Now it is very fashionable to decorate the interiors of houses with green spaces. Preference is given to plants that do not discard foliage and are constantly pleasing with their beauty. One of these colors is yucca. This is a southern flower, according to external data resembling a palm tree. On average, the height of this exotic plant can reach two meters. Yucca fits perfectly into any interior, especially if the house has enough space to accommodate it. Tropical greenery attracts the attention of guests and has a calming effect on the owners. The main requirement for appearance is the need to periodically adjust the shape of the plant, shortening or removing protruding laterally, processes.
What is pruning for?
Cropping a yucca at home allows you to give it a shape that matches the style of the house. Initially, a young plant is planted in a regular flower pot, but as it develops, it begins to feel a lack of space, as a result the trunk is extended in length and the amount of greenery is reduced.
Forever Green Yucca
There is a need to stimulate the branching process. To do this, the top is cut off, and after a while the crown becomes much more magnificent and more beautiful.
Important! Like most tropical plants, yucca grows rapidly. A small amount of soil cannot provide the root system with sufficient moisture and nutrients. If the stem is shortened, the problem will be solved.
If the plant is sick, you can save it using treatment with protective compounds. In addition, the resulting cuttings are used for growing new flowers.
Cropping helps to correct the shape of the yucca in which the trunk has curved. Indeed, under the weight of the branches it can simply break, or the pot will not be able to stand, but will fall to the side.
A street flower is often affected by pests or fungal spores. To save, chemical treatment is carried out. At the same time, cut branches are burned to avoid spreading over the site.
Cutting time and tool preparation
Experts advise trimming after the yucca trunk has reached at least half a meter height and will be about five centimeters in diameter. This is important, because after shortening, the trunk stops growing. A dense stump will not only look more interesting, but will also easily hold branches and lush foliage on them.
By time, cropping of the yucca should be planned for the end of winter or the first decade of March. The period is good because the plant is still at rest. When the internal movement of juices begins, the rapid growth of young shoots is ensured. If the process falls on April or other months of spring, then the flower does not survive stress and all the forces go to vegetation.
Winter is a time of deep rest. No complicated procedures are carried out. In order for yucca to gain strength for rapid growth in the spring, they put it in a cool place and reduce the amount of watering. A couple of days before cropping a yucca, watering is carried out, which will help withstand stress.
Cropping Yucca
For work, special equipment and other necessary tools are being prepared, including:
- garden knife or small secateurs;
- alcohol for processing sections;
- garden var or paraffin;
- drugs that increase the plant's immunity during stress (Epin, Agricola and others);
- activated carbon tablets;
- a pot of earth and a drainage layer to root the cutaway shoot.
Note! All tools should be sharpened and treated immediately with an alcohol solution. This will protect the plant from rot and will clearly separate the desired part of the branch from the trunk.
General Yucca Trimming Rules
Proper cropping of a yucca at home should be carried out in accordance with the rules developed by specialists. This will preserve the color health and ensure that the branching will be magnificent.
After preliminary watering and disinfection of tools, do the cuttings. Step-by-step instruction:
- Designate a place to cut. It should be 11-15 cm above the lower deciduous tier.
- For convenience, the leaves are collected in the left hand. The cut is done in one precise motion, so that it is perfectly smooth and free from damage.
- All sections are processed with molten paraffin or garden var.
- If a plant had a problem of softening (decay) of the trunk in the winter, then most likely it will not be possible to save it completely. The only way out is to get healthy seedlings for growing a new flower. Usually these are the tops of palm trees. Each stalk should be about 25 centimeters long.
- If there are no special tools at hand, the slices are sprinkled with chopped activated carbon and allowed to dry for a couple of hours.
Additional Information! If the plant has several trunks, it is not recommended to shorten them at the same time. It is important to enable the plant to recover and heal the wounds.
The development of new shoots
After the procedure, the yucca is placed on the windowsill, where there is no direct sunlight. Watering is carried out once a week for the next two months. For this, the cut will give a side shoot and possibly not one. This is an ideal way to trim a yucca at home and still get material for growing new plants.
Pruning to rejuvenate the plant
If the yucca field of several years of development is too extended, or its trunk has been damaged, it becomes necessary to restore it. One way to rejuvenate yucca is to completely remove all foliage from the plant. Proper care of the flower will allow him to restore lost beauty within a few years. Within a month, new leaves will appear on the branches.
Sanitary pruning
The appearance of a large number of dry branches and yellow leaves requires the gardener to carry out special procedures, the purpose of which is to improve the plant. To do this, all damaged branches are completely cut off. Work requires accuracy so as not to damage the trunk of the plant.
With severe thickening, the lower tier of the leaves is cut off. The flowering of yucca is accompanied by the release of a powerful peduncle, which towering above the foliage opens up many small inflorescences. They can be white, green or beige. When the process is completed, it must be carefully cut.
Crown and general formation
To get a beautiful flower, the spreading crown of which is able to decorate any house, they use the healthiest of cut tops for rooting. This increases the likelihood of obtaining a plant with a lush crown and a powerful stem that can hold them.
Important! If the plant has several trunks, then you need to cut them at different heights so that the shoots do not interfere with each other and the crown is uniform.
The street flower grown in large capacity does not need pruning for a long time. But when the trunk becomes thick enough, it is tied to a support.
Create fancy shapes
The formation of yucca is carried out as the young shoots grow. This is essentially an annual process. If desired, give the plant any shape that is suitable for the interior of an apartment or house.
You can create a non-standard bend of the trunk before it completely stiffens. If it is necessary to pull it strongly in length, the container is placed in a dark place and the palm will begin to grow rapidly, trying to get more light. This will give the trunk an interesting position.
Post Trim Activities
After pruning, the plant needs to provide comfortable conditions and peace. At this time, direct sunlight is contraindicated. The first watering is carried out only after a week, with warm, settled water. Young shoots of the bush can be expected in four days. With a trunk diameter of more than five centimeters, almost all branches are cut from it, leaving two or three shoots from different sides.
On a note! A spreading crown on a plant can be obtained from three to five bunches of new leaves.
After the pruning procedure, the yucca needs care, allowing it to quickly move away from the shock and begin to grow:
- watering once a month;
- location in a well-lit place.
Interior decoration
For the first feeding, it is better to choose June. At this time, young shoots are actively developing. Complex fertilizer is applied once a month until the end of summer. Feeding is stopped when autumn comes and preparation for the rest period begins.
Lushly blooming yucca will decorate any home. But sometimes there is a need to rejuvenate the plant or get shoots for new cultivation. Early spring is more suitable for this.
