Yucca cane

About Yucca cane

Yucca cane is the spineless yucca of central Mexico and Central America, sold as thick bare trunks topped with rosettes of stiff, soft-tipped sword leaves. Outdoors in Florida it grows into a 15-30 ft tree, but in a pot it stays compact for years and shrugs off dry air, missed waterings and a sunny window (NC State, UF/IFAS). The one way to lose it is to keep the mix wet.

Hardy outdoors in zones 10-12 (NC State; UF/IFAS says 9b-11); it is grown indoors everywhere and can summer outdoors in sun to part shade, moved out gradually, and should come back in when temperatures drop below 50 F (NC State).

When to plant

Timing is counted from your average last spring frost (and first fall frost). Sow & Tell works out the actual dates for your ZIP code.

Bought as a potted cane, or started from a stem cutting of any size or a sucker from the base, which root easily (NC State, UF/IFAS).

Growing it indoors

• Light: Give it the sunniest window you have, since it prefers full sun and only tolerates part shade (NC State, UF/IFAS); UGA rates it a high-light plant and MU Extension says 'bright'.
• Water: Water when the surface of the mix has dried (UGA), soaking the pot and letting it drain; it is drought tolerant and overwatering is its one real problem, so when in doubt wait, and cut back further in winter (NC State, UF/IFAS).
• Humidity: Dry indoor air is fine; UGA lists it as a low-humidity plant.
• Temperature: Thrives at 70-90 F and should come indoors when temperatures drop below 50 F; keep it away from cold drafts and sudden temperature swings (NC State).
• Feeding: Feed a water-soluble houseplant fertilizer monthly while it is putting out new leaves in spring and summer, at about a quarter of the label rate, and not at all in winter (MU Extension, UGA).
• Repotting: Repot only when the roots fill the pot or grow out the drainage hole, stepping up about 1 in in pot size in a heavy pot that won't tip (UGA, MU Extension).

Soil

A fast-draining mix, NC State suggests 1 part potting mix to 3 parts perlite or coarse sand, in a heavy pot with a drainage hole.

Pot in a fast-draining mix of about 1 part potting mix to 3 parts perlite or coarse sand in a heavy container with a drainage hole (NC State).

Feeding

• Spring and summer, while new leaves are coming: water-soluble houseplant fertilizer. Feed monthly at about a quarter of the label rate (UGA); MU Extension says monthly whenever the plant is producing new growth, after watering.
• Fall and winter: none. Don't feed while no new growth is showing (MU Extension).

Overwatering, not hunger, is its one real problem; feed lightly and let the mix dry (NC State, UF/IFAS).

Varieties (2)

NC State and UF/IFAS name two striped cultivars; most yucca canes are sold as the plain green species.

Pests to watch for

Mealybugs, Scale insects, Aphids

Diseases and problems

Root and crown rot, Leaf spots

In the kitchen

The creamy flowers are edible and go into salads in its native range (NC State, UF/IFAS), but a houseplant almost never blooms, and the leaves and roots are not edible.

Safety: Low severity (NC State): the leaves and roots carry saponins that can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache and dizziness if eaten, and the sap can give a minor rash. The stiff leaf tips are soft, unlike garden yuccas, but keep the pot where nobody will walk into it.

Pets: Toxic to dogs, cats and horses (ASPCA, Yucca spp.): saponins cause vomiting in dogs and cats, and liver disease and dermatitis in horses.