Yucca for Coastal Planting

Yucca in General

• While many types of yucca grow in desert settings, you will be able to spot them easily on shorelines and slopes or sandy hillsides. Especially noticeable when blooming, their sharp, pointed leaves grow in mounds or in tall and erect forms similar to trees. The blooms are usually white to cream-colored and grow in masses atop a bloom stalk. Plantings can also be found along the coast in landscaped homes or public parks.

Types of Yucca

• Yucca comes in a variety of types, to include palms and cactus. A few names are blue yucca, Mojave yucca, rupicola, shidigera, gloriosa, whipplei, yucca louisianensis (Gulf Coast), yucca baccata and yucca glauca. Yucca aloifolia -- aloe or Spanish dagger yucca -- grow 6 to 12 feet high and put forth 2-foot-long pendulous flower clusters. Yucca elephantipes, or spineless yucca, make good indoor plants, but can grow to nearly 20 feet outdoors.

Caring for Yucca Plants

• Yucca virtually take care of themselves. You don't want to over-water them -- they are succulents and hold water for longer periods than most plants. Mixed well-draining soils, or soils with sand or rock work well for growing; just provide a space where the plants get excellent sun exposure. Handle plants with care as they typically have sharp leaves that can cut -- gloves are advised. Feed them annually, usually in the springtime.

Design Thoughts

• Some growers in coastal settings grow a variety of succulents and include the yucca among them. You can choose whether to plant them individually as a solitary focal plant, or to group them with other types of succulent in beds. Yucca can serve as background plants in groupings at a garden's corners, or place lower growing ones in beds near entries or walkways. Place them where children can't fall on or against them.