Thank you Don! You just answered all my questions.
Gordana

You can also try yucca "rattlesnake master"... grown in Winnipeg with no special attention (yes- in the ground all winter) for 5 years now- divided 2x and one of the earliest things out of the ground... I can hardly believe it myself!

Don't know what variety you have, but yuccas should do fine in the ground all year. I'm in SE MI and mine are evergreen - and vigorous, to say the least.

You're probably talking about Yucca elephantipes, which grows on a cane-like trunk. I keep mine outdoors during the summer, then bring it inside once nighttime temps drop to between 65-70 degrees. I keep mine in front of a western window and water infrequently (they prefer to be drier in the winter), only when the potting mix is very dry. I keep my house around 65 degrees in the winter.

I had a potted yucca (green, spear-shaped leaves) in the house that has been hanging on and not doing too well for years. Just put it outside in fertile, sandy soil by my small pond. So far it seems to be doing well. Any chance it will over-winter? I'm hoping the outside environment will be as good for it as it was for some primrose that, once in the ground, have flowered after several months of deterioration in the house!

I`m in zone 5 and yucca are very popular and safe up here.You can relax and enjoy it in your garden.

conaroz - are you sure you can overwinter Y. ELEPHANTIPES outside? I know the 'in-ground' ones (no stems/trunks) do well here in zone 6 but I think the caned ones are houseplants only. I'd like to know cuz I have a 7 footer I just put outside & won't be able to bring back in (too tall for my ceiling) although I am in the process of air-layering it. I now have roots growing but have yet to cut & pot them up. I'm afraid I'll kill it.

I was just doing a little research on yuccas because I would like to grow ones that look like little palm trees. I found this under the New Jersey site:

" RE: Any yucca fans in NJ?

*by: Jim_K_z7a (My Page) on Thu, Oct 17, 02 at 9:28

Deb, that's okay if you have one in a pot. But, what kind is it and where will it overwinter. If it's a recurvifolia, maybe you should put it in a garage during january and February. Recurvifolias are officially rated as a 7a yucca in the ground. In the event of some really really cold weather, it could suffer in a pot outside. I could give you lots of advice about raising yuccas in NJ, but it depends on what kind you are growing. Yuccas native to the eastern U.S. can take a lot more moisture all during the year and can handle different types of soils better then yuccas from the SW U.S. SW yuccas need very fast draining sandy rocky soil and can't take a lot of moisture. Some SW yuccas have a very high tolerance to cold weather, but they have to be bone dry to handle the cold. Throw in some South Jersey winter wetness and those SW yuccas lose a lot of their cold hardiness."

Sounds like you need to know just which one you have.

I think there are two types of yucca we are talking about here (maybe more). Sounds like Y. ELEPHANTIPES is the houseplant yucca, sometimes growing on a cane, sometimes not though. One way that they propagate is to sprout canes of it, that is why you see two foot high trunks at the local dept store with yucca leaves on them. Sometimes they don't have a trunk, however.

Not sure what type of yucca conaroz and 'Winterpeg gal' are growing, she mentioned it's called 'rattlesnake master' but I'd bet it's a type of yucca filamentosa, or yucca glauca, and they are hardy to zone 3.

I have a green type of yucca filamentosa as well as yucca filamentosa 'color guard' both growing outside. Color guard is very neat looking variegated foliage. They are evergreen, for the most part, but do suffer some winter damage for me (but quickly regrow leaves from the roots).

Note though that these ones don't grow any trunk whatsoever, but I have concluded that though they are evergreen, the roots always seem to survive so even if they suffer winter damage, they come back.
glen

Hi all, Rattlesnake Master is usually the common name for Manfreda virginiana. Many botanists don't consider Manfreda to be a separate genus from Yucca but it is still a useful name to designate Yuccas that will grow in wet areas or even in wet clay. Manfreda virginiana is remarkably hardy even if wet all winter, but unfortunately the largest and most beautiful Manfreda species from Mexico will not make it through a bad winter in Dallas.

Keiko

Hello
My yucca cane looks dead.During the winter i had it by my patio door. It has about 5 leaves and they look limp or hanging down. What should i do with it to being it back to life or is it to late? I did over water it two time.

This is a photo of it.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1302140}}

Yucca elephantipes is zone 9B through 11. It can burn in a pot in full sun so it needs watching.
Ty, it looks like you need more light & repotting. I have grown this plant in hydro for 3 years  it can tolerate overwatering. Your trunk looks healthy, which is the main thing. If your roots look bad & you are faced with re-rooting it, the trunk roots in water. This plant also tolerates root trimming.

Hi all,
I just purchased a Cane Plant/Yucca Elephantipes at a local grocery store. It's really a beautiful little plant/tree. On how to grow the tag states high light and moderately dry soil. The trunk on it is about 18" high. I have a larger ceramic planter which I plan to transfer it to along with using Miracle Grow Potting Mix? It's in our family room in front of an all glass stationary door with southern exposure (we live in Southern NH). Any advice on how to keep this plant looking great would be appreciated since I lack knowledge in this area. Thanks.