Should I Prune my Red Yucca?
Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parvifola) is a great native plant that blooms on stalks that can grow from 3 to 5 feet high or higher. After flowering, you have the choice of cutting back the bloom stalk in order to stimulate more blooms and create a tidier appearance, or you can leave the stalk to set fruit. The fruit contains seeds which can serve as food for birds or which can be used to start new plants.
As for maintenance pruning, the older leaves of the plant will eventually die and droop on the ground; these may be individually cut off for a neater appearance. You can prune off dead or damaged foliage at any time, although springtime is best. It is not recommended to prune or shear this plant in order to control its size and shape. Pruning may result in a ragged and unkempt look and may possibly damage the plant if done at the wrong time of year. Red Yuccas spread by growing offsets from the side and over time may form dense clumps that need to be thinned. To reduce the size of your plant, you can dig away the offshoots, called “pups,” and replant them or dig and divide the whole clump as you would for daylilies and other clump forming perennials.
What not to do to a Yucca
Healthy, unpruned Yuccas
For more information about caring for Red Yucca, see:
https://dallascountymastergardeners.org/red-yucca-hesperaloe-parviflora/
https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2022/05/26/red-yucca-is-latest-texas-superstar/
