Tall Yucca

Hi,
I have a tall (6') Yucca that is reasonably healthy. Is there any way to re-root it (IE- break it in half) so I can have a smaller plant?

thanks

 

Sure is! You can literally do what you want - cut the tree in half. Wait for the top portion to callous over, and replant it into sterile medium (the same you're using for the whole tree, just a new potfull), watering sparingly. You'll get a new branch on the lower half, and the upper half will continue on as if nothing happened.

 

You can cut the cane in half, or back even further and new leaves will grow near the cut. That's what a neighbor did with hers anyway.
You can also try rooting the top portion you cut off, cut into a few pieces to make several plants.

 

I think we posted at the same time lorax:)

 

Only other question.
To root the top portion, do I place it in water?

thank you

 

NO! That's the fastest way to rot it. Let it callous and plant it directly into the soil.

 

I don't mean to step on anyone's toes, but I have a question about this. It may be common knowledge, but I'm still learning, and if I were doing this same thing, would it be a good idea to remove some of the "leaves" from the bottom of the top half before letting it callous over?

 

Depends on how many leaves there are on the plant. If it's fairly short and has leaves most of the way down the stem, then yes you need to remove some of them in order to provide a bit of trunk space to the new tree you're making from the top, although you should probably leave a few for the base of the plant to speed up the regrowth of a new branch. If it's taller and you have lots of bare trunk above and below your cut, you don't have to do anything.