This Yucca with relatively short narrow blueish leaves is native to dry areas in west Texas, Mexico, and southern New Mexico. Tall showy spikes of white bell-like flowers are followed by fruits with a pointed tip which give it its common name. It is considered one of the prettiest Yucca species. May slowly grow into a single or multiple trunk specimen. Has proven hardy in Dallas which is colder and wetter than its natural range. Plant in sunny site with well-drained soil.
Torrey Yucca is a relatively hardy tree form yucca from desert areas in west Texas, New Mexico, and southward. It can be single or multi trunked. The green to bluish leaves are stiff with a sharp point but it is often disheveled looking with a skirt of dead leaves giving it the common name of "Old Shag". When in bloom it does have showy dense clusters of white flowers on tall spikes. Plant in sun with well-drained soil.
This essentially trunkless Yucca found sparingly in central Texas has been considered by some to be a hybrdid between Yucca thompsoniana and Y. rupicola. It is found primarily in the Edwards Plateau where it is usually on limestone soils. An unusual and attractive Yucca that can be single or clump forming with multiple heads. Yucca-do nursery reports it has been cold hardy to Witchita, Kansas. As with other Yucca species it should be grown in a sunny well-draines site and kept free of competing vegetation.
Spanish Bayonet Yucca is native along the southeastern U.S. coast and is commonly grown as an ornamental throughout the South. The tall trunks of this arborescent yucca can be in clusters and are topped with stiff leaves 1-2 feet long and several inches broad. These are tipped with very sharp points which one must be careful of. The large showy spikes of white bell-like flowers appear in summer and are followed by firm fleshy green fruits. This plant thrives in sunny locations with well-drained soil and is popular for an exotic, desert, or tropical effect.
Small thorny tree or large shrub with glossy compound deciduous leaves which turn yellow in fall. Small greenish-yellow flower clusters in early summer followed by reddish fruits containing black seeds which are ground and used as pepper in Japan. Dirr says:àperhaps the most ornamental member of the genus.à (See DIR)
Zamia pumila (umbrosa) is the form of this low cycad native in eastern Florida. It has stiff evergreen fern-like leaves from a large tuberous root which is the source of arrowroot starch and once much used by the Indians. It is not a palm and is actually more closely related to ferns. It is a popular landscape plant in Florida but hardy in much of the Coastal and Lower South. Somewhat tolerant of salt spray and slightly saline soil. Winter mulch is advisable for young plants in areas where palms are marginal. Can be grown as a container plant and protected in winter. Male and female cones produced on separate plants.
Trunk short, sometimes underground, tuberlike. Pinnae leaves to 6 inches long and 1/4 inches wide.A heavy winter mulch is advisable for young plants in areas where palms are marginal. Or, the plants may be potted when received and kept inside the first winter.
Bold green foliage on long petioles and showy flowers make this a favorite in many mild climates where the ground doesn't freeze. This clone developed in England is more winter hardy and sun tolerant according to Armitage. A good poolside plant where cool, moist, and fertile soil that is well-drained exists. (See O&T, ARM) Cut back plants after the frost kills the tops. Mound 10 inches of coarse sand over the stubs. Mulch over with pine straw. As weather warms, remove this covering to allow new shoots to emerge. Given rich soil and ample water, these plants will thrive during hot summers.
This fall blooming Rain-lily produces masses of white flowers from grass-like clumps of foliage. It is tolerant of a wide range of soils and conditions but likes moisture. It spreads and naturalizes nicely in the South. It is native to Argentina. The silvery flowers of this species along the Rio de la Plata may have inspired the Spanish to name the river and the country (Silver).
The leaves on this rush-like yellow-flowered Rainlily are thick with blunt edges. The clear yellow crocus-like flowers can appear at various times but mostly in late summer. A fine garden bulb native to Central and South America.
Large deciduous tree with relatively small dark green leaves and smooth, later scaly gray trunk. Dirr states there is a magnificent specimen at Kew. (See DIR, KRU)
Bright golden star like lilies through the summer. These bulbs produce grass like foliage which is somewhat persistent through the winter. Not difficult to grow but likes moisture. Native to Argentina and Brazil.
Rooted in the annals of ancient cultivation, the jujube tree (Ziziphus jujuba) is a storied specimen—an upright, deciduous tree prized for its glossy foliage, graceful form, and richly flavored, edible fruit. Cultivated in China for more than 4,000 years, the jujube has earned its rightful place in both orchard and legend, where its fruit—often likened to a date in taste and texture, though botanically unrelated—has been cherished for its nutritive and medicinal value.
Zingiber mioga, or Japanese ginger, is a plant of quiet beauty and old-world usefulness. Native to the cool woodlands of Japan and Korea, it rises in summer on slender green stems, its foliage long and narrow—almost bamboo-like in its grace. In late summer to fall, just when most of the garden begins to settle, this hardy ginger offers its surprise: pale yellow flower buds that emerge right at soil level, modest and easily missed if you’re not paying close attention.
