How do I grow new offshoots from the yucca tree log?

Question

Right now the existing ones are growing too large, so how do I take care of that (cutting in half) while not stunting the current one?

Answer 1

I’m not really clear on the current appearance of your yucca, and what you’re trying to do to it. If by “log” you mean the cane (the stem or trunk from which the leaves grow), they root fairly easily, so if you cut one or two so that when the cut piece is inserted into the soil, (which can be either the original pot or a new one,) the leaves are at the height you want the plant, you should be good to go. In addition, the cane from which you’ve made the cut will probably send out new leaves just below the cut, so you’ll have those leaves too. When you say “stunting the current one,” if you mean affecting in some way the smaller cane (these plants usually have 2-4 canes per pot), you don’t need to worry about that. If this does not answer your question, I apologize. Maybe you can explain in a different way.

Answer 2

By cutting in half, I ment the stalks of leaves, not the trunk from which the leaves grow. I was wondering if I cut the leaf stalk in half would it stunt the growth. Right now the stalks I have are huge. I was also wondering how can I make more leaves grow from the trunk.

Answer 3

OK, that’s a little clearer. (See how it helps to know the correct words for things?) So now I’m visualizing a yucca (with one cane?) with long leaves that are taking up too much space, and you’d like to trim back the leaves so they’re not so long? And also you’d like to get some more leaves to grow from the cane.

Let me just give you a quick little rundown on yuccas, see if you find what you need.

Yucca is one of the “cane” type plants. Growers produce them by cutting canes – pole-shaped limbs about 3″ in diameter – from mother plants. The canes of various lengths are potted in groups of 3 or 4. If you have a plant with only 1 cane, probably the other canes died.

The canes root very quickly, and often send out leaf shoots even before they’ve rooted. The leaves don’t grow directly from the cane, but from a heavy stem or stalk, and the total arrangement of leaves and stalk is called a “head.”

You can trim or prune the leaves – cutting a leaf will not affect the rest of the plant. If you need to remove damage, or make the leaf smaller, just cut with scissors. But to keep the plant looking attractive, cut the leaves to a point at the end, shaping the end so it looks like the other leaves.

You can also cut across the stalk if it’s too long. These root easily – just pull off the leaves at the bottom and stick the end of the stalk into the soil. A new shoot will usually form where the head was cut, too. It takes a little while, maybe a couple of months.

Finally, as I said before, the cane can be cut – more like sawed – and it will produce some new shoots from the top where it was cut, as well as root the part that was cut off if you put the end into soil.

Hope this helps. Anything else, ask away.