How to Prune a Yucca After It Flowers

Yuccas benefit from pruning after the blooming period.

Yuccas bloom impressively in the summer, sending up 5- to 15-foot-tall stalks loaded with creamy white, bell-shaped flowers. The stalks create a dramatic centerpiece for xeric, or low-water, gardens, but as the flowers fade and the stalks become bare, yuccas often take on an untidy appearance. Pruning yuccas after they bloom is the simplest way of quickly improving their appearance, but precautions must be taken when pruning yuccas to protect skin and eyes from the spiny tips of the foliage.

Things You'll Need

• Gloves
• Goggles
• Anvil pruners

Instructions

1. Put on gloves and goggles before working with yucca plants to avoid injuring your skin or eyes on the spine-tipped leaves. Wear heavy clothing such as blue jeans or twill work pants, and a long-sleeved shirt.

2. Place the nozzle of a garden hose under the bottom set of leaves against the base of the plant. Trickle water around the yucca for 10 to 15 minutes to hydrate it before you prune.

3. Grasp the spent flowering stalk of the yucca firmly with one hand. Reach down into the center of the foliage to find where the flowering stalk emerges from the trunk. Using a pair of sharp anvil shears, sever the flowering stalk as close to the base as possible.

4. Inspect the yucca for dead, damaged, or defective leaves. Spread the foliage apart to find the base of the leaf. Using the anvil shears, sever the leaf close to the base. Avoid cutting the healthy leaves, since that will open the yucca to infection and disease.

5. Discard the pruned flowering stalk and leaves in a green-waste bin or compost pile.

Tips & Warnings

• Impale wine corks on the tips of the spiny yucca foliage to further protect yourself from injury.