Yuccas are the striking, sword-leaved plants of the genus Yucca, evergreen rosettes of stiff or softly arching foliage topped, in season, by tall spires of creamy, bell-shaped flowers. Some stay low and trunkless; others rise into branching, tree-like forms. Native to the Americas and built for lean, sunny, dry ground, they carry a strong architectural presence in every season, flowering or not.

In the landscape yuccas are pure structure and drama. A single specimen anchors a gravel garden or a hot border; a group reads as sculpture; and the great flower spikes, when they come, lift white bells high above the foliage on a scale nothing else in the bed can match. Their bold form is the perfect foil for softer, finer-textured plants, and they hold that form through drought and cold alike.

We grow yuccas for their toughness and their sculptural value in the water-wise garden. They thrive on the hottest, driest, poorest sites, asking for nothing once established, and their evening-scented flowers have their own dedicated pollinator, the yucca moth, in one of nature's classic partnerships. For structure that survives real neglect, few plants compete.

Give them full sun and sharp drainage, and that is nearly the whole of their care. Set them among our Drought-Tolerant Plants, use them for accent in our Sun Lovers collection, and pair with regional companions from our Southeastern Natives.