Yucca plant

[FONT=&quot]Hi, I was recently given a very deformed Yucca. It has two branches coming out of the same side and keeps falling over. The branches have lots of green growth but they're all over the place.

I'd like to keep it and make it more uniform. Can i prune the branches off? Will it sprout new branches? Will removing both branches be such a shock that it will kill the plant?

Alternatively can anyone offer some guidance to straighten the branches?

I was told that if I punctured the side of the trunk, that would most likely cause some shoots - can anyone confirm if this is true?

Please see the link below for a pictu

http://www.imagebucket.net/bucket/is...g=DSCF2731.JPG

Many thanks in advance for your help[/FONT]

 

If you cut the trunk clean taking off the two branches it will probably grow new shoots but have no guarantee that they will be any different,if you do this it could also shoot from the base and the trunk die off so it's a gamble.

 

Looks to me like its been grown in a position that only allows light from one side.

The stems should be shorter, stronger and growing upwards.

I think I would cut off both stems now, leaving just a short stub of an inch or so of the new stems that are coming from the main stem.
By cutting now you should get some new shoots before the winter starts coming on.
And hopefully, the new shoots will come from the softer material of the stubs left behind.

A lot depends on your growing conditions, as much light as possible with at least a few hours of sun each day is probably best.
And if you have to grow it with the light coming from one side,ie. in a window, make sure you turn the pot regularly.

 

Hi there,

thanks for your messages - I've only just gotten round to catching up with this. As it happens my colleague accidently broke one of the branches off close to the main trunk. We put the broken branch in a bucket of water, and that's been doing very well. The main trunk isn't doing too badly either.

I was told that if you puncture the side of the main trunk with a screwdriver, it'll spout a new branch. Anyone know if that's true?

Thanks for all your comments / suggestions!

Cheers, Tom.

 

I dont know about puncturing it with a screwdriver but one of my cats used a yucca planted in our garden as a scratching post for several years until he eventually went through one of the branches. The branch stump now has about 10 babies growing out of it.
I'd originally put the plant outside (supposed to be an indoor plant) as there wasn't the room for it when we moved. The plant lived in it's bucket until it split it with the help of a budleia cuttings that my daughter had planted in there. They now both grow together quite happily outside at the bottom of the garden. So I would assume that yucca plants are more hardy than we think.