The yucca, popularly known as the yucca palm, is an easy-care exotic plant. If you want to admire the beautiful palm lily as a houseplant for a long time, you should care for it properly during and after the flowering period. We explain which pruning measures are necessary in autumn and what you need to pay attention to.
Yucca Palm Care: When Should You Prune Your Palm Lily?
The uncomplicated palm lily is suitable even for complete beginners and is therefore one of the most popular houseplants nationwide. There are just a few points to consider when cutting so that the palm tree sprouts again and continues to develop well. First and foremost, it is important to know when to prune the yucca palm. A nourishing cut in which thePlant thinned outcan be carried out all year round. Withered flowers are removed either immediately after flowering or during the flowering period. The optimal time for heavy pruning is spring. However, if the plant has become very large, you can also shorten it in the fall after flowering. You can also propagate them via offshoots immediately after cutting.
This is necessary, for example, if:
- Due to lack of light, the palm tree only has leaves at the top and the shoots at the bottom are weak and bare.
- the palm lily is old. In this case, a rejuvenation cut can promote growth.
- the exotic is too high and needs to be shortened.
- Removed anything that has fadedshould be (during the flowering period to encourage new flower formation and to extend the flowering period.)
- You want to propagate the yucca through cuttings (offshoots).
When is the right time to cut off the yucca? Basically it can be cut all year round. Especially if the plant has become too tall and reaches the ceiling, you should definitely cut it back or shorten it.
Cut off any flowers that have faded and extend the flowering period
Cut off dead flowers regularly to promote flower production and extend the flowering period. Use sharp secateurs to cut the shoot about 10cm below the flower.
If the palm lily produces heavy flowers anyway, you can save yourself the trouble and remove all the withered flowers after the flowering period has ended.
Cut the leaves and thin out the yucca
When making a thinning cut, it is usually sufficient to cut off individual leaves. Caution is advised: always wear gardening gloves to protect yourself from the sharp edges of the leaves. Use sharp pruning shears or a knife to remove the leaves. First, cut off the yellow and overhanging leaves, as well as the leaves that hardly get any sunlight.
Thinning is a good alternative to radical pruning and is ideal for young plants that have not yet grown large.
Cut the trunk correctly and propagate the yucca via cuttings
After the flowering period ends, you can shorten tall Yucca palms. You need the right tools and accessories - a saw, tree wax for the cuts, growing pots and growing soil (optionally you can mix potting soil with organic compost and sand in a ratio of 2 to 1 to 1), a large bucket (for repotting the large plant) and of course Gardening gloves. The offshoots should then root in the next three to six weeks. If they sprout again and produce at least one pair of leaves, then they can be repotted. Alternatively, you can coat the cut leaf shaft interface with growth hormone and then place it in lukewarm, decalcified water. Change the water every 2 days and add some growth hormone. If the leaf shaft has developed roots, you can plant it in a pot with potting soil.
Cut down and replant Yucca palm: instructions
Proceed as follows:
1. Measure the height of the plant, cut it in half and mark it on the trunk. Cut the plant back to a maximum of the marked area.
2. You can also remove all the leaves, the yucca doesn't take it badly and will soon sprout again (as long as it is sunny, because it needs a lot of sun to recover before pruning).
3. Cut back the palm tree. Apply tree wax to the edge of the cut.
4. Cut the trunk into several pieces, maximum 30 cm long. You can cut off the offshoots from this with a sharp knife. Coat the upper cut surface with tree wax and place the lower one in a growing pot with soil.
5. You can also cut off the leaf stem and place it in a glass of water.
4. At the end you should repot the yucca palm. It is important that you use new potting soil and find a suitable pot size.
5. Place the yucca in as sunny a place as possible. It needs sunlight to recover quickly from the stress of cutting.
That's why you should never cut off the roots when repotting!
If the palm lily has become too large and is being shortened and repotted, then the question arises: Should you also cut off the roots. The answer is clearly no. Every cut is stressful for the plant. In addition, it reactsYucca palm against frost and cold, as well as root damage, sometimes very sensitive depending on the plant variety. Open cuts heal much more slowly in the soil, and in the meantime the roots are particularly susceptible to rot. In the worst case, the plant could even die because it can no longer absorb the nutrients in the soil.
The Yucca palm is an easy-care exotic plant. So that it feels comfortable in your own four walls, it should be cut regularly.
