Description

• Yucca elephantipes gets its name from the way the trunk swells at the base like an elephant's foot. The plant has a fast growth rate and reaches up to 26 feet tall with a 16-foot spread in its natural habitat. When grown as a houseplant, it usually achieves a mature height of about 16 feet. The 4-foot long, 3-inch wide foliage grows in a rosette form and is glossy green in color. Tall stalks of bell shaped white flowers arise from the foliage rosette during summer.
  
  

Care

• The yucca houseplant is one of the easiest-to-care-for indoor plants, as cited by Nico Vermeulen and Richard Rosenfeld in "Encyclopedia of House Plants" (1999). Place in areas of full or partial sun, and move outdoors for air during summer. The plant does well in an unheated room during wintertime. Provide well-drained soil and use moderate water in summer. Decrease watering in winter.
  
  

Growth Conditions

• Avoid growing Yucca elephantipes in a consistently wet and cool growing medium, as this often leads to stem or root rot. The appearance of small black spots on the foliage are indications of overwatering. Lack of sufficient light also leads to these spots; the spots, however, are not harmful to the plant. Common potential pests include scale, black weevil infestation in stems and roots and yucca moth borers.
  
  

Variety

• Yucca elephantipes "Variegata" is a widely used selection of yucca that has distinctive yellow margins on the foliage. Except for the variegated foliage, variegata shares similar growth characteristics with other yucca plants. Propagate yuccas with cuttings or by replanting the suckers that sprout at the base of the plants.