Species · genus Yucca · Asparagaceae

St. Peter's Palm

Yucca filifera Chabaud

Also known as: Palma China

Growth habit

tree

Native range

Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southwest

Yucca filifera — reference photo — Tangopaso · Public domain

Cultivars of Y. filifera

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under Y. filifera yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

St. Peter's Palm

Yucca filifera, known as St. Peter's palm or tree yucca, is an evergreen tree species that in cultivation is usually seen as a single short-trunked plant rather than its eventual tall, sparsely-branched form. It belongs to the asparagus family, Asparagaceae, and is grown chiefly for its architectural rosettes of stiff, spine-tipped leaves.

Source: RHS

Native to Mexico

This yucca's natural range is Mexico, and it eventually forms a tall tree in the wild, though gardeners more commonly keep it as a shorter, single-trunked specimen.

Source: RHS

Sun, Drainage, Dry Winters

Give this yucca full sun and a sheltered, west- or south-facing spot, in very well-drained soil, or grow it under glass in gritty compost. It tolerates chalk, loam, or sandy soils across acid, alkaline, or neutral pH, so long as moisture is well-drained, and it needs to be kept almost dry over winter.

Source: RHS

Seed or Suckers

Propagate by seed, or remove rooted suckers from the base of the plant.

Source: RHS

Thread-Edged Rosettes

The leaves reach up to 50cm long, stiff and spine-tipped, with peeling, thread-like edges, and they gather into a dense rosette. Mature plants send up large, hanging clusters of creamy, bell-shaped flowers, and the species can eventually grow into a tall tree 8-12 metres high with a spread of 2.5-4 metres, though maturity takes 20-50 years.

Source: RHS

Aphids and Snails

Watch for aphids settling on the flower spikes, and keep an eye out for snails. Leaf spot disease can also affect this yucca.

Source: RHS

Little Pruning Needed

This yucca asks for no routine pruning, though removing dead leaves keeps its appearance tidy. If a plant grows too large, it can be cut back hard in late spring, and it will reshoot from the trunk.

Source: RHS

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 28 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

7–34 °C

Soil mix

Sandy, sharply draining cactus mix

Propagation

Seed or offsets

Fertilizing

Light cactus feed once or twice in summer

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Rarely flowers indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs

Saponins — vomiting, drooling. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ASPCA

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow St. Peter's Palm yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.