Get the Yucca Out of My Yard

Question

I'm trying to get rid of some yucca plants that came with our home we purchased last year. As I was digging, I discovered HUGE tubers attached to these lovely guys, which made me think these spiky specimens might be tougher than I first thought. Any advice on how to get rid of them for good?

Nancy Hand · Answer

Keep digging until you get them all. It looks like your doing a great job!! :)

Small Talk Mama · Answer

Thanks, Nancy, but there are so many!!! If I don't get every last one, will they come back?

KMS Woodworks · Answer

Yucca are desert plants...those big fat tuber like roots are what gives them the ability to survive harsh conditions... your effort seems right on track. Your may have removed enough to keep them from coming back. Just in case they come backt...you now know how to do this.

Gena Olson · Answer

I dug some out 2 years ago, thought I did a thorough job, then found more little ones this year. Just keep digging them up as you see them!

Small Talk Mama · Answer

Thanks for the great information. I'll definitely try the vinegar and salt idea after I finish digging up as much as I can. Will that solution also work on tree roots?

Carolyn · Answer

If you want help getting rid of them list them on www.freecycle.org in your area.  I did that over the weekend and all my extra plants and such are gone and they did the digging.

Nancy Hand · Answer

Spraying vinegar will kill what ever you spray it on. I wouldn't use the salt tho! Salt will kill and keep killing until its gets washed out which might take sometime. Your doing a great job digging it up. :)

JoAnn Cline · Answer

Been there done that, I sympathize.

Mary Harcus · Answer

giving a yucca plant to someone is one way they will never forget you , the yucca comes back and they think of you good thoughts I an sure , love that plant

Douglas Hunt · Answer

They are tougher than you thought and they'll keep coming back from any amount of the tuber that is left. Eventually you'll win, but it will be a long process. If you want to intervene with an herbicide, you should use one containing the active ingredient Triclopyr, like Remedy. According to the University of Nebraska, Remedy, applied with diesel fuel or vegetable oil and sprayed directly into the center of the yucca, had an effective rate of 100 percent if applied during the growing season: http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/live/g2086/build/g2086.pdf

Small Talk Mama · Answer

thanks for all the great advice

Susie · Answer

Yuccas are fabulous plants but if you don't want them I would encourage you to dig as much as you can, pull out the new shoots as they appear (you will eventually win - just like with bamboo) and in spite of what Douglas suggests I hope you won't resort to pouring petroleum based products on the earth to poison it.

Donna Shipley · Answer

Thanks for this posting... I planted Yuccas in yard... raised most of them from seed. Now I will get much more aggressive about making sure they are in the RIGHT place!

Linda E · Answer

See if the local health food store has to say. I see the roots there all the time !

Stephen J. Usher · Answer

Geez, here I thought that I was the only person to have this problem. I have dug and dug till I thought I was near China, but the suckers keep coming back and back...... Now I am feel guilty for trying to 'kill' them.

Cathe Ashcraft · Answer

sorry, but I'll have to say the same thing, we had some in our yard and it took a few years before we got all the new shoots to keep popping up... Keep digging and chopping

Julie @ Wife, Mother, Gardener · Answer

Just do not eat it raw or leave it near where kids are playing! It is very poisonous raw: high levels of Prussic acid cause cyanide poisoning when ingested.

Small Talk Mama · Answer

Thankfully my yucca are incased with a concrete barrier but I really wanted something with a bit more color in that spot. Perhaps I'll plan something that might look good with yucca. . . Just in case I miss a few tubers. The bamboo comment was funny, because I said the same thing to my husband. But I guess that gives me hope, because my mom licked her bamboo problem a few years ago.

Claudia · Answer

We dug our yucca out, poured concrete over it for a new sidewalk and garage...the shoots popped up on the other side of the concrete.

Small Talk Mama · Answer

yikes! seriously??? I guess I still have lots of digging to do

Susette M · Answer

actually those tubers when young are very tasty if cooked like baked potato casserole with a breaded topping,,,,its kinda stringy tho,,,

Suzy McClary · Answer

Try the water, salt, vinegar mixture. I use equal amounts of each. Salt& vinegar both kill plants

Chris D · Answer

I was told by a landscape friend to take a paper cup fill it with concentrated round up use a brush and brush the leaves of the plants you want to kill being careful not to let any of it touch the soil. seems easier than digging to China.

Mikell Paulson · Answer

Must dig every little tuber out! Just one small piece will grow . I also have the darn things come back. This time I will dig and make sure they are all gone!

Penster47 · Answer

Hmmmm, and I have been trying to get one to grow!!!   Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Katherine Rusler-Davis · Answer

If you know someone who is in to making home made soaps or other remedies, give them the chance to get them out for you. They are great to use for soap and shampoo.

Mary Ellen G · Answer

Oh I wish I could get some of the yucca root! It makes the best shampoo!!

Small Talk Mama · Answer

shampoo? Who knew.

S · Answer

Beautiful grass!!! They are like weeds. Like your first commenter, I pulled them all up from the front yard, because they were so ugly! In our case they were receiving full sun and they grew in a shade of sickly, yellow green. Well they popped up under the pile of deconstruction debris on the other side of the wall. In other words they are growing about ten feet away in the backyard now! But this time they are green in a nearly perfect semi-circle, because they were under debris and a shade tree. Bizarre! So, I put our fountain in the middle of them and left it. They are staying green due to the shade and water. The species I have only blossoms once a year with a pretty orange flower.

Nathy Lavoie · Answer

Maybe this will help: http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/yucca/removing-yucca.htm

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