Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => General Gardening => Topic started by: Grubbypaws on April 12, 2012, 10:41
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I have a 25 year old Yukka which has now completely outgrown my living room. I have had it since being a student when I bought it from the local GC and am very attached to it but it has to go :(
Does any one out there have a home for it?
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Could you acclimatise it to live outdoors in a pot for instance and ultimately plant it in your garden? You have had it a long time...
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It might help if I gave you the whole story. ::) I have done the same thing successfully. Your climate will be colder in winter than it is here but you could fleece...
:)
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I guess that I could give it a go :unsure:
After hitting the ceiling some years ago it started a horizontal course and then developed a secondary vertical branch. So basically I have a long straight bare trunk going the whole length of the lounge with two healthy vertical growing areas. Is it possible to air root it and end up with 2 smaller yukkas that I could house more easily????
If it is possible how do I go about it?
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I don't know about air rooting, but, you can cut the stem through at whatever height you fancy and it will grow new branches :)
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Just cut it so that it is a bare trunk with no leaves?? :ohmy:
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That's what I did to mine :lol:
you can also root the top bits after you've cut it down...info here
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/indoor/yucca-plants-care-and-pruning-tips-for-pruning-a-yucca.htm
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MumofS,
This is awesome; thank you.
From reading this article my yukka wont just live but prosper and multiply :D
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I've got the same problem. :(
Theres a big one in my greenhouse that i keep cutting down and it just throws out new shoots and away it goes again. ::)
I've rooted loads of the chopped off bits, one of them is 6ft tall and unfortunately its in the greenhouse border. I'm going to dig it up and make a yucca forest with that one and the rest that are in pots. :wub:
Mums link wont work for me so cant see what it says but they root easier if you leave the cuttings a day to scab over before you pot them on into sandy compost :)
I wrote about yuccas cuttings in my diary a couple of years ago, see below
If anyone has a yucca houseplant and would like to take a cutting from it they root really easily.
Cut off the bit for the cutting and pull the leaves from the stem. They overlap so start at the bottom and take them off in order. When you have a good length of stem leave it for 24hours or so to scab over, I have left them as long as 4days and they’ve still rooted. Then get a deep pot, I use the flower buckets from Morrison's which they sell off cheap and fill it with gritty compost.
Push the cutting in right up to the bottom leaves. You need enough stem in the pot to hold the whole thing steady. Give it good water and leave it to root.
(http://i39.tinypic.com/2vtryud.jpg)
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Spana, Just how hard do you cut down the parent plant?
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I'll go and take a photo of it so you can see, give me 5 minutes :)
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This is my one. Its been hacked back hard every year for yonks, i couldn't get in the greenhouse if i didn't ::) I put the pop bottle in so you can get an idea of the trunk size.
(http://i42.tinypic.com/2zspvvb.jpg)
All the shoots are possible plants. I would cut them off at the trunk and shorten the cutting to the right size.
This pic is right at the base and you can see even from really old wood new shoots come, i just rub these off.
(http://i41.tinypic.com/ayxdj.jpg)
Hope this helps you a bit :)
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See ::) - I told you you could cut it right down :lol:
(Link is working ok for me :unsure: )
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Its working for me now mum :) It got stuck half way before :wub:
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Thanks folks, this has been a real eye opener. It sounds silly but 'what to do with the yukka' has been worrying me as it been part of our home for such a long time. The kids (1 qualified lawyer and 1 accountant :ohmy:) cant remember a time before the yukka!!
Spana, how deep is your Morrison flower bucket? You seem to have such a sound technique I am going to follow it to the letter :D
I suppose that the only worry is what the house will look like in another 25 years!
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The yukka has been axed; long live the Yukkas!
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It looks a bit harsh - doesn't it :blink: but well done for being brave.
I've just rooted another sucker baby from mine :lol: Give a friend a yukka!
mmmm...Winter Solstice presents of yukka houseplants may be a good idea this year :lol:
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So now I have the axed parent plant and have potted on the 2 leafy growing points but I am left with feet of leafy trunk. If I cut this trunk into sections (they will be bits with no roots and no growing point) will they root as well?
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I doubt it, as they will have neither roots nor leaves for sustenance, but you never know with Yukka ::)
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Never stop experimenting :D 2 pots now have bits of trunk in them; I will let you know.
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Question; How much do I water the potted on cuttings?
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I keep mine on the dry side.
Have you got a home for all the babies. :lol:
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yes but they dont know yet!
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All mine are in for a really big shock, they're all going to be planted outside :D
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I am keeping the babies inside but the mother has gone outside for the first time in 25 years; she is now needing a bigger pot than can be reasonably fitted in the room. So far she has experienced June gales, June downpours and June fog!!!
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Do I get worried?
Firstly some of the leaves of the potted on cuttings are developing brown patches. Is this to be expected or are things going wrong?
Also the mother plant has as yet shown no signs of life.
I hope that I am not going to loose this old friend completely :(
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I wouldn't worry about the old one, anyway - it's like a tree, it can take ages to grow a new branch - but it will :)
Yes some of the leaves on the cuttings will whither and die off, as long as the middle leaves stay green, they'll be fine as well :)
The new cutting I took in spring has just grown some new leaves in the middle, so they take a while.....I had new roots out of the bottom of the pots before I got new top-growth.
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Thank you :D :D :D
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I've moved this into General Gardening - it's not a swap any more - is it :D
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I'm surprised no one simply leaves it out year round. I do, and my winters easily hit -25C every year. The yucca always comes back, as do those of my friends. It's supposedly a tropical but it really isn't. They are very hardy.
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So now I have the axed parent plant and have potted on the 2 leafy growing points but I am left with feet of leafy trunk. If I cut this trunk into sections (they will be bits with no roots and no growing point) will they root as well?
My friends in Australia planted sections of bare trunks and they grew and flourished but might be something to do with climate.