14 
THE YUCCA GLORIOSA. 
ARTICLE, VII. 
CULTIVATION OF THE YUCCA GLORIOSA, AND TRAINING THE 
CACTUS SPECIOSSISIMA. 
BY MR. WM. MATTHEWS. 
Gardener to Lady Palmer Wanlip Hall , Leicestershire. 
The Yucca gloriosa is a native of North America, and although it 
was introduced so long since as 1596, is now by no means common; 
its sword shaped foliage, and gloomy appearance during its growing 
state, little betokens its future grandeur, and I make no doubt this is 
the sole cause of its not being more generally known, was planted out 
on the Lawn in the flower-gardens of Wanlip Hall in the year 1819, 
and has since then stood seventy of the winter seasons without pro¬ 
tection; the first time it flowered was in 1829, after which the stem 
rooted partly down and the plant divided itself into four heads, one 
which I took off in 1830. I formed an artificial rock round it of granite, 
it soon threw out some very strong fibres into the soil among the stone. 
In 1831, it flowered the second time, the extreme height of the stem 
was five feet eight inches, the number of side branches thirty-six, each 
on an average bearing twenty-four flowers, making a total number of 
eight hundred and sixty-four blooms, it began to flower on the twen¬ 
tieth of J uly, and this year it has again flowered, throwing up two very 
strong flower stems of the height of six feet ten inches which were at¬ 
tractive in the extreme, by then having forty side branches bearing 11 
hundred fine camparulate flowers of a cream colour, I have no stipu¬ 
lated time for taking off the suckers, but when I do so I plant them in 
a soil composed of sandy loam in which they invariably flourish. 
Cactut speciossisima. Having in the year 1831 two fine plants’of this 
species I was induced by way of experiment to try the method of 
training them up the rafters as ornamental creepers after having been 
planted about twelve months one of the plants showed symptoms of 
flowering, and in a short time after produced eighteen very magnifi¬ 
cent and splendid blossoms. The following are the dimensions of the 
plants: height seven feet eight inches; circumference of the stem six 
inches; of the pot two feet; the soil I used is composed of one part lime 
rubbish, and one part sandy loam, in which they thrive exeedingly, 
the degree of heat is from thirty-five to forty-five during the winter. 
I have grown them in the vinery from five to six feet in one season 
but they never showed signs of flowers after such rapid growth, I 
take the suckers of the plants and lay them in any airy place to dry for 
a week or ten days before planting, and then put them into the same 
compost as before mentioned. W. Mathews. 
