Good luck with that I hope you don't lose it as I remember that is a nice yucca I think you posted a picture of it?Hey did you read my follow up on the S.tamaulipus?

Thanks Jimhardy. I hope I don't lose it either. Yeah, its the one I posted a pic of. It's a 3 footer, so its a nice size. I guess that's what I get for not giving it any protection through our 5th snowiest winter ever!

I just now read the S. Tamaulipas follow up. Thanks for letting me know. I didn't see that one. I don't have a pic of it right now, but I'll be sure to get one and post it. Although it isn't much to look at at this size, its got a really nice root system.

Yea thats what I thought I remembered seeing(yucca)to lazy or to late to go back and find the post....I was going to tell you I don't recall seeing yuccas come back from lost growing tip (I really hope thats wrong,it may be that yuccas have a dicot trunk and monocot leaves similar to ponytail palms and have a different bud structure,either way I guess will find out,hope for the best,most succulents don't deal with water sitting on them,in the desert even if they get a foot of snow it usually melts the next day in the sun,(at least off the plant)also I wonder if it might be better to use a powdered fungicide so you don't need to retreat with something wet also keep center dry from further moisture-good luck I hope it pulls through for you,or at least puts out a bunch of cool side shoots and they grow fast!

I really think once that center rots away thats it, its dead. Sorry I hope im wrong.

Thanks guys. I figured that too, although I hope we're all wrong. I did only pay $65 for it though, so it wasn't too pricey. That's all part of experimenting with cold hardy tropicals. I may try another one if this one doesn't come through, and just plant it further under the overhang right up against the brick wall.

Yea I think put a bag over it,too keep that dang crown dry they are said to be able to deal with at least -10F!if kept dry,I will build a inclosure over my cactus bed for winter,anyhow heres my new S.tamaulipas-also picked up another T.princeps

Here is a link that might be useful:

Yea,I don't think either will die esp if the rest of the plant is healthy.look for something polking out from trunk or roots no later than June we hope!

Even if the bud isnt salvaged, it is able to branch out from healthy wood.

Central Cali- do I need to cut the crown off or anything to get it to branch out? Or will it branch out on its own without any help?

I'm sure the rest of the trunk (about 2 feet of it) is healthy. The yucca as a whole was healthy up until about a month ago, when the emerging leaves and spear started to turn white. I just assumed it was getting ready to flower or something.

Islandbreeze, i don't know what you should do, since i have no experience with it, but i have seen these with multiple branches. If I were you, i'd just leave it alone and let it recover without interventions. keep us updated with its progress. thanks

I agree with caliman,let mother nature do her thing unless the bud area starts to rot and stink and maggots and pus start too......I,m sorry Islb

Pouring Hydrogen peroxide down around the opened spear does seem to help here at my nursery as opposed to doing nothing. I dont have accuarate success rates with this method of dealing with spear rot but think it is well over 50%. Just be sure to open the spear until you see undamaged growth in the center of the spear and then pour a liberal does directly on to each leaf in the spear that is brown. If it fizzes when you are pouring you are doing some good. Come back in a few days and repeat the process until it quits fizzing and the brown stuff is dried, no longer moist and smelly.
If growing conditions have been dry instead of very rainy and moist, make certain that you dont have an infestation of red spyder. Red spyder mess up pretty Yucca rostrata pretty quickly and populate plants quickly in periods of dry weather.

If the bud rot takes the crown out and the yucca appears dead, dont give up on the plant. As long as the roots are not rotted and even sometimes when they are, the plant will push offsets fairly quickly. I have observed in my nursery that the growth rate of the new sprout is phenomenal when supported by the large established root system of the old plant.

thanks for the tip, but unfortunately it did die. I had no idea that it would send up shoots from the base though...very interesting. However, even if it did that, it isn't the look i was going for. I liked the trunked look of it. I have had a lot of success with trachycarpus fortunei and hydrogen peroxide though, they recover very quickly with one or two applications.