Adam's Needle (Yucca filamentosa)

common name: 
Adam's Needle, Common Yucca, Thread Yucca
 | 
scientific name: 
Yucca
 
filamentosa
White blossoms on green stems, surrounded by buds, with blurred background.

Adam's Needle (Yucca filamentosa) produces dramatic spikes of creamy white, bell-shaped flowers above dense rosettes of sword-like evergreen foliage. Photo taken at the Kimmel Education and Research Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska.

Image Creadit: 
Trey Lamkins, Graduate Research Assistant

Adam's Needle (Yucca filamentosa) is a tough, evergreen perennial native to the southeastern United States that has become a popular landscape plant throughout much of North America. It forms dense clumps of stiff, sword-like leaves with distinctive curling white fibers along the leaf margins, giving the plant year-round architectural interest. In early to mid-summer, tall flower stalks rise several feet above the foliage and are covered with dozens of pendulous, creamy white flowers.

Charecteristics
Plant type: 
Herbaceous perennial
Hardiness Zones: 
4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 7, 8, 9, 10
Light Needs: 
Full Sun
Water Needs: 
Dry
Space Requirements: 
3–6 feet
Height Requirements: 
2–4 feet
Spread Requirements: 
3–4 feet
Maintenance Requirements: 
Low
Bloom Color: 
White
Bloom Time: 
Spring
Summer
Leaf Color: 
Green
Wildlife Attraction: 
Butterflies
Companion Plant Tolerance: 
Rabbit
Deer
Drought
Dry Soil
Shallow-rocky Soil
Air Pollution
Uses: 
Naturalize
Varieties
'Color Guard'

A popular variegated selection featuring bright golden-yellow leaf centers bordered by green margins. The foliage develops attractive pink and rose tones during cooler weather, providing year-round ornamental interest.

'Bright Edge'

A compact cultivar with blue-green leaves edged in creamy yellow. This selection offers a softer appearance than the species while retaining excellent drought tolerance and adaptability.