Rostrata, the most popular ... I'm in zone 7a and have several trunking Yuccas, the cold is not an issue, the wet is ... well drained soil is best .... I have all of these and they are fairly fast growing, some faster then others ... aloifolia (very fast, 1 ft plus a year ), baccata, campestris, carnerosana, constricta, elata ( this one is fast as well ), faxoniana ( slower growing but this one has a HUGE trunk, very impressive ), filifera ( this one is actually rated zone 9 or higher but I have had no problem with it here in 7a planted in a dry slot by my house, fast growing, its about 3 feet tall ), pallida ( no trunk but nice ice blue color ), rigida ( trunking, nice ice blue color ), thompsoniana ( multi trunk, looks like Rostrata but more moisture sensitive, I have had little problem with that even in our wet east coast winter, NO MULCH ) , torreyi (nice grey/blue color), treculiana. This should get you started ... your in zone 8 and probably alittle dryer climate then east coast so there may be some more species you can grow ... best advice I can give on Yucca trees out of their nature habitat is, well drained soil, no or very little mulch and make sure you know where the root line meets the trunking line and do not plant soil anywhere above the root / trunk line, if you do the tree will rot for sure at the trunk ...... good luck.

Thanks a lot jrroma !

You need a Rostrata. I'll keep it simple.

Like jrroma said, the cold shouldn't be a problem. I'm in zone 7A and there are yuccas all over the place here. You will need to supply them w/ good drainage though. We do not have well draining soil here but we also do not recieve the moisture that you do in AR. I would highly recommend a raised bed and i'll post a link at the bottom of what may be a good idea. We actually have snow on the ground right now and it doesn't seem to affect them at all. Also rememeber that Yuccas will do very well in a container.

Like the others are saying, Rostrata would be your best bet. It is slow growing BUT it makes up for it in looks. They are IMO the best looking yuccas out there. There are many choices. Check out these few links for more info.

http://www.yuccado.com/articles/dry_garden.htm
http://www.highcountrygardens.com/catalog/product/99536/
http://www.westtexasplants.com/index2.html

Good link thanks jrod !

Yucca Filamentosa is a good one to try. It does not need well draining soil and can take drought conditions. It can acually can thrive in wet soil.

I planted some variegated Filamentosa and I fertilized them with 10-10-10. They grew about 5x there original size since they were in the ground 2 years ago.

I also collected some seed from native plants growing near where I live in Delaware.

I think rostrata will be my choice
I realy like the blue.

Thanks for all the input !