They are very hardy but since it looks like you just put them in I would put a cone over them. Give them at least one year to get good and settled. After that you should not have to worry. The leaves will be very stiff and you will get more leaves.

I hope they do great for you. These are one of my favorites. They look good all winter here. Red or dark colored roses look so good with them. They are tougher than people realize.

nice edging.. you ought to give clinics on such ...

i had plain green ones on a driveway for decades.. and even with occasionally being run over.. you couldnt kill them ...

if you figure out how to kill them.. let us know ...

i would not bother with cones ... either way.. the odds are.. that those leaves are NOT going to be pretty next year ... they will either get matted by snow ... OR ... be damaged from the cone ... due to heating .. reduced air movement.. etc ...

so.. in summation your honor ... you cant kill them.. and just forget about what they look like now or yesterday.. they will become.. what they will .. next season ... and be spectacular ..

you are on the verge of trying to love a plant to death.. a plant that can literally.. be run over with the car ... as my friends used to do.. lol ... i usually found.. in those circs.. that the more you try to help.. the worse you can potentially make things ... THIS IS NOT A PLANT TO WORRY ABOUT ... IMHO ....

if they were just planted.. some mulch around them.. after the soil freezes will help avoid heave ...

good luck

ken

Ken I agree the green one you cannot kill but I think Color Guard from my experience may be a little more tender and can be killed the first year or two.

I got two from my favorite vendor Hallson and both died. The first one went the first winter the second struggled the second year and the next winter took it down. LOL I wanted this plant so bad I purchased 3 larger plants locally when they finally became available and they have survived but I did protect them the first year because of what happened before.

That was my reason for suggesting she give it some protection at least the first year. Do you think it would hurt to have a tomato cone over it just to keep some of the pressure of snow off the crown?

oh.. dont get me wrong.. whatever works.. WORKS ...

i just got to hatin' yucca... green or var'd .... so i would NOT waste too much time WORRYING .... that was my point ...

one thing i have found though.. in my z5 ... cut the whole top off the cone ... but for roses ... it minimizes wind.. and direct sun.. but avoids heat build up ...

the real key.. to any perennial.. IMHO .. here in the great white north ... is summed up thusly: GET THEM DORMANT.. AND KEEP THEM DORMANT ...

it the back and forth freeze/thaw.. that kills things.. either they heave out of the ground .. or .. in this case.. the black soil.. warms every winter day in the sun .. and the repeated freezing and thawing of tender stuff.. kills roots ...

so once the ground is frozen.. and the plant is fully dormant.. either cone it.. or dump some mulch around it.. just to blanket the surrounding soil .... so that it STAYS DORMANT ....

i found.. over the years.. that when i have full and complete snow cover.. of the soil.. my losses are much less.. than those mild winter.. where the soil keeps getting exposed ... and the heating/cooling issue becomes a problem ....

so cone.. or whatever.. good luck

ken

I was thinking cone without leaves piled on the plant. Just so the snow did not pack it down.

wxman8, was that your thought?

Yeah I thought maybe I would just put a cone (with nothing inside) over it to keep the snow pressure off the leaves.

I tie the leaves up like you would a cauliflower, to keep the crown dry. The plant seems to recover much better in the spring with better looking leaves that don't require so much to be cut back on them, when I do this. Haven't had a problem with hardiness here, but I maybe a little warmer than you.

flora

wxman81, I thought you were considering just putting the cone over the plants. Soooo...

I think the cone and flora's idea would be good the first year or two. I am only saying this because the two I had died. I am zoned a 6 but we get some zone 5 winters sometime and the years mine died was zone 5 winters.

Your leaves do not look strong enough yet to support punishment if you get a serious ice event like what we get sometime without serious damage.

This has to be one of the best plants for color I've ever grown. Those people comparing this to other Yuccas are so wrong it's funny. It's tough but not like the other Yuccas they are thinking of. Also, I like how the "leaves" of this one don't cut me!

echinaceamaniac wrote:

Those people comparing this to other Yuccas are so wrong it's funny

I am trying to track down "Color Guard" for purchase this spring. I take it you think it is different/better than Yucca filimentosa Bright Edge?

It's much better to me. I bought that one for my parents. The color isn't as strong.

I just made a reequest for this plant to one of the independent nurseries I frequent and was told that they can bring it in.

I am under the impression that it can survive a Zone 5b winter...with some extra mulch?

What do you think?