cutting a yukka plant

I am a president of a condo association and we have in front of all our buildings Yukka Plants. They are growing so big, that they are falling on windows of unit owners. Everyone would like to have the plants removed. What is the best way possible to uproot these plants?

On other a note we have all kinds of bushes and plants around our buildings. Didn't want anyone to think that we were uprooting just because.

Thank you for your help.

 

If you have to 'uproot' them, a saw, shovel, & axe will work quite well. Any large pieces of root remaining may resprout and will require diligence over the next couple of years.

I'm not sure what species of yucca you are growing in Chicago? Are the plants themselves falling against the windows or just the flower stalks?

 

The stacks are falling. I am about 5'1" and they are almost as tall as I am. We have approximately 8 plants. I have trimed them, roped them, etc. Nothing is working. So the building wants them removed before they do any damage. Chicago the "Windy City". The start hitting the windows of the unit owners.

Thank you for replying so fast.

 

yucca have tap roots, so it will not be a one-time removal as you won't be able to get the whole tap root up (they can go very deep - especially if the plants have been there for a long time). once you cut the plant off, i'd suggest treating the root with something like stump killer/remover. even with that, you're bound to see some new shoots appear next year. these things come from the desert so they are HARDY as all-get-out.

please donate the plants to a local park, arboretum, even the private sector. (i just hate to see perfectly healthy plants chucked in the trash!)

 

Thank you for your help. I am going to give that a try.

 

we recently pulled two out of our front yard, it has crazy roots . We used a sawzall , shovel , hatchet and a pick axe. It was much more work than I thought it would be.

 

Thank you so much for replying back. Yes the roots are nuts. I have done this once already and they are coming back already. I am going to have someone do it that is a little bit stronger than I. Thanks again.