Hunting for Yucca 'Bright Star'

Yucca ‘Bright Star’ is one of those plants that stop you in your tracks the first time you see them. It’s just that beautiful. I had one from 2017 to 2023 and have been looking for another one ever since.

My original ‘Bright Star’ came from my friend Hoover Boo (Piece of Eden) in Southern California. After seeing hers (here), I knew I needed to have one. Fortunately, she had a source and was able to get me a 2-gallon plant. It bloomed for the first time in November 2022, producing a glorious display of bell-shaped flowers.

November 2022

Yuccas are polycarpic, meaning they don’t die after flowering like most agaves do. Technically, I could have enjoyed this stunning spectacle every year from then on.

Unfortunately, my ‘Bright Star’ split into multiple heads after flowering, ruining the beautiful symmetry of a single rosette.

It got even worse when I noticed suckers popping up around the mother plant:

I had visions of a messy clump — most definitely not the look I wanted. I knew I would get annoyed every time I walked by, so I took a deep breath, got out my Root Slayer, and dug it all up in July 2023.

I saved three heads with no roots and two suckers with some roots and potted them up. However, none of them survived. No matter what some Internet sources say, I don’t think rooting yucca offsets is all that easy.

Three heads (no roots), two suckers (some roots) potted up, but ultimately doomed

After I removed my ‘Bright Star’, it didn’t take long for me to want another one, especially since I was seeing it in quite a few gardens. Maybe I was simply noticing it more?

Kyle’s garden in Sacramento, April 2024 [from this post]

Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, November 2024 [from this post]

Wave Garden in Point Richmond, April 2025 [from this post]

Michele’s garden in Davis, January 2026 [from this post]

Yucca ‘Bright Star’ has never been widely available in Northern California, but for a few years it seemed to be gone entirely. Possibly because the plant patent on ‘Bright Star’ expired in 2025 (see the note at the end of this post) and anybody is now able to propagate it freely? Maybe growers were holding back their stock to release it after the expiration date?

That would make sense, because ‘Bright Star’ is now available again. A long-time follower of Succulents and More, Neal, messaged me just last week to let know that he had seen dozens of them at Devil Mountain, a large wholesale nursery with 15 locations throughout California. The grower is Matsuda’s, a subsidiary of Green Acres, a Sacramento area retail nursery. Last Saturday, I happened to be in Sacramento so I checked the closest Green Acres location. And there they were:

Yucca ‘Bright Star’ at the Sacramento location of Green Acres

At $42.50, they’re not cheap, but they’re good-sized plants in 3-gallon containers:

I hemmed and hawed a bit, wishing I could find one for less money in a 1 gallon, but I don’t remember ever seeing ‘Bright Star’ in smaller sizes.

In spite of my initial hesitation, I bought one, and when I got home, I immediately planted it in a 16" Veradek Demi Planter I had picked up at my local Costco warehouse for $24.99 (a steal).

For now, it lives next to the small cactus bed in the backyard. I don’t think this is its forever spot, but that’s where it’ll stay until I figure out its ultimate home.

I’m happy I finally have another ‘Bright Star’. And when it does eventually flower and split, maybe I’ll have more luck rooting a few heads or offsets.

In case you’re interested, here’s some background info on Yucca ‘Bright Star’, based on a deep dive I did a few years ago. According to Google Patents, the plant now known as ‘Bright Star’ was discovered in 2000 by U.K. nurseryman Tim Crowther:

“Each year, the inventor propagates Yucca by removing the side shoots, commonly known as ‘pups’, from the base of the stems of the parent plants of variegated Yucca gloriosa (unpatented). In 2000, in the course of this propagation, the inventor observed one side shoot whose rosette of foliage was atypical of the parent. Approximately one half side of this atypical rosette exhibited a greater degree of golden variegation. The inventor removed this one side shoot with the intention of attempting to produce a new plant form whose entire rosette would exhibit a uniformly more golden variegation. The inventor rooted the first-discovered side shoot and removed its growing point in order to encourage rapid basal side shoot production. In 2001, the inventor observed that three side shoots had arisen with varying degrees of golden variegation. The inventor observed that one of these three side shoots exhibited a uniform and significant degree of golden variegation. This one side shoot, ‘WALBRISTAR’, was removed and transferred to the inventor’s tissue culture laboratory where it was successfully initiated into culture and then multiplied by the same method of removing basal shoot cuttings, but in vitro.”

The patent was applied for in December 2005, granted in April 2007, and expired in December 2025. Presumably, Yucca ‘WALBRISTAR’ (aka ‘Bright Star’, the name used for marketing purposes) can now be propagated by anybody without having to pay royalties.

Since the patent application was filed, the botanical name Yucca gloriosa var. recurvifolia has changed. According to Plants of the World Online, operated by the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, Yucca gloriosa var. recurvifolia and Yucca recurvifolia are now considered synonyms of Yucca gloriosa var. tristis, so presumably the correct name of the plant is now Yucca gloriosa var. tristis ‘Bright Star’.

Finally, in case you were wondering how much money the holder of a plant patent stands to make off a patented plant: The royalty for something like Yucca ‘Bright Star’ is likely between $0.25 and $1 per plant. This is the license fee you would get from companies that propagate your plant commercially. That doesn’t seem like much, but it’s all a numbers game.

© Gerhard Bock, 2026. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.