YUCCA elephantipes

It prefers very sunny positions, and if the brightness is not sufficient, the cladodes tend dangerously to develop in an elongated and chlorotic way. It likes poor, dry and stony soils; it tolerates long periods of drought very well and the presence of saltiness typical of the marine winds of coastal locations. It tolerates minimum winter temperatures only a few degrees below zero and therefore in regions with intense, prolonged cold and associated with high atmospheric humidity it is advisable to choose a sheltered position or to guarantee shelter in a cool and bright environment in winter. It does not require special pruning: in spring at the vegetative restart remove only dry, broken, damaged, old or bulky cladodes. Perfect to grow on terraces, balconies and hanging gardens, usually in containers, even small ones as long as the draining aspect is perfectly cured. In the open ground it can enrich our rock garden or dress the sometimes bare foot of larger sized cacti; it would be original however to realize, arranging several specimens in sequence, unusual low borders with very low maintenance: its placement in rest areas of the garden should be avoided in any case, since the thorns, even if fragile, can create annoying problems.