This is the yucca pup left behind by heavy equipment clearing last November. It's about time to plant it, but don't know what the reddish coloring on the leaves means.

Is it ok to put in the ground? I'm in North Texas. i didn't put it in greenhouse

Hi Texas friend @Gypsi,

I live in Fort Worth too, don't know much about Yucca but I saw quite a bit planted on the ground. And if this is Hesperaloe parviflora or Red Yucca, it definitely can be planted in the ground here.
If you can wait a little bit it's better to plant after last freeze, I think usually mid March.
I hope this help.

Don't think that is Hesperaloe parviflora. I don't see any of those white filaments growing along the edge of the blades. I'd rather think the color of the leaves is caused by stress of some kind. One of the really cold nights recently perhaps - an effect it might not have if it were growing in ground. Could be due to something else. Overall, the plant looks healthy to me. If you can get it successfully established and growing in ground, it will eventually get new healthy growth. It may be that once it starts actively growing, the leaves might lose the reddish tints and be green again. The one leaf that is most red appears to be broken, so the color there is likely caused from mechanical damage and that leaf will likely eventually die, I think.

ok. I didn't protect from freezes as they seemed to tolerate them, and it did get to 26 or 27 here last week, that's when the red showed up. so maybe it will live if I plant it?

Gypsi said:ok. I didn't protect from freezes as they seemed to tolerate them, and it did get to 26 or 27 here last week, that's when the red showed up. so maybe it will live if I plant it?

I am not sure what type of yucca it is. But are the leaves really stiff? If you touch the tip of it does it feel like it will stab threw your hand? Are the leaf edges sharp as well?

Wasn't it outside as these words "pup left behind by heavy equipment clearing" imply in your beginning post? If that's the case, then it is surely hardy for your area - or at least I would think so. If true, then it should be fine if you plant it. Hopefully it's made some new roots in the container, but even if it hasn't it may still do so when planted in the ground. It looks healthy enough from what I can see. The color on the leaves does not look serious to me. Except for the broken blade, the red doesn't reach the core of the plant. That's the route that food for the leaves and growth of the plant will take. If that were discolored, it might be more concerning for the plants' health.

Hallow said: I am not sure what type of yucca it is. But are the leaves really stiff? If you touch the tip of it does it feel like it will stab threw your hand? Are the leaf edges sharp as well?

The tips are very very sharp. and stiff. Edges aren't super sharp, feel like a hack saw blade. The parent plant was on an empty lot just recently cleared growing wild, outdoors thru much colder winters than this one.

Gypsi said:

The tips are very very sharp. and stiff. Edges aren't super sharp, feel like a hack saw blade. The parent plant was on an empty lot just recently cleared growing wild, outdoors thru much colder winters than this one.

I have a potted Joshua tree that looks very similar except for the red. Leaves are like what you discribed as well.

This looks like my gloriosa used to look in the winter, when it was young...

I'm pretty sure this is an ordinary yucca. The parent looked like this:

Yucca or joshua tree? There are Joshua trees in Texas?

The Joshua tree is a yucca with a very particular form that is native to the Mojave Desert (CA, NV, AZ)



but there are dozens of other yucca species, including Texas natives (I'm assuming), not to say the plant in the picture is actually one of them.

It's an orphan. I have given an afternoon to my succulent education and bugged everyone enough. I've got to back this system up and start the new one, and when I am sure it runs, I'm going to have to run a restore and a ton of updates on this one. Thank you for your patience. It's a yucca, it's alive, and it seems to be quite happy. It's parent lived on a vacant lot for at least 20 years, I think, not that I noticed it the day I moved in, so I am sure this one will do fine. when it blooms I'll post a pic. Thank you again.

current yucca and agave pic.

That yucca is doing incredibly well. The agave, too.

Thank you @Baja_Costero I only watered about twice this year, but when I put the bed in I made sure it had very good drainage, busted the dirt up well and mixed in some gravel. It's elevated about 5 or 6 feet above street level. I figured the drainage was critical since the area behind it is a compost pile that probably feeds everything for a 10 ft range when it rains.

That compost pile is about 6 ft by 10 ft and 3 or 4 ft high before I raid it for the garden, mostly pond waste.

I have new Yucca pups. The agave and red yucca aren't doing badly
.