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The yucca plant is extremely hardy and versatile. The yucca tree can grow up to 20-30 feet, be pruned to a lovely landscape bush, or be planted in a small pot for indoor or outdoor enjoyment. It can even be an indoor small desk plant to keep you company while you work at home. “Can I cut a yucca plant down?” or “what is required in cutting a yucca tree?” are some of the questions you may be asking. There are so many options!
Taking care of your indoor or outdoor yucca plant simply requires a decision on your part as to how you want your plant to look. If your indoor or outdoor yucca is in a small or medium pot and you have taken good care of it, and simply want to prune it back a bit, the process is easy. Yes, you can cut it back to any size you want or even take the shoots you cut off and replant in another pot for a friend! The trimming can be carried out all year round, but it is advantageous for the yucca if it takes place during spring. New shoots come back fairly quickly.
Here are 4 easy steps to cut back a yucca plant:
- Decide in advance what size you ultimately want the indoor potted yucca to be. How to cut a yucca plant is easy to learn.
- If the plant becomes too big, it won’t harm it if you cut off a few parts. When trimming a yucca plant, these parts should be cut off directly using a household fret or pruning saw, at or near the trunk, leaving each stem bare.
- Use some pruning putty to coat the top of the now bare stem as it will encourage new shoots just below the cut.
- Keep the dirt moist but do not over water while the new shoots are coming in.
The trimming of a yucca tree will be similar to the potted version above. The yucca tree is simply a very tall yucca plant! NOTE: If you want to completely remove and cut a yucca tree down, follow these 4 steps below to trim the tree, then drill holes in the base of the tree, pour in some weed killer and wait 2 weeks. Then simply dig out the root ball. All gone!
Cutting a yucca tree that has outgrown its territory will require a larger pruning saw for cutting all the way through the large stem. If your now fifteen inch tree would look better in the yard say… as a six foot tree, you can make this happen with some TLC. Here are 4 easy steps:
- Again, like the potted version, decide where you want to cut the stem.
- Strip the leaves off (by hand) above and below where you want to cut. Leaves may be sharp so wear your gardening gloves.
- Make the cut six inches from the ground, basically leaving a single bare stem. Be sure to also remove any lower leaves near the base of the tree.
- Use your pruning putty or “grafting wax” to coat the top of the stem.
You can have amazing very small, apartment size yucca… all the way to a row of tall yucca in your back yard. It does not take much to tend to the yucca plant as they will adapt to indoor or outdoor conditions fairly easily. Remember you can control the height of your yucca plants and trees with a simple cut of the stem at the desired height, including at the very bottom of the stem to start them over after blooming. Enjoy your yuccas!
We hope our tips on trimming a yucca plant have empowered you, and don’t forget to check out our other tips on plants and trees such as how water a cactus, how to cut roses to grow and insights about plum tree planting. Make sure you register with Ask Team Clean to get more advice and rewards sent to you!