hi sheilar,WOW what a big yucca you have,well my suggestion would depend on how precious the yucca is to you,if it were mine i would cut it right back to the base,repot and see if it shoots up again from the base,but only if you don`t mind if it dosen`t make it (trial and error i guess)are you brave enough sheilar!!!

This is the dilemma Sue - do I mind if it snuffs it? It's at least 12 years old and is almost to the top landing ceiling. It is standing on a little stool so I've got a bit more time. The thing is, it's grafted onto another thick stem, which originally had another little yucca growing out (which died off). When you say you would cut it back to the base, do you mean back to the grafted stem thing? I'm putting off doing it as it's in lovely condition and I put coloured fairy lights on it at Christmas!!!

I don't think that's a graft at the bottom, I reckon that's where the main stem produced the bud that grew into the tree you have now. If it were mine I'd cut it off, perhaps above the previous growth point and let it shoot again.

Beattie, do you mean cut it off where it joins the 'graft' bit. Where are it's roots? Sorry to sound thick, but I've no idea what I'm doing here!!!

Its roots are in the pot! If it were mine I'd cut it off a bit above butterfly's antennae and let it regrow a new trunk. You could throw the long, l o n g stem away, but I reckon it's worth seeing if you can get it to root too. You could try popping the top bit with leaves on in water to see if it will produce some roots. And you could try cutting the stem in between into 8"- 10" or so lengths, putting them half in, half out of damp compost in pots and see if they'll root as well. If they do all your friends, family and neighbours will be getting yuccas for Christmas.

That sounds easy but it's about 8' tall!! I think I might just leave it for now (chicken!!!)

hi sheilar, i would cut it below that stumpy thing and take my chances and see if shoots from the bottom,i did a similar thing with my rubber plant and it survived...

I did it with a much smaller Yucca and was successful. My husband's aunt had died and her yucca was going in the bin. The leaf bit on it was only about 3" high and was all soggy (it was standing in a pot brimming with water) I rescued it, cut the green leaves off the side of the trunk, let it dry out then stuck it in a pot of compost. Three years on, and it's very happily growing on my diningroom windowsill. But my big yucca is really big and the leaves are really, really sharp.

I do understand what you mean with regards to the leaves as i have one in the garden and many times it has pricked my hands/fingers with its sharp leaves (stingy little thing) well, good luck sheilar with what ever you decide do with it...

I would cut it off about a foot above where it branches off from the main stem in the pot, and as long as it has good light and a little food, it should resprout. If you transplant it into a slightly larger pot, you might even get several sprouts!

Looks like you've got your christmas tree for this year 'lol' ;-)

Thanks gang for all the replies. I think I'll leave it for now!!!