How to grow yucca

Question

Can I grow yucca from a piece of yucca root bought in a store?

Answer 1

Don't confuse Yucca (YUK-ka) with two C's (such as Yucca filamentosa) with Yuca having one C. They are two different plants. The "yuca" (YEW-ka) root you find in grocery stores -- no matter how they spell it -- is a cultivated cassava (Manihot esculenta). Store-bought yuca roots are coated with wax, which prolongs their shelf life. For this reason, it is unlikey that you would be able to get it to successfully sprout. You could try gently scraping/washing off this waxy coating and planting it, but there would be no guarantees as most cassava plants are propagated through stem cuttings.