Yucca 'Color Guard'

Questions about yucca 'Color Guard'

Does yucca 'Color Guard' need sun or shade?

Yucca 'Color Guard' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).

It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.

What zones does yucca 'Color Guard' grow in?

USDA zones 4 to 10. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).

Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.

When does yucca 'Color Guard' flower in my zone?

In zone 5 it flowers late June to mid July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.

Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.

How far apart should yucca 'Color Guard' be planted?

2½ ft (75 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 cm), so a group knits into one patch.

It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many yucca 'Color Guard' plants do I need?

At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:

• 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
• 5 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
• 6 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own

In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.

In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.

Is yucca 'Color Guard' poisonous to dogs and cats?

Yes: mild toxicity to dogs, cats and horses. Can cause vomiting and diarrhoea in pets if eaten.

Rated from NC State Extension and the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.

Is there a pet-safe plant like yucca 'Color Guard'?

These come closest to doing what yucca 'Color Guard' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:

• Globe thistle 'Arctic Glow': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 6 in taller, 10 in narrower.
• Peach-leaved bellflower: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 18 in narrower, fine leaves, not bold.

Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.

Do deer eat yucca 'Color Guard'?

Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.

What flowers after yucca 'Color Guard'?

Yucca 'Color Guard' is over by mid July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:

• Russian sage 'Little Spire': from mid July to mid September, 2½ ft tall (a recorded partner).
• Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
• Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.

What does yucca 'Color Guard' look like in winter?

Yucca 'Color Guard' keeps its variegated leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone. It is grown for winter colour as well.

Is yucca 'Color Guard' good for bees and butterflies?

Yucca 'Color Guard' is visited by moths, hummingbirds and songbirds.

It is a host plant: the caterpillars of yucca giant-skipper and cofaqui giant-skipper feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.

It is native to the United States (this is a named variety of the native plant).