Pruning Yucca Also Offers An Opportunity To Propagate New Plants – Gardeners Share How
Elizabeth is a Permaculture Garden Designer, Sustainability Consultant and Professional Writer, working as an advocate for positive change. She graduated from the University of St. Andrews with an MA in English and Philosophy and obtained a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Association.
Reviewed By COLIN SKELLY
Colin is a Horticulturist and Horticultural Consultant with experience in a range of practical and managerial roles across heritage, commercial and public horticulture. He holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture award and has a particular interest in horticultural ecology and naturalistic planting for habitat and climate resilience.
IN THIS GUIDE
Yuccas are interesting succulent plants which come in a range of different varieties.
Tender types are often grown as houseplants, while hardy types can be grown outside in a suitably free-draining and mild spot.
There are two main reasons why you might want to prune your yucca plant.
The first might be to gain new yucca plants by propagating an existing yucca whilst the second is to reduce the size of a plant that has grown too large for its location.
Read on to understand how to prune the two different types of yucca.
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Equipment Required | Gloves and a spade |
| When To Prune | March-April |
Pruning Clump-Forming Types
Clump-forming yuccas are most commonly propagated by dividing offsets from a parent plant.
To do so:
- Look carefully around the base of the plant for small suckers.
- Carefully move aside the soil or growing medium to expose the rhizome that links it to the parent plant.
- Cut through this rhizome with a sharp knife.
- Place the offset to dry for a couple of days.
- Once it is dry, place it in a propagator or cover it and place it out of direct sunlight but in a warm, bright location.
- Wait for the offset to root.
- Pot on or plant out the new yucca plants.
Pruning Trunk-Forming Types
If you have a trunk-forming yucca, these can grow extremely tall.
If you have one which has grown too large for its location, you might simply wish to transplant it to a new spot, but you can also take the slightly risky option and prune the plant dramatically by cutting off the top to the desired height, removing half of the plant.
“I would perform this task in early spring to optimise the possibility of the stem regeneration,” says Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly.
“The pruned top stems can be planted in a semi-shady spot outside or into pots in a semi-shaded position, depending on size.”
If the plant is healthy and happy, it should sprout new growth.
Mulching around the base of the plant with organic matter should help increase the chances of a successful recovery.
You can also take the top half of the yucca and treat it like a massive cutting by replanting it, and with careful tending, it may develop new roots and resume its growth.
However, this is a job best not attempted by beginners and you should note that there are no guarantees that the original plant that you have divided will recover, and if it does, it may not be the most attractive specimen for several years.