COLD HARDY PLANTS
Growers and Breeders of Unusual Cold Hardy Plants
 

Yucca filamentosa v concava 
Quantity of plants tested: 1
Size of plant tested: mature plant
Soil texture: loam, a little sand was incorporated in the top 3" of the loam.
When planted: it was planted in the ground in April 2001.
Winter protection: None.
Microclimate: Planted in a cold microclimate.  No sun from late Nov. to early Feb.
Temperature: refer to 2000-2001 winter on this chart
Findings: the plant survived with no damage.  The plants are native or have naturalized in Rhode Island and extend all the way into southern New Hampshire.
attleboro_ma_field_shot_jun3001.jpg (82605 bytes) June 30, 2001 - Here's a wild plant I located growing in Attleboro, Massachusetts.  Notice the typical small inflorescence.
narragansett_bonnetshores_ri_field_shot.jpg (60650 bytes) April 24, 2001 - Here's another Yucca concava growing near the ocean in a very sandy beach area.  There were several others on this beach in Narragansett, Rhode Island.
nashua_nh_field_shot_april_3.jpg (57806 bytes) April 24, 2001 - Here are some of the Yucca concavas growing in Nashua, New Hampshire.  There must have been about 20 plants in this area.  This is the furthest north location where we have located Yucca growing in the wild on the east coast USA.
nashua_nh_leaf_tips.jpg (23002 bytes) Here is a scanned image of the leaf tips of the Nashua, New Hampshire Yuccas.
nashua_nh_5leaves.jpg (159164 bytes) Here are some of the leaves collected at the Nashua, New Hampshire location.  One typical feature of Yucca concava is the shortness of the leaves and the taper of the leaf edge is not linear.
richmond_ri_field_shot_July_6_watch.jpg (87094 bytes) July 6, 2001 - Here's a colony of Yucca concava located in Richmond, Rhode Island.  Once again notice how small the plant and inflorescence are.  Note the watch at the bottom of the plant.  This colony is growing with Pinus rigida in a very sandy location which is too well draining to have other vegetation growing in our typically moist climate.
yucca_fila_flac_leaf_ID.jpg (57043 bytes) This photo shows the difference between three of the east coast Yuccas.  Notice how flaccida has the most narrow leaf, followed by filamentosa, and concava is the shortest with the quickest leaf edge taper to the tip.
richmond_ri_seedpods_2.jpg (34939 bytes) Richmond, Rhode Island -  here are the seed pods to a Yucca concava.  Notice how the seed pod is constricted near the middle.
richmond_ri_seedpods_with_ruler_2.jpg (38094 bytes) Here are some of the seed pods collected off the Richmond, Rhode Island Yucca colony.  Notice how small the pods are, the typical length is only 1".



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