Removing a Yucca Plant From Your Yard

Yucca plants are hardy, deep-rooted perennials that last for many years in the landscape with little to no maintenance. These features, which were attributes when the yuccas were planted, make them a real nuisance to remove from your yard. Simply cutting the foliage back is ineffective, as this stimulates the development of new shoots and may actually improve the vigor of the plant. A combination of methods is required to completely get rid of yucca. Be prepared to go to battle more than once, as repeated attempts at extermination are often necessary.

Thick clothing
Long protective gloves
Safety goggles
Pruning shears
Spade
Glyphosate herbicide
Container
Paint brush

Instructions

- 1
  Put on thick clothing and long, protective gloves. Also put on a pair of safety glasses to protect your eyes from the sharp blades of the yucca plant.
- 2
  Trim yucca bloom stalks off to ground level, before seeds develop, because they spread readily by seed.
- 3
  Cut the yucca blades off as close to soil level as possible. Begin trimming on the outside of the plant and work your way inward.
- 4
  Dig and remove as much of the yucca's root system as you can using a sharp spade.
- 5
  Prepare a glyphosate herbicide solution according to package directions, and pour it into a container.
- 6
  Snip the tops of the remaining roots off and use a paint brush to apply glyphosate to the wounds immediately. Prompt application is necessary because yucca roots form a protective coating soon after injury, which inhibits the absorption of the herbicide. Apply the herbicide in springtime, while the plants are still forming new growth.
- 7
  Continue to clip off any yucca shoots that develop. Re-treat with glyphosate if growth continues after the first application.

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