Yucca elata

Soaptree Yucca

Mature Height: 6-20 feet
Mature Width: 8-10 feet
USDA Hardiness Zone Range:  6 to 11
Water Requirements:  Moderate Water, Drought Tolerant
Shade Requirements:  Full Sun, Partial Shade

This is one of the most reliable trunking yuccas for cold climates. It is a very ornamental, slow growing, evergreen yucca. It features sharp pointed leaves that display white margins and produce fine, silvery filaments. The rosette is mounted atop a tree trunk which is covered with the straw-colored fibers of the old leaves creating a shaggy skirt. In late spring to early summer, it is topped with a striking flowering stalk that rises above the foliage and bears large clusters of white flowers, sometimes tinged with either green or pink. Yucca elata has been used for a variety of purposes, but it is best known for the soap or shampoo that can be produced from its roots and trunk, hence the common name.