Transplanting Yucca

We live on several acres.. Several of which were used for the horses we used to have. Hubby cuts it with the "Bush Hog" about twice a year. Last week we were talking about Yucca and he told me he thought he had run over some last time he cut out there..

-- Yesterday I went out there to investigate. I found between 17-20 of them scattered all over out there.. All ground level, which would be expected since he must have been chopping them down. Some of them look more mature than others, one of them was about 2 foot across the leaf span.

I want to know if I can transplant them.. Will they live? Someone told me they don't like to be transplanted, but if I can make it happen I have big plans for them.

I transplanted a bunch of them with good success. The bigger ones have a major root and it will probably break off, but it will also still probably live...

I had one that looked like it died after I transplanted it, but it came back out with new shoots shortly after.

As with any native, I would get as much of the root / surrounding dirt/ as possible and go for it!

Thanks JulieQ...

You give me hope!

I have moved one poor yucca three times now, and think it is finally in the right place....grin They grumble a bit, but still manage to hang around....grin. Go for your big plan and send pictures....grin

Thanks Moon (JeanGirl).... ; )

I was amazed when I went out there and found so many. There are people on the street that connects to ours that have a few at the entry way of their drive. I guess the seeds flew the mile or so to my fields, landed and rooted just for me!!!!

Yea! Sky gifts....grin Too welcome Daisy....

The only problem I have ever had with yuccas is trying to kill them. A piece of root an inch long will sprout.

Thanks Jim,

That is what I need to hear... bc I was concerned I might kill them.

I've dug up and burned a patch. Plowed it up and raked the roots. Sprayed round up on all the sprouts all summer.

This man was serious about that Yucca not coming back....grin

I think Yucca is like Johnson Grass, the only way to get rid of it is to move off and leave it.

I still like it. haha

Boy Howdy on the Johnson Grass...If I ever get the opportunity to meet Johnson, I will kick him in the shins....grin

I bet what you guys are calling Johnson Grass is what people here call Jap Grass.. anybody got a picture of that stuff?

I transplanted my Burgandy Spire Dracaena, but the rain came and I have not been able to move any of the yucca. I probably should wait til next weekend when hubby can help.. He is at work today and tomorrow so they can be off next week for a four day weekend.

Johnson Grass will get head high and reproduces from rizones as well as seed. Virtually impossible to get rid of.

My Uncle Ray worked for years on Mississippi Experiment Station. He was test plot foreman. Johnson Grass got it's start there. It was imported to test for a possible hay grass. It is a good hay but was so invasive they dropped the experiments. It is now spread all over the south.

It won't hurt the yuccas to wait at all Daisy. The Cordyline will be thrilled with the rain to help it settle in.

daisy- I threw away what I thought was a dead yucca several years ago-over our back fence in the woods--guess what..
I saw it yesterday after two years and its growing out in the woods!! It wasn't even planted..
Think I'll hop the fence and get it back........die-hard!!!
the only thing I've found that they don't like is a lot of water on the leaves--they get fungus pretty easy, around here anyway, because their native to the southwest and like it dry

You just need to make sure they have good drainage and good air circulation to avoid problems. I will try to remember to take a picture of the one growing out front. My neighbor dug it up 3 or 4 years ago and it sat on a tarp on their carport for two or three weeks before she drug it over here to see if I wanted it.....took me a couple weeks to figure out where to put it so it did not "aggravate"" DH....grin

You all are giving me hope on this project. I have a few places that I would like to put the yucca.. I like the way they look when I see them at the end of someones driveway. I'm thinking on that.. and I'm going to put a few on the west end of the house where I put the Cordyline. Our property is on a slope, so we never have standing water. It all drains toward the creek at the bottom of the hill which is about 3/4 of a mile away. So drainage is not a prob. My hubby tells people that if it floods at our house, we will be looking for Noah to show up with his Ark! lol. Air circulation is good too, nothing crowded on this piece of property. Its all pretty wide open.

I can't thank you all enough for talking me through this.. I am pretty new at all this gardening stuff, but I'm loving it. Its makes me tired and relaxes me all at the same time.. : ) When I'm stressed, I go did in the dirt.

daisy- yeah, but its a good kind of tired
makes you sleep better

This is the real hook, "Boy does that flower in your yard look great." That's what got me. The bulk plant under Fereral Guidelines had to dig up the old underground gas tank by my old country store. Gee, here was this big circle of dirt with nothing growing on it so I bought a couple of flats of periwinkles and planted it down. Not know squat about flowers, I accidently bought the only flower in the world that will always grow and bloom despite what you do to it. People bragged about that pretty flower bed, my head swole up, and I've been digging and planting ever since. Now my yard is just strips of green to separate the beds.

Enjoy, it is a great hobby and great therpy.

We transplanted some of the Yucca today.. Hubby dug them up. It wasn't really that difficult, mostly just getting under it and breaking the tap root. Some of them had very large tap roots. There are a few still on the back of the truck.. I covered them with a nice warm blanket. I hope they will be okay until morning... I probably shouldn't worry, from you I've been told by some of you.. I may go out and find them rooted in the bed of the truck.. : )

I've found that even a little piece of root will grow. The difficult part is not getting them to grow, but getting all the roots out where one doesn't want them to grow.

Okay, they are all in the ground where I want them. I mulched around them, using fallen leaves, and some old dead grass from hubby bush hogging the field. Just trying to keep the roots protected and make the bed look nice.

They look good right now, but should I expect them to look dead and then perk up or are they likely to just keep on keeping on?

Most likely will show little or no effects from being moved. Make sure you water them in well and then a drink as needed and all should be fine. Congratulations on a successful transplant....grin

Thanks Moon

Update: I transplanted a few yucca plants this past November (as you can see above). We had a VERY unusual cold snap for our area. It stayed below 20 F for nearly 2 weeks... All the newly transpanted Yuccas looks like they were dead. All the foliage was damaged and just lying on the ground.. I have been watching them for a few weeks now.. They have all come back from the root. They are coming up through the center of the old foliage and they each have also sprouted anywhere from 1 -3 babies.... The largest one even has a bloom rising from the center.... almost makes me want to name it Phoenix. : )

Awesome! I love the "Phoenix" idea....do you have any pictures?

Not yet..but I will take some when the bloom opens. : )

I think there is a reason for their name. I have tons here so you go ahead and rip yours up, see if you can kill em and if you cant, I will send you babies, adults seeds, your wish is my command. I find them to be invasive. Oh please do be careful because the leaves will slice you up a bit and are poisonous (only to irritation) to people and animals.

I've been trying for 10 years to kill those things and cut down a bunch of babies yesterday.

Yuccas grow down in the woods and a few of them sprouted in a couple of places in the yard. I just hate thinking about what they might do to the dogs. My husband loves them. I sprayed weed killer on them. Not even a brown spot. After reading this forum, I know my husband is going to get his way. But I'm digging them up and putting them on the carport for him to transport out of the line of paws. If I had a garbage disposal, I'd grind them up, roots and all. Knowing him, he will just take them to the dump instead of transplanting them. That suits me just fine. I hate them.

Well mine are doing well in their new home. They have babies and one has a huge bloom.

I really like them..

Awesome!
A couple of mine bloomed right after I transplanted them and then they skipped a year. Another old one "split" last summer and sent up two "heads" and it didn't bloom this year. I am not sure why some do that, but I have some blooming somewhere every year. Just a surprise to see what they will do. haha
I like them, but I love my natives and I've got plenty of room for them.