In 2006 Tropical Centre was the first in the world to offer specimen size plants with heavy trunks of this sp. Before that time mostly seeds of this sp. reached Europe.

Yucca queretaroensis is considered by many as perhaps the most beautiful Yucca there is. The plant has been described for the first time in 1989 by Piña Luca after his fieldwork in the gorges along the Rio Extorax, in the Rio Moctezuma basin, located in the Mexican state of Queretaro. Meanwhile this Yucca ssp. has also been found in the state of Hidalgo, northeast of the city of Zimapan, also in deep gorges along small rivers on elevations up to 1000-1300 m.

This species belongs to the group of rupicolae, together with Y.rostrata, Y. thompsoniana, Y.pallida, Y. reverchonii, Y.rigida and Y. rupicola. The plant can reach a height of 2-3,5 m and grows, just like other species in this group, in small colonies and preferably on steep hills. The leaves are square and of a bright green colour and are just about 2 mm in with (the narrowest leaves of all Yucca ssp.) and may get 50-60 cm long. They form an almost perfect rosette; a splendid, always moving green ‘ball'. Only when the plant has flowered, with a stem of about 60-90 cm length, this perfectly symmetrical ball may get disturbed and it can take one to two years before a new head will be formed. Flowering occurs, depending on the height of the location, in April to June. The flowers are, as with most yuccas, white or crême. The trunk is covered with dead, dried leaves. Because the location of origin is rather high, Y.queretaroensis will most probably tolerate low winter temperatures up to -15°C. We do not, however, have much experience in our European climate with this plant and because we are dealing with a rare species, we would advice not to take any risk. We have only a limited stock of this plant available!

Some importers and European Nurseries sell thin leaved, green Yucca linearifolia as Yucca queretaroensis. It is hard to distinguish so let us give you some tips to check for the real thing. The easiest thing is to bend a leave around your finger: a leaf of Y. linearifolia is flat and bends easily. The leaf of Y.queretaroensis is square and cannot bend without forming cracks.

The trunks of Y.queretaroensis are a lot heavier than the trunks of the thin leaved Y.linearifolia.

So do not be fooled ….Tropical Centre has a nice stock of well rooted plants in different height.

Like all yucca's they like sun and a well drained soil, in wet climates it is better to remove the panicle after a few weeks, as the flowers fall down in the crown and start rotting. The yucca is most vulnerable after flowering as the stalk leaves a hole through which rain water enters the hart which could lead to rot. When the old flower stalk has rotted away, it is better to seal the hole with cement; the new growing spears will push it aside.

In our webshop we have this yucca for sale.

Authors drs C.N. Klijn and R.H. Smeets from Tropical Centre have studied yuccas in the wild and also then thousands of import yucca plants from everywhere in Mexico and the USA. Learn more about yuccas and our yucca background through the website buttons about us, photo-albums and newsletters. If you mention us, as the source you may use our descriptions and pictures.