Joshua tree

Sun

Full sun.

Water

Low once established. Water young plants deeply, then let the root zone dry before watering again; established trees generally need supplemental water only during prolonged drought.

Soil

Sharply drained sandy, gravelly or rocky soil. Avoid heavy clay, low spots and soil kept damp by lawn irrigation.

Height

15-30 ft (4.6-9.1 m), occasionally taller in the wild

Spread

10-20 ft (3-6.1 m)

Flowers

Dense clusters of creamy-white to greenish-white flowers in spring, sometimes beginning in late winter. Flowering varies with plant maturity and weather and may not occur every year.

Foliage

Evergreen. Short, rigid, sword-shaped green to blue-green leaves with sharp tips and finely toothed margins, clustered at branch ends.

Growth

Slow; develops its mature tree form over decades.

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Deer resistant
• Drought tolerant
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Hard

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2 m)

2. After 1 year

   7 ft (2.2 m)

3. After 2 years

   8 ft (2.3 m)

4. After 3 years

   8 ft (2.5 m)

5. After 5 years

   9 ft (2.8 m)

About 32 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Native to

the US

Growth rate

Slow

• Buy nursery-propagated plants; do not collect wild trees. Joshua trees are legally protected in parts of their native range, including California.
• Plant a young specimen in spring, keeping its original soil level and allowing room for its mature crown.
• Water deeply during establishment, but allow the soil to dry between waterings; reduce watering sharply in cool weather.
• Use gravel rather than moisture-retaining mulch around the base, and keep the trunk clear.
• Do not routinely fertilize; avoid lawn fertilizer and frequent irrigation around the roots.

Pruning. Prune only to remove dead or damaged branches, preferably in dry weather in late spring or summer. Do not top the tree or strip away healthy leaves; wear eye protection and thick gloves around the sharp foliage.

Spring

Plant nursery-grown young trees after severe frost risk has passed, in a sunny site with sharp drainage.

Spring

Check for flower buds and keep irrigation away from developing flower clusters and leaf crowns.

Summer

Check soil moisture before watering young trees; let the root zone dry between deep soakings.

Late summer

Inspect for scale insects, damaged leaves and soft areas at the trunk base.

Autumn

Reduce supplemental watering as temperatures fall and clear debris that traps moisture against the trunk.

Winter

Check drainage after rain and prevent runoff or irrigation from pooling around the roots.

• Use as a sculptural focal point in a spacious gravel garden, well away from paths and seating.
• Combine with boulders, low desert shrubs and open gravel to echo its Mojave Desert habitat.
• Plant against a plain wall or open sky where its irregular branching makes a strong silhouette.
• Pair with drought-adapted grasses and smaller succulents that share its need for dry, freely drained soil.

Garden styles it suits: Desert modern, Architectural minimal, Desert / xeriscape, Southwestern, Dry gravel garden and California native.

Plant it with: Mojave sage, Blackbrush, Desert marigold, Banana yucca, Indian ricegrass and Beavertail prickly pear.

Wildlife: Native yucca moths pollinate the flowers, and their larvae eat some developing seeds. The crown provides shelter and nesting sites for desert birds, while flowers and seeds support other native wildlife. Outside its native pollinator range, flowering plants may not set seed without hand pollination.

• Root or crown rot in wet soil: stop unnecessary irrigation and correct drainage; badly rotted trees may not recover.
• Poor performance in humid or rainy climates: use a sheltered, sharply drained site, but choose a more suitable plant if the soil remains wet through winter.
• Scale insects: inspect leaf bases and stems; remove small infestations by hand and use a labelled treatment if they persist.
• Cold injury, especially with wet roots: protect young plants during exceptional freezes and keep the root zone freely drained.

Treat the leaves and roots as toxic to cats, dogs and horses if eaten: yuccas contain saponins that can cause drooling, vomiting or diarrhoea, with potentially more serious effects in horses. Species-specific information on poisoning in people is limited, so do not eat the plant. Sharp leaf tips can injure people and animals even without ingestion.

• Eastern Joshua tree (Yucca jaegeriana)

  Usually has shorter leaves and a more densely branched crown, with branching beginning lower down. Formerly treated as a variety of Joshua tree, it can be difficult to distinguish from young plants without knowing their…

• Mojave yucca (Yucca schidigera)

  Has much longer leaves with conspicuous curling threads along their edges and usually a shorter, less extensively branched trunk.

• Soaptree yucca (Yucca elata)

  Has long, narrow, flexible leaves with white marginal threads and a tall, open flower stalk rather than Joshua tree's dense flower clusters.

The botanical epithet brevifolia means 'short-leaved', referring to its relatively short leaves compared with those of many other yuccas.

Propagation. Usually grown from fresh seed sown in spring in a warm, freely draining seed mix. Some plants produce basal offsets, but these can be difficult to separate and establish; seed-grown nursery plants are generally the better choice. Obtain seed and plants legally rather than collecting from wild populations.

Accepted botanical name

Yucca brevifolia

In the US and Canada

Native in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Arizona, California, Mexico Northwest, Nevada and Utah.

Measured

Average height 914 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.