Be Careful Around That Yucca

Hello Gardeners, I'm Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Many people who have cut grass with push lawnmowers think that there should be a special place in the hell for yucca plants, as they have backed into them and suffered a painful stab wound. As a matter of fact, an Australian hospital reports it has treated dozens of persons with serious ear injuries incurred while working around yucca plants. The most dangerous yucca we have in South Carolina is Yucca aloifolia, or Spanish Bayonet. The very stiff linear leaves end in a dangerous point and the margins of the leaves have teeth that are like a serrated saw. It does, however, have a magnificent flowering stalk that can reach over ten feet with a show-stopping panicle of dangling white blossoms. You can't beat them for a dramatic statement and if you carefully cut off those leaf tips you can relax and enjoy them.