Yucca Plant Blooms: How To Care For Yucca After Blooming

Yuccas are prehistoric spiky plants perfect for an arid area of the garden. Their unique shape is an excellent accent to the southwestern style or novelty garden. This amazing plant produces a flower when mature, once per season if you are lucky, but more likely every few years. The bloom lasts weeks but then gets ratty and dies. Cutting yucca flower stalks after they die is thought to spur further flowers. Should you remove spent yucca flowers? If you have questions on how to care for yucca after blooming, read on for a few answers.

Should You Remove Spent Yucca Flowers?

Yuccas produce a flower spire with many dangling panicles, which are individual flowers. Yuccas are members of the lily family with blooms of similar form but much different foliage. The plants form rosettes of spiky sword-like leaves from the center of which rises the flower spires. Once all the panicles are finished, yucca flower after care may include cutting out the stem if you wish or leave it on the plant for an interesting touch. So should you remove spent yucca flowers? This is a question where the answer depends upon to whom you pose the question. In reality, the plant will produce no more flowers that year, so it really doesn't matter. There is no evidence that cutting out the spent flower will encourage more blooms or enhance the rosette's growth. The only real reason to cut the flower is because you find its faded beauty bothersome, or to prevent seeds from forming and making little baby yuccas. This is possible in good conditions, where seeds may germinate in as little as three weeks. However, maturity takes many years and blooms even longer. It is more important how to care for yucca after blooming and what to do if any offsets appear.

Cutting Yucca Flower Stalks

If you choose to prune out the dead flower stalk, choose some hefty pruners with long handles. Make sure the blades are clean and sharp to avoid damaging the crown of the plant. Wear long sleeves and thick gloves or you may find yourself pricked by the biting tips of the foliage. Reach as far in as you can to the center of the rosette and cut out the stem. Cutting yucca flower stalks is as simple as that. Just remember the safety tips to prevent any injury.

Caring for Yuccas Following Blooms

Flowers are spent during the middle of summer when it is the hottest. Supplemental watering is an important part of yucca flower after care. Watch for aphids, mealybugs, or scale and deal with any insects as they come with an insecticidal soap spray. Remove any pups or offsets and pot them up to grow larger before turning them loose in the garden. Yuccas are tough plants that don't need any pampering, so caring for yuccas following blooms is worry free.