There are three of them growing in pretty heavy shade, appear to be struggling a bit. Any ideas on what they are?
Mystery
- Thread starter vette-kid
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Looks like a yucca. Here in Texas they are called cow killers. The tips of the leaves have a hard sharp point. They will also have, in a few years, a tall flower spike with a bunch of cream colored flowers. You really don't want these things in your landscape if you have pets or children. The best way to kill them is to chop them at ground level and pour diesel fuel on them.
Diesel!? Guess I may as well napalm the whole yard since I'm fighting poison ivy as well.
I'm fully aware you should not burn poison ivy, I don't have a death wish.
I'm fully aware you should not burn poison ivy, I don't have a death wish.
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I don't know if diesel works on poison ivy or not but GreenLight Cut Vine and Stump Killer sure does. If you mix diesel and molasses 50/50 and pour it over the cut yucca it helps tremendously in the after effects of the diesel. Ranchers in South Texas use the mixture to get rid of the yucca and mesquite thickets without long term harm to the grasses. The molasses make the soil microbes multiply and they eat the diesel residue left in the soil.
Hmm, looking online I'm not convinced it's yucca. Anything else you know of that looks similar?
Looks like young yucca still has a bit of a trunk. This looked to have no trunk.
Looks like young yucca still has a bit of a trunk. This looked to have no trunk.
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I wouldn't count out the possibility of it being a yucca, because there are many types and not all show the trunk in the seedling phase. However, another possibility is that it's a type of Agave plant.
It kind of looks like some I've seen here, except yours is smaller, maybe because of being in the shade....
Here's one video of this plant
It kind of looks like some I've seen here, except yours is smaller, maybe because of being in the shade....
Here's one video of this plant
Well, we moved here in January and I didn't plant it. So I assume it was here at least one summer, making this two
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There are different types or varieties. I know what you have because I have a bunch of them, just like yours, scattered around my property. Yours is very young. It is a type that does not have a trunk. There are different names. Spanish dagger is one, Aloe dagger another, Spanish Yucca another. In about 5 - 10 years it will send up a long spike and produce flowers. It may or may not have a trunk. Some of mine do and some don't but they look identical otherwise.
I was thinking maybe agave as well. I'll go with one of the two for sure. Looks like agave would have thicker leaves ( or whatever you call those) and yucca would be thinner.
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If it is Yucca, i wonder if vinegar would work to kill them? I sure wouldn't want to pour diesel fuel on my soil.
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Nope, vinegar won't work. I use diesel and molasses because it doesn't last in the soil as long as chemicals like triclopyr does. I wouldn't use diesel in my vegetable garden but out in the landscape and fence lines it is the safest, cheapest and most effective killer for these types of plants and unwanted brush and trees.
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Vinegar DOES NOT WORK on poison ivy. It's root system is too large. Roundup will work but only after many applications. What does kill poison ivy is GreenLight Cut Vine and Stump Killer
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I checked with a friend about getting rid of the Yucca. He said the plant needs to be deprived of sun by first digging the plant up and then covering it with plywood or a sheet of metal (or similar that the plant cannot possibly grow through). I am assuming that whatever you use needs to be heavy and very solid.
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I've looked for that stuff, but i can't seem to find any. I do have the Roundup poison ivy killer, not the regular weed killer. And I have crossbow if I need to get really nasty.
I'm going to try the concentrate vinegar first as a ground clear. I'm going to clear out that whole bed of anything. It's over run with Ivy's and various grasses. Once I get rid of the lesser stuff I can Target the poison ivy a little stronger as needed. Hopefully I won't kill the trees in the process. There are some oak, magnolia, sago and other palms in there too.