How to Grow and Care for Beaked (Big Bend) Yucca

Yucca rostrata

Drought tolerant, cold hardy, and popular with wildlife of all shapes and sizes, the beaked or big bend yucca (Yucca rostrata) is easy to love.

In the right conditions, it’s also fairly easy to grow. Hardy in USDA Zones 5 to 12, this tall species requires little to no maintenance once established in sunny, arid conditions.

In our guide to growing yucca, we cover how to cultivate members of this diverse genus in your landscape.

Read on to find out more about beaked yucca and how to grow it at home. Here’s what I’ll cover:

This denizen of the desert grows up to 15 feet high, 10 feet wide, and sports a cluster of spear-shaped, stiff, blue-gray leaves on top of a thick trunk.

Although Y. rostrata looks like a tree, it’s technically a large herb, or forb, as it does not produce woody growth.

Importantly, the leaves of this species are not as sharp nor as rigid as some of the other tall types, such as Y. rigida, the blue yucca.

This makes it a good choice for gardens, especially if you have small children around.

Come spring, Y. rostrata sprouts a tall cluster of bell shaped, cream colored flowers that erupt, fountain like, from the center of its rosette.

The flowers are pollinated only by the yucca moth, but attract a diversity of hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies.

As the plant ages, it often branches, creating two large tufts of foliage filled with long, slender leaves.

These leaves, if not removed, eventually senesce and die, lying flat against the trunk. Over time, Y. rostrata acquires a “skirt” of these pale beige leaves, creating important habitat for wildlife.

In its native Texas, and the Chihuahua, and Coahuila regions of Mexico, this species thrives in habitats with very little annual rainfall.