How to prune a yucca at home
Content:
Yucca is a palm-shaped southern flower that can grow up to 2 meters or more. At this height, the plant may need pruning to maintain its decorative qualities.
What is pruning for?
For indoor yucca, this procedure may be required for several reasons:
- The plant grows significantly over time so that keeping it indoors with ordinary ceilings becomes problematic.
- I want to get viable cuttings.
- The shape of the barrel has changed, or it may break at any time.
- The palm tree is affected by pests or fungi.
Picture 1 Yucca in the interior
In addition, as they grow older, the grower may wonder how to rejuvenate the yucca. After the procedure, the crown of the flower becomes more magnificent, it looks more attractive.
Trim time and tool preparation
Yucca pruning at home is carried out in late winter or early spring, when the dormant period ends, but active growth has not yet begun. When carrying out the procedure at a later date, there is a high probability of ruining the flower. In a timely cut yucca, the cuts have time to dry out, and the plant begins to branch.
In order for the procedure to become possible, the palm tree must have time to build up a trunk with a height of at least 50 cm, but its thickness has exceeded 5 centimeters.
Preparing for pruning, they prepare in advance:
- sharp garden knife;
- alcohol solution;
- liquid paraffin or garden var.
The last component is necessary in order to process the cut site after the procedure, protecting the plant from possible diseases, unnecessary stress and preventing moisture loss.
General rules for pruning yucca
In carrying out the procedure, it is required to comply with a number of mandatory requirements and rules. Only in this case the plant will not be endangered, but will become healthier and more beautiful.
Preparation
For 2 days according to the procedure, the plant must be watered abundantly. Tools that will be used should be disinfected with pure alcohol to eliminate the risk of plant decay. The knife or pruner must be well sharpened so that you can cut the trunk in one motion, without sawing or breaking off.
Chopped yucca cuttings
Basic steps
Regardless of the reasons and goals for which it was decided to remove unnecessary branches, it is necessary to adhere to the mandatory general requirements.The step-by-step procedure is as follows:
- Determine the location of the cut (it is recommended to retreat from the lower leaves by 10-15 cm).
- Palm leaves are held in an armful with the left hand.
- With the right hand, make an accurate, even cut, trying to avoid kinks and damage.
- Sections must be treated with liquid paraffin or varnish.
In winter, yucca tends to soften the trunk. When resorting to urgent pruning of a plant suffering from decay, it should be understood that only the tops of the palm tree can be saved.
Best of all, new plants will take root if you can cut healthy cuttings 25-30 cm long. The sections are rubbed with crushed activated carbon and dried for 2 hours.
When the procedure is completed, the yucca is placed in a place protected from the sun. In the next 2 months, I provide the plant with watering no more than 1 time per week.During this time, the cut should form new side shoots in number from 2 to 5 pieces, depending on the thickness of the trunk.
Pruning to rejuvenate the plant
Yucca can sometimes lose its attractiveness by being overstretched or injured by pets. In such cases, resort to palm rejuvenation. Even when you have to remove all the leaves, there is no need to worry, as with proper care, the plant will recover to its previous size in just 2 years.
A month after pruning the old yucca, when new leaves sprout, it is recommended to transplant the plant. The overgrown root system is also pruned, removing dried and dead parts near the surface of the root ball.
Young shoots after cutting the trunk
Sanitary pruning
The yellowing or drying of the crown requires a procedure for sanitary purposes. In such a situation, damaged non-viable leaves are trimmed with a sharp tool at the very base. This must be done very carefully so as not to damage the healthy parts of the plant.
In case of excessive thickening of the crown, when the upper part becomes heavy, and the trunk is bent and the tub may turn over, it is also necessary to remove some of the leaves. You can cut off the bottom row of leaves located on the outside of the bundle.
During the flowering period, the yucca produces a strong vertical peduncle that rises above the foliage. The branched inflorescence, consisting of many small white, greenish or creamy flowers, must also be carefully cut after drying.
Crown formation and general appearance
A flower grower who has a yucca grown after grafting an adult plant will sooner or later have to learn how to prune a yucca at home. To obtain a palm tree with a spreading crown, you need to root the most powerful of the tops obtained during pruning.
The pruning procedure is often carried out for further active branching of the palm tree. If you want to get a more lush yucca, then it is advisable to wait until its trunk becomes thicker than 5 cm. Then the likelihood of a larger number of young shoots appearing at the top of the trunk increases. In addition, the central stump must be strong enough to support several overgrown crowns.
Outdoor yucca, grown in a large pot and not limited by indoor ceilings, does not require pruning at a young age. It is better to give her the opportunity to build up the trunk as thick as possible, tying it to a support if necessary.
Creation of unusual shapes
Pruning yucca shoots annually allows you to adjust the shape of the trunk and its branching. An unusual indoor tree will perfectly fit into the composition in the interior of an apartment or office, taking a central place in it. Against the background of a palm tree, Benjamin's ficus, spathiphyllum, zamiokulkas or money tree will look great.
Experts get really interesting and non-standard curves of a palm tree while the plant has not yet become lignified completely. To make the trunk stretch in length, the pot with the plant is placed where it will experience some lack of light. In an effort to get more sunlight, the palm tree will build up the trunk, and then it will be possible to give it an unusual position.
Yucca in compositions
Post-pruning activities
After finishing pruning, the plant is allowed to rest by leaving it at normal room temperature, but moving to a darker place. During this period, direct sunlight can severely harm the palm tree and even destroy it. It is advisable to postpone the first watering for 5-7 days. It is better to use water that is warm enough, not lower than 20-25 ° C.
Under these conditions, young shoots appear on the cut yucca after 4-6 weeks. New buds hatch just below the cut.If the trunk diameter is more than 5 cm, it is recommended to leave 2 or 3 shoots from opposite sides of the hemp for germination, and remove the rest with a sharp disinfected tool.
After pruning, the yucca is provided with the following simple care, thanks to which it will recover more easily and faster:
- Regular, not frequent watering is carried out - once a month.
- Stay in a well-lit place is provided.
- Starting from June until autumn, when young shoots of a palm tree are actively growing, complex fertilizers are applied (once a month is enough).
Yucca is unpretentious and tolerates pruning without problems. A properly formed palm tree will look gorgeous in the interior, especially in a large space of a private house, in the office hall or in the living room. Elongated leaves of rich green color will fill the room with fresh tropical exoticism.
