JOSHUA TREE - YUCCA BREVIFOLIA - 10 SEED PACK - EXOTIC IN SOUTH AFRICA

Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the agave family, Agavaceae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry (arid) parts of North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Yucca brevifolia, the Joshua Tree is a typical species of the Mojave Desert in California, Arizona, Nevada and northwards to Utah. The species name brevifolia comes from the Latin for short leafed. The tallest trees reach about 15 meters tall. Yucca brevifolia is great for a bird garden and a butterfly garden.           The trunk of a Joshua tree is made of thousands of small fibres. Older plants form a sturdy trunk that supports many crowns with typical spikey leaves. Yucca brevifolia 's foliage colour is green, evergreen. The rigid leaves are linear, bayonet-shaped, 40cm long and 2.5cm wide, tapering to a sharp point; they are borne in a dense spiral arrangement at the apex of the stems. The Joshua tree blooms in early spring. The nodding panicles are 50cm long, bearing 7.5cm greenish-white flowers with six tepals. Joshua trees usually do not branch until after they bloom and they don't bloom every year. Like most desert plants, their blooming is dependent on rainfall at the proper time. They also need a winter freeze before they will bloom. The fruit is a light brown to reddish capsule, 6 to 12cm long, 5cm in diameter; it dries and falls soon after maturity in late spring. The fruit is edible. Hardiness zones 7-10, (1°C/35°F, -15°C/5°F) in winter. The Joshua tree is very cold hardy and takes severe freezes with ease but, being a true plant of the desert, it prefers drier climates and is difficult to keep alive in cool, wet conditions. Extremely heat tolerant. They need sun, perfect drainage and little summer water.