's durability, sharing factor and winter endurance. Please note,this is my opinion. ;-)

One should always research an item before planting, so I can't fault the plant for doing what it will. Highly likely (read: It's going to happen) to become a permanent visitor, so be sure to plant it where it will be allowed to grow forever.

Years ago, I dug up what I thought would be a few small plants, placing them in various locations. Over time, I have transplanted numerous new plants that are offshoots of the main root; which is going nowhere due to the size of the root.

Yesterday I dug seven more new plants, moving them to new homes further out, as they require no assistance to grow well and bloom in this area.

The main root must be as big as a body, because even with my hardcore construction shovel, it was not budging. Each year I transplant new growth from the various new mother plants about our home. Little by little I am trying to make a fence of sorts next to the creek by our circle drive.

If you want just one Yucca, and only one Yucca, this is not the choice for you.

These are growing wild about 1/2 mile from here..they cover a hillside along the road..I'm going to have to go dig one up and bring it home..I just love it when they are in bloom...:-)

I love this plant and have recieved a lot of compliments on it. Many of my friends went and got some of their own. I have mine with some rose bushes, and it stands out and really adds something to the scenery.
I planted it in pretty acidic soil and in direct sunlight and then ignore it except to admire it. It gets enough water from our rainfall and sometimes run off from other plants to survive, so it's maintenance free for me, too. A plant that looks great with little to no care is always welcome here.
The only thing these need is well-draining soil. That's a must.

Many people grow these plants around where I live because of their evergreen, tropical looking foliage and their beautiful flowers. I have seen some that have escaped cultivation and are growing in weedy, vacant lots. We have three established clumps in our yard, and they are really pretty, especially in the winter, when everything else is brown and dead looking, and the summer, when they put up 5 ft tall flower spikes. I have also planted some at the edge of a small stream through the woods behind our house in hopes that they can push out the garlic mustard, and even have bought one of the attractive varigated cultivars from a local nursery. I reccomend these to all cold-area gardeners to add a bit of the tropics to your yard.

They are also extremely drought tolerant, and will grow in a wide range of soil conditions... Our ground is clay over limestone, and we have no problems growing them, and I've seen them growing wild in Western VA under pine trees (i.e. most likely acidic soil) growing on sandstone along I-81.

American Indians used the root in salves and poultices for sores, skin diseases and sprains. Pounded roots were put in water to stupefy corralled fish so they would float to the surface for easy harvesting.

My grandad had these growing by his drainage ditch for years in Indianapolis. I collected seeds and dug up some starts and now have my own patch of them in Alabama. My plants have tended to form clumps of plants instead of staying as one solitary plant. I would rather it just stay as one yucca plant. It is very difficult to remove them, so like another user stated, plant them where you want them to stay forever. And put them where you won't mind if they grow a few offsets. When my yuccas bloom, the leaf-footed bug (leptoglossus phyllopus) comes and breeds on the blooms, causing them to turn yucky and brown. My plants rarely go to seed I think because the bugs are eating the pods or blooms.

I found one of these yuccas in a ditch accross from a cemetery. the person who put it there actually didn't PUT it there. the person threw it accross the road and it started growing. now i have atleast 25 of these plants. (you can cut off a part of the root and put it under ground and it will grow a whole new plant) my yucca now has a half a foot trunk; i don't know if the trunk will grow any larger.

In SE Michigan - We had one of these in the garden and were advised to divide when we revamped our landscape. Hard to dig up - but once divided even grew faster and more prolific. In three years we have taken over 20 "pups" off of 3 plants. These are terrific for foundation plantings - a different look for those who are tired of the traditional evergreens.

The blooms of this plant can be used to make a cool, refreshing beverage. It is made by brewing a tea with them, sweetening to taste, and served at room temperature or with ice.

Grow this plant where you want it to grow forever! Once started its near impossible to get rid of. Any little piece of tuber will make a new plant.I have dug it up and thought I had it all and the next thing you know its back again. I even had it come through landscape cloth and 3 ft of soil where I had put raised beds over where it was.

This plant is very easy to grow and has a very unique form. It likes full sun and well-drained, sandy soils. There is mutualism between the yucca plant and the yucca moth. The moth gains food and shelter from the plant; in return the moth polinates the plant.

Super easy to grow tropical-looking plant. All that is required is adequate drainage and some sun. Once you have it, it is there for keeps! Tuber-like growths in the root area ensure the plant stays, regardless of whether the top is removed or not. All parts of the plant are usable: root tubers are edible, leaves can be woven as fiber, and the flowers are delicious to eat as well as to smell. Super-easy to grow from seed, there are many named cultivars that are variegated, and that have different color flowers. Very attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies and bees.