I have an 8 years old yucca tree which has always been planted indoor in my house in Dublin Ireland. The tree is about 2.5 meters tall and the foliage is about 2.6 meters wide. The tree has three trunks, but no other shoots. It is a true giant inside the house now. As it is reaching the ceiling and taking big part of the space of the room, we are thinking of various ways to make it smaller or help it grow better. We are thinking of option 1: moving to outdoor. Given the wet weather in Dublin, I am not sure whether that can work. Option 2: to devide the tree into three as there are three trunks. Option 3: to cut the top of each trunck. This may work for a while before leaves widely spread again. We are not sure which option will really work, or is there any other option to make it smaller and be able to continue to live indoor. Option 2 is much preferred if an expert also shares the same the view. Thank for answering this question
I'm not sure which Yucca you have, but I'll assume that it is the rather commom variety that all my UK friends have outside. It should be fine outside, plant it in well draining soil (sandy side as oppose to clay). If your worried about to much rain, plant it under your eaves, so that it gets a little less. If your worried about it in relation to cold, then I would neeed a photo to ID it. As for switching it to outdoors, I would say sooner than later, before autumn settles in on you, giving it time to adjust to winter like the rest of the garden would. Try and give it equal sun to what it has now, or slowly introduce it to a spot if it will receive more hot sun.
Thank you very much Carol. I have attached a picture of my tree here to seek your opinion whether it qualifies as outdoor!! Good point. If it can survive the autum, I am sure it can survive the winter as well because it is not that cold winter here. Thank you for giving me further suggestion after you have viewed the picture. What do you think of cutting it into three pieces?
Humm, that looks like a dracaena. Or a corn plant, (I can't remember the latin name) Don't put it outside, it won't make it, even where you live unless it was one called australis, I can't tell from the pic(you and I have similar climates) Nice plant pity about the ceiling getting in the way. I would at this point say prune it to a desireable level (not all stems at the same time or it will look pretty awful) treat it like gold for a bit, a bit of praying might help. It should put off shoots at two sides, so you'll end up with two extra stems at the cut point, when you go to prune the other stems, choose different heights, so you don't end up with a poodle. You should end up with a rather pretty look. It will work regardless as to which plant it is. Good luck.
Yucca elephantipes, a native to southern Mexico and Guatemala. Zone 10 minimum for best results. They will take a couple of dergees of frost of short duration if well established. Indoors these often have a less dense and drooping habit. Outdoors, these Yucca have a stiffer, more compact growth habit. Cheers, LPN.
