Native Plants

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Tuesday - June 16, 2015

From: Burnet, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Propagation, Cacti and Succulents, Wildflowers
Title: Twist-leaf Yucca flowering in Burnet County, TX.
Answered by: Joe Marcus

QUESTION:

I recently moved to Burnet County and our property is full of twist leaf yuccas which are now blooming, but not all are blooming. Why do some twist leaf yuccas bloom and others don't? Are they male female? I have a group of twist leaf yuccas growing in a cluster, do they propagate through the roots? No yucca in this group is blooming, does that have anything do do with how they are propagated? Thanks!

ANSWER:

Once mature, a Yucca sp. plant will flower repeatedly, but not necessarily every year. Yuccas produce their large flower-bearing inflorescences using energy stored in their roots in the form of carbohydrates. The energy requirements necessary for flowering are substantial and it often takes a plant more than one year after flowering to recover sufficiently to flower again.