Save money - start expensive plants like yuccas from cuttings!

Yuccas are a fantastic way to add drama to the landscape! Their rigid leaves look great all year long and during the warmer months, you'll occasionally see a plume of blooms that pollinators love! Although yuccas conjure up thoughts of the desert (like the gorgeous Joshua trees at Joshua Tree National Park) there are many that don't mind a wetter climate and give off a more tropical apperance. 

Growing Subtropical Yuccas in Cold Climates

Yucca gigantea are one of my favorite summer plants. Unlike most yuccas, these grow quickly and that makes them cheap! They are only cold tolerant to about 20F before significant damage, but they do well in the garage during the wintertime here in New York City. Most of the time, you'll see yucca giganteas sold as neat and tidy yucca canes. If you let them grow, they'll eventually develop funky branches like this. 

If you want a very tall plant, get one with a single growing point, or start them from cuttings! These are about 10 years old.

A Little Bit About Cold Hardy Yuccas

Unfortunately the more cold tolerant yuccas tend to be slower growing and that makes them MUCH more expensive.  This Yucca "Thromping Around" (pictured below) cost about $30 and will take a few years before it makes an impact in the landscape. Meanwhile, Yucca Rostrata often starts at $200 for a 2 foot tall plant and I've seen 4 foot tall plants go for almost $1000. The price only goes up from there! 

The good news is there's a cheap way to bring yuccas to your landscape if you grow them from cuttings and select fast growing species. Yucca gloriosa 'tristis' (formerly Yucca recurvifola) is has a solid growth rate and easy to grow from cuttings! This is a trunking variety native to the southeastern United States. It's common in landscapes in the New York tri-state area because it produces a beautiful, tall trunk and the leaves are not as menacing as other species. 

How to take a Yucca Cutting

Saw off a piece of the yucca you want to propogate. Yucca recurvifolia is a generous brancher so you can take off a piece without losing much of the original plant. With other species like Yucca Rostrata, you can cut off the top of it in early spring to start cuttings, but I personally wouldn't even try. Not only will it take a long time to grow back, but the leaves are as sharp as knives and I don't want to have that falling anywhere! 

Once you have your yucca cutting trim off the bottom leaf bases like this. This is where new roots will develop! 

Let it dry off for a couple of days, and stick it in a small pot with some soil and keep it in partial shade. Ideally you'll want to start these cuttings in the spring in cooler climates. In my case I'm going to let this cutting enjoy the warm fall days we have here on Long Island, and bring it into the garage when temperatures drop below freezing. It'll go in the landscape during the spring!