Yuccas are highly popular , both as pot houseplants and as cosmetic garden feature of speech . They are easy to grow , resilient , and dramatic in coming into court . But , their beauty can be marred by the presence of brown , dry leaves that cling to their trunks for days or weeks . Should you trim those dead leave of absence off your yucca plant life to make it look better ? We ’ve done the inquiry , and we have the answers for you !
Your yucca plant ’s dead leafage will eventually dry out up and fall down off on their own . However , if you prefer to remove the unsightly chocolate-brown leaf preferably , you’re able to snub them off just above the base of the folio . This method see that the base of each leafage remain attached to the yucca ’s trunk , protecting it from dirt ball , disease , and the elements .
you could also pull the dead leave gently downward until they detach from the trunk , but doing so will remove the whole foliage , including the base , thus result the yucca ’s trunk exposed and vulnerable .
In the remainder of this article , we ’ll show you how to safely lop the bushed leaves from each of the three major type of yuccas . We will also serve several common questions about pruning and influence yucca , how to rationalise your yucca so that it will branch out , whether it ’s safe to cut a yucca off at the top , and how to stop the ornamental yuccas in your garden from get taller . Keep read to learn more !
How To Safely Trim A Yucca
Yuccas are best known for their swordlike leaves and the bell - shaped white flowers they produce , dumbly flock on myopic vertical stalks . More than 40 distinct species of yuccas devolve into three wide category : turgid trees , little ornamental trees , and shaggy-haired shrubs . Each of these type of yucca require a different strategy for pruning its dead leave of absence .
Large Trees
A few species of yuccas , such as the Joshua Tree and Giant Yucca , acquire to 30 feet or more in height . They feature grandiloquent , thickheaded trunks with pommy - pom - like clump of steel - shaped leaves topping knobbed branch .
Large yucca trees that raise in the natural state are not pruned , so they have a distinctively shaggy-coated show , with the remnants of onetime , dead leaves stick to their trunks in various degree of muddiness . However , if you favor a smoother expression for your gravid yucca tree , you’re able to cut off its dead , brown fronds just above their adjunction with the trunk , leaving the base of each frond attached to the trunk as a protective natural covering .
Small Ornamental Trees
small yucca tree diagram , ranging from 3 feet to 15 metrical foot in height , are popular both as pot houseplants and ornamental landscape painting feature . These yucca have dark green or variegated foliage that grow around the sides of the automobile trunk and offshoot . bloom stalk grow out of the crown of green leaves at the top of each tree .
As an ornamental yucca tree grows , the older leaves at the bottom choke off , turn brown and dry . you’re able to look for these farewell to fall off naturally , but you may favor to keep your yucca looking fresh and greenish by polish off the all in leaves .
you could flake the leaves off the trunk by softly pulling them back and down ; however , this method result the trunk exposed to pest , disease , and weather condition . The healthier alternative for your tree is to snip away each dead leaf about an inch above its juncture with the tree ’s trunk so that the folio ’s base persist attached to protect the trunk .
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Bushy Trunkless Shrubs
A third group of yuccas popular with gardeners is the bushy , trunkless species that grow airless to the flat coat with their spiky leaves pointing directly up . These yuccas have striking clusters of white flowers on thick erect shafts that grow up out of the center of the flora . They are most often used in the garden but can also be pot and kept indoors .
Bushy yucca grow outward or else of up , so the dead brown leaves that you ’ll want to remove will typically be near the works ’s center . Using a tart knife or pruning shear , snip these leaves off about an inch above the base . Be careful not to cut into the tender primal heart and soul of the plant , which sits just above the ground . Be careful : the leaves of many yucca species can be sharp and spiny , so make certain to wear off heavy gardening gloves and a long - sleeved shirt as you trim .
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Should I Cut Brown Leaf Tips Off My Yucca?
It ’s pretty common for the peak of your yucca ’s leaves to turn brown . This is usually a sign that you are under - irrigate the flora or that the humidness level in your home is too abject . snip off off the brown , deadened tip of the leave will meliorate the coming into court of your yucca , but to speak the trouble , you must append the industrial plant with more water .
Yuccas do n’t support consistently wet soil , so increase your watering regimen gradually . If scummy humidity in your dwelling house is an issue , spray your yucca ’s leaves once per workweek with a light misting of body of water .
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How To Make A Yucca Branch Out
Whether it ’s a potted plant life , an outdoor ornamental tree , or a bushy garden feature , you may prune your yucca plant to affect its figure . If you ’d wish your shaggy-coated yucca to grow wider rather than taller , dress off young increase as it come forth at the top of the plant .
To promote your yucca tree to furcate out , cut off its top , including the crown of new maturation and any blossom spikes . A yucca tree pruned in this manner will grow branches out of the tops and sides of the trunk , while bushy yuccas will lucubrate laterally and become fuller and denser .
Can You Cut The Top Off A Yucca?
Sometimes , potted or outdoor cosmetic yucca become too large for the space they occupy . you could cut them down to a more appropriate size by merely marking the trust height on the trunk and then crop off the top of the plant .
Yuccas are incredibly resilient : the top - off body will look ragged for a short while , but it will soon burgeon forth new leaf and peak . In accession , there ’s no need to discard the top of the tree – you may root it , plant it in a tidy sum , and soon have another thriving yucca Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree !
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How To Stop Yuccas From Growing Taller
To stop a shrubby yucca from grow taller , cut off the flush angry walk about 3 - 4 in above its base before its flowers have entirely faded . Because the stem arise to 6 fundament above the tips of the leaves , cutting it dramatically reduce the visual height of the plant , and , once cut down , the chaff will not regrow until the following year .
On a yucca tree , cut off all new growth as it emerges from the peak of leaves at the top of the luggage compartment . You will need to do this step sporadically , as new growth will persist in to sprout from the crest of the trunk .
In Closing
Yuccas are gentle - to - care - for flora that add pastime and color to your garden or as potted industrial plant inside your home . They pop the question striking foliage , striking clusters of flowers , and a salmagundi of sizes and frame . you could trim back , prune , and lop them to fit the usable space . If you trim off the brownish folio tip and prune the dead folio by come after the crest allow above , you’re able to keep your yucca sizable and looking great !
You may also savor the following :
Should I Repot My Yucca Plant ? [ And How To Do So ]
Yucca Leaves Drooping – What To Do ?
