Native Plants
![](../_images/smarty_plants.gif)
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
![](../_images/mr_smarty_plants_logo_web_200w.jpg)
rate this answer
![](../_images/star_32.gif)
Saturday - January 10, 2009
From: irving, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Proper spacing for planting yuccas
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
We bought some yuccas and need to know how far apart to plant themANSWER:
In general, yuccas and most other xeric plants look best if given plenty of space. That is, they have some separation when mature. However, they can look good when done in small clumps of three or so. One thing to consider is the effect you are trying to achieve. Are you planning to xeriscape your yard, or do you want to create a barrier with the yuccas?
Another factor to think about is the mature size of your yuccas; ie how big are they going to get (both height and width)? Knowing the Botanical name of the plants would be useful here. The nursery where you bought them may be able to help you with the name, as well as provide suggestions for properly planting them.
For more information about yuccas, go to our website and click on EXPLORE PLANTS. Type Yucca in the appropriate space, click "go", and you will get a list of 28 species that either are in the genus Yucca, or have yucca as part of their common name. If you chose the NARROW YOUR SEARCH optio and chose Texas in the Select a State or Prrovince box,and then click the Narrow your search box, your list will narrow to 18 species. Clicking on any name on the list will take you to the NATIVE PLANT DATABASE page for that plant. There you can learn characteristics of the plant, such as habitat, size, growing conditions, benefits, etc. The ADDITIONAL RESOURCES box toward the bottom of the page can link you to further informatiion sources on Google.
More Plant Identification Questions
Need to identify orange tube-like plants in Middleboro, MA
October 23, 2009 - Mr. Smarty Plants~
I live near some industrial companies, and lately I have been finding these orange plants, like tubes almost the top being brownish all over my backyard in the mulch. They have a...
view the full question and answer
Identification of yellow blooming plants near Temple, Texas
November 07, 2011 - This question may be a challenge. We noticed fields of
yellow blooming plants in the fields east of Temple. They
appear to be about 4 inches tall. (we were on a bus and
could not stop to look cl...
view the full question and answer
Plant similar to painted buckeye in Stewart Co., GA
February 26, 2011 - My neighbor said that she saw a plant in Providence Canyon in Stewart Co, GA that was similar to the painted buckeye, but bloomed later in the summer. Do you know of this plant?
view the full question and answer
Plant Identification from Round Rock TX
October 26, 2010 - I am looking for the name of a ground cover I saw that looked like large bur oak leaf in a silvery green color. It was in the shade. I tried a search with no luck. Thanks!
view the full question and answer
Plant identification of vine in Virginia
September 01, 2011 - Have vine that has small 3 pointed leaves somewhat like a grape but only an inch or 2 long. Adult fruit is black or purple egg shaped and only 3/4 of an inch long. Fruit is single in the middle of th...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |