You can really use any of them, though I've found the more mature pads seem to root quicker. It helps if you let it dry out for a week or so before you plant it into the ground or a pot, then easy on the watering. I've had pads in my work area sitting on shelves for months and they will *still* root if I put them in the ground.

This is a trunk-forming Yucca (Y. recurvifolia). The trunks are about three feet high and the leaves add maybe another two feet. When it bloomed in 2008, the flower spikes were about four or five feet more. You said your yuccas aren't so big, but it depends on which ones you have. As I recall you have the variegated types of Y. filamentosa, which doesn't form a trunk at all. Those form clumps over time but stay low to the ground. It's nice if you have some of both the low growing ones and the trunked types. There are some that have narrow leaves and others with various colorations in the foliage, so it's possible to have quite a display made up of nothing but yuccas. I personally like to mix their spikiness with softer growing plants too. However you use yuccas, I think they're great plants.

Sorry, though for a split second my instinct was that cacti were monocots, of course they are not. They are actually Caryophyllales which is somewhat amusing if you think about it. (carnations with spines...you can see the vague semblance of floral form) So there is no selective that will get rid of Charlie without also damaging or killing the cacti. You are left either hand weeding the Glechoma...over and over and over, or trying some technique to create a physical barrier as you spray some amine-based selective or non-selective herbicide. (NOT ester selectives...the best for Charlie in a lawn is ester triclopyr, but the vapors from it could damage nearby plants if you're doing close-together spraying) Standby for scaremongering posts about how using any herbicide will cause everyone in your family to get terminal cancer next week and end life as we know it on this planet in 3...2...1.

My O. guimillo died of cold and moisture. Many of the cold hardy cactus from Utah, Nevada and colorado did not do well. I once read that many of cold hardy cactus from those areas will only perform well in Z 7 and colder.I did not listen. I am in zone 8b and when I put these cactus in the ground here, they struggle. They seem to do well in pots but not in the ground. I think they need the cold hours that TexR has in Oklahoma to make them more dormant in winter. I have more success with cactus that originate from the Big Bend , Arizona, and southern New Mexico.Big bend is the best because they historically will get some rain events in winter (and summer). After 2 horrid years (for cactus), the more southern cactus (O. macrocentra, O. violacia) that also developed rot fell over and re rooted and is growing back, The northern ones just rotted completely. O. cacanpa is a texas variety and extremely moisture tolerant. O. leucotricha is a maybe for cold but good on moisture. O . robusta is hardy to about 17F and no moisture. ALL the robusta in my neighborhood died after a bad freeze a week after a good rain.If a big freeze is coming < I cut these back take in the pads and wrap the stump. Insurance. Ones in San Antonio have done fine. A couple of degrees warmer and a day less of cold than us. We get wild swings of temperatures in the winter here. The cold does not stay. O englemanni and O. lindheimeri (native to here) are good and the cow tongue englemani is great and will take cold and moisture in the ground but will ultimately be too large for a raised bed. They get huge when happy. They grow in unammended clay in Austin. Cylindropuntia imbricata texas form is very moisture tolerant where as the C. imbricata colorado form looks like hell now that I have it in the ground for three years. I have just torn it out. Cylindropuntia whipplei has not died and grows slow, but thick. It did not die with the huge floods that we have been getting but they look nothing like Tex's. Growing cactus and PPoutside is all about where you are, so look around at people in your area that have cactus gardens and find out what works in your zone and what is their sound prep. Get a hold of your C & S society. There is a good book , "Cacti and Succulents for Cold Climates" on cactus for cold hardy areas by Leo Chance Another , but harder to find is Growing Winter Hardy Cacti in cold?wet Conditions " by John Spain