Yucca Elephantipes

In our nursery we have several copies of Yucca elephantipes in a pot with a total height up to 3-4 meters. Commonly known as Elephant Foot Yuca, Izote or Giant Yucca is a plant highly prized for its exotic appearance, being able to reach 8-10 meters high if grown outdoors and 2-4 meters high if it is made as a plant inside.

It has a woody branched stem, thickened at its base. The leaves are elongated, somewhat fleshy, 50-100 cm long and with slightly jagged edges. The inflorescences are leafy panicles with white or cream bell-shaped flowers. Its flower, the izote, is the national flower of El Salvador. Its petals and young shoots are consumed as vegetables in salads.

Yucca is an easy to grow plant that is used as an indoor or outdoor plant in climates such as the Mediterranean, warm, frost-free or with weak frosts. Cultivated in a pot requires more regular watering than if it is in the soil, but always let the substrate dry between two watering. The main cause of death of Yuccas is excessive irrigation.

Cultivated outdoors it resists the lack of water very well, thanks to its leaves that close the stomata to save water and its roots that are capable of sinking up to two meters in the ground in search of water.

The multiplication is made from the lateral shoots that the plant itself produces. The cuttings must be about 20-25 cm long and about 5 knots. For about 30 days the substrate must maintain a constant humidity so that the cutting forms roots without problems.