Hesperoyucca whipplei

An incredible and well-loved specimen with many names: Chaparral yucca, Our-Lords Candle, Spanish bayonet, and Quixote yucca to name some of the more common! This yucca is native to the chaparral and sage scrub of southern California to Baja Mexico. Stemless rosettes of silvery-gray, saw-tooth, leaves are stiff, narrow, and pointed! A single stalk produces an imposing 8-10' stalk of creamy-white, bell-shaped, fragrant flowers. The plant will die after flowering, however, by that time it should have also produced offshoots that continue to thrive. This plant has been used by Native American groups for food and fiber for thousands of years. S/D/GD

This monocarpic Yucca is native to California growing from sea level to high elevations in the mountains. From the sharp silvery leaves the spectacular inflorescence can rise from 1.2 - 5 metres tall and is adorned with creamy white flowers. I have seen this species at high elevations in the San Jacinto Mountains where the dramatic flower spikes erupt off the slopes in late spring. Provide sharp drainage and protection from winter rains.

Full Sun to Light Shade. Outdoor. Scented White Flowers on 8' stalks, Rosette dies after blooming.

Dense, evergreen cluster of rigid, gray-green basal leaves to 2' long, often shorter. Forms a tight basal rosette 4-5' in diameter. Leaf tips are needle sharp so exercise caution when placing in the garden. Single flower stalk 6-14' tall, develops on mature plants from mid-spring to summer, covered in showy, creamy white flowers. Plants die after blooming but young plants commonly develop from offsets. Adapted to heat, aridity and drought. Requires full sun and well-drained soils with periodic deep watering. Useful in containers, rock gardens and as specimens if placed out of harm's way. Hardy to 10 °F. Southern California mountains, California coast and Baja California.

Hesperoyucca whipplei was originally classified as a Yucca, but was separated out by Baker in 1892. The prefix “hespero” (evening) refers to its occurrence on the west coast of North America, on the side of the continent where the sun sets. It differs from Yucca in its larger and stouter inflorescence, its monocarpic rosettes of leaves (that is, they die after flowering, like Agaves), plus differences in the structure of the flowers and the manner in which the seed pods split open. Despite these distinctions, the species was placed back into Yucca during most of the 20th century, so that it is most commonly found labeled as Yucca whipplei. Recent genetic studies have definitively established its distinctiveness and shown that it is related to Hesperaloe as well as to Yucca, so it is now accepted as a separate genus. The flowers, however, look very Yucca-like. They are white, and often have purple tips (though our flowering specimen does not display this character). The common name for these plants is “Our Lord’s Candle” in reference to its plumes of white flowers, which are especially dramatic when lit by the rising or setting sun. The range of H. whipplei extends from the mountains of California’s Coast Range east of Carmel in Monterey County down to central Baja California, with eastern outliers in the lower Grand Canyon in Arizona and in the Mexican state of Sonora. Over this range the plants vary considerably. They range in color from green to silvery-blue (like our plants), and in size from heads a foot across to large specimens five feet in diameter (ours are on the large side). In some populations the plants are single, while in others they produce offsets to form a cluster. This led to the naming of separate subspecies, but since there are some populations with both types it seems sensible to recognize only a single variable species. The Baja California form is small, clustering, and frequently has purple tips on the leaves, as well as prominent purple coloring on the tips of the petals. This form was once known as Yucca peninsularis, or later as Yucca whipplei ssp. eremica, but it too may lack enough distinctive characters to warrant a separate name. Our plants resemble the forms encountered at the north end of the range of the species, although they were acquired without locality data. Other specimens have flowered and died in the garden in past years as they reached maturity. These plants are attractive garden subjects and perform very well in Mediterranean climates.

Hallelujah! Pointy plant lovers - we've found the showiest Yucca in the land! Need a plant that will fearlessly protect your property from invaders? Yucca whipplei's your girl with thin, 3' long, silvery blue-grey spearlike leaves with sawblade edges that form a stemless 6' wide rosette of "DON'T TOUCH ME!" A native to southern California, Baja & Mexico where it likes to chill in chaparral, sandy coastal sage scrubs & inland valleys. Fantabulous flower spikes up to 15' tall occur once maturity is hit, after at least five years. Thousands of fragrant, creamy bell-shaped flowers tinged with maroon tips erupt in late Spring, attracting the Yucca moth (Tegeticula maculata) who is the sole pollinator. They gather pollen, roll it in to balls that they stuff in the plant's ovaries to ensure the plant develops seed, so the caterpillars who emerge from eggs laid in the ovary have a seedy snack. Coolness! Heat tolerant, loves rocky dry soils.