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Products > Yucca aloifolia 'Marginata'
 
Yucca aloifolia 'Marginata' - Golden Spanish Dagger

Note: This plant is no longer in stock. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  
Image of Yucca aloifolia 'Marginata'
[2nd Image]
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Succulent
Family: Agavaceae (now Asparagaceae)
Origin: Southern States (North America)
Evergreen: Yes
Yellow/Chartreuse Foliage: Yes
Flower Color: White
Bloomtime: Summer
Synonyms: [Yucca aloifolia 'Variegata']
Height: 8-10 feet
Width: 6-8 feet
Exposure: Full Sun
Summer Dry: Yes
Deer Tolerant: Yes
Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 10-15° F
Yucca aloifolia 'Marginata' (Golden Spanish Dagger) - This is a striking plant that can be grown as a single or multiple stemmed specimen to 10 feet tall. The rosettes of foliage clustered at the branch tips are composed of rigid green leaves that have strong cream-variegated margins that flush with red much of the year. A 3 foot stalk of showy large white flowers rises up above the foliage in early summer.

Plant in full sun or light shade in fairly well-drained soil - it tolerates sandy conditions, is very drought tolerant and cold hardy to 10° F and useful down to USDA Zone 6. A very attractive plant that because of its rigid sharp leaves needs careful placement away from pathways in the garden and this attribute also makes it a good barrier plant.

The name Yucca was given to the genus by Linnaeus, perhaps by mistake, as it is the Latinized derivation of "yuca", the Caribbean name for Cassava (Manihot esculenta) an unrelated plant in the Euphorbia family that is native to the Caribbean area. Interestingly it was also Linnaeus who applied the name Manihot to Yuca. The specific epithet means "aloe like leaves" but really there are no aloes that have such rigid leaves.

The species Yucca aloifolia hails from southeast Texas, Bermuda and central and southern Mexico. While this old cultivar has been in cultivation since the early 1600's, it has rarely been available, especially in smaller-sized containers (we previously only sold them in specimen-sized 24" box containers), because its growth habit allowed for very few cuttings. This changed in 2005 when Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery put this plant into tissue culture and then shared his success with us. 

The information displayed on this page about Yucca aloifolia 'Marginata' is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.

 
We closed for regular business at the end of 2025 in order for the property to be developed for affordable housing.
Our gates remain closed but we will open them by appointment to interested parties through August 21st to liquidate remaining plants, supplies and equipment.
The plants remaining in the field are listed on our
Live Inventory Page.
 
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