For the next several weeks, these GardenLine Friday Profiles will be all about plants that made it through Winter Storm Uri’s deep freeze. Then you’ll have a good list of plants that can handle just about any Texas weather.
We’ll start with yuccas. There are many varieties, and in the many consultations I’ve done since the freeze, I have been blown away by how healthy every type looks. In fact, the yellow variegated one above is my own Color Guard yucca. No matter the name (yellow striped ones go by many names), they are all alive after Uri.
You may be wondering why I didn’t cover this yucca before the freeze. Well, I simply ran out of frost covers. So, this one faced the cold in its pot on the north side of my property, and I didn’t think for a second it would make it through 18 degrees, never mind the 8 degrees we experienced in Rosehill.
I’ve also been a bit amazed by my healthy-looking Spanish dagger. But I think I’m most impressed by the red yucca. The fronds on mine are just fine and perfectly green, and that means the awesome spikes of red flowers will emerge the minute it gets hot enough.
Let me give credit, where credit is due. I may have never started these Friday Profiles about freeze-impervious plants had I not Zoomed into Channel 11’s Great Day Houston this week with Peter Nelson of Nelson Nursery and Water Gardens. I discussed my nine rules of freeze recovery, then Peter was interviewed about plants he would choose from now on, since Nelson’s is also a landscaping company. He mentioned several, and when he suggested yuccas I nodded in agreement. After the interview, I walked outside my house, looked over my three yuccas, and definitely decided to profile these top performers.
So, thanks to Peter, and thanks to my yuccas for telling me everything I need to know about recommending these plants for future gardening success in the Gulf Coast region.
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PHOTOS: Randy Lemmon