Gardening can be fun and daunting at the same time. It keeps testing your bond with your green friends from time to time. Weeds in your lawn are one of those situations where you must apply the best of your gardening skills to eliminate them.
The same holds for Yucca plants. Yes, you might take the plant to be attractive and its white blossoms to be immensely charming. But at the end of the day, it is a black spot on your lawn.
It is because of the aggressively growing nature of Yucca plants. It ends up choking other desirable plants in your garden, fighting with them for space, sunlight, nutrients, and whatnot. Over that, it is very difficult to kill once it establishes itself on your lawn.
All these factors lead us to find effective ways to eliminate Yucca plants from your garden. But it is not an easy job and requires you to be patient and consistent in your efforts towards killing it. Hence, here we have listed some of the most effective ways to kill Yucca plants (with pictures) to help you out in the process.
How to Identify Yucca Plants?
Before we start to find effective ways to get rid of Yucca plants, you must first know what they look like. Yucca plants are considered ornamental plants for the garden due to their rich foliage and white flowers.
But you might confuse it with a family of desirable white flowering plants, leaving your lawn threatened. Hence, you must be able to differentiate them.
Yucca plants are a genus of perennial shrubs belonging to the Asparagaceae family. It has 40-50 notable species, all low-maintenance and drought-tolerant.
Yucca plants bear sword-shaped leaves and large white flowers in panicles, emerging on tall spikes. They usually take a short and shrubby structure in lawns and gardens.
Why are Yucca Plants Hard to Kill?
Yucca plants, no matter how charming, are tough to kill. There are many reasons supporting its tough and highly-tolerant nature. It is a drought-resistant and low-maintenance plant that can survive under extreme climatic conditions.
Besides, its resilience comes from its complex root system, which spreads far and beyond in no time. The extensive root system is rhizomatous, evolving even after cutting the plant. It is what makes the Yucca plants reappear time and again.
Moreover, Yucca plants show immensely rapid growth, giving up a tough time cutting it down multiple times. Hence, all these factors explain why Yucca plants are hard to kill.
Effective Ways to kill Yucca Plants
Yucca plants are not a one-shot deal. You cannot kill them once and get rid of them forever. There are high chances its roots will bear new plants, and you will find them blooming in your garden again. Hence, it would help if you outwitted its growth strategy by using eradication methods multiple times.
Two methods prove to be effective in getting rid of Yucca plants forever. You can dig the plant from the roots or spray it with herbicides. Suffocating the plant to death also works in many cases.
Hence, let us elaborate on the two ways of killing Yucca plants and see how you can use them to restore peace to your lawn.
1. Digging the Plant
Removing the Yucca plant by digging helps eradicate it effectively. To begin this process, remove any plants growing near it. The digging process may otherwise cause them harm.
To dig the Yucca plants, you need to gather items, such as a saw or a small axe, pruning shears, shovels, and protective equipment, such as gloves and clothing.
Here are the steps you need to follow to dig Yucca plants out.
Cut Down to Stump
The first step involves cutting Yucca plants down to their stump. You can remove the plant’s shoots, branches, and stems, leaving behind the main stump.
When you are left with the stump only, you can estimate the hole size you need to dig, depending on how extensive the root system is. Once you reach the stump level, you can cut it off using an axe or saw.
Dig a Hole
Next, you need to dig a hole around the stump of the Yucca plant. The hole must be at least 3 feet around the stump so that you can ensure the whole root system comes within the area.
It would help if you marked the area to be dug with a circle to make the process of digging easier and more reliable.
Dig Deeper Into the Hole
Now you need to dig 3 to 4 feet deeper in the area marked for digging around the stump. You can use a shovel to do so. Digging a deeper hole makes it easy to remove the root system.
You must go on removing any roots or plant parts you encounter while digging if it is long enough. It would help if you dug deeper for short ones to pull them out quickly.
Apply Stump killer
After removing the roots, you must check for any other roots in the soil and pull them out. Now you can apply a stump killer to the soil to kill any roots that might remain behind.
Let it Dry
Now you must leave the hole open for 2 to 3 weeks. It is necessary to dry the soil and dry out any roots due to long exposure to the sun. It kills the roots hidden deep into the soil and gives you Yucca-free soil.
Check for New Growth
Once you dig out the plant, you cannot just sit back. It will only allow the Yucca plants to emerge from their roots within one month. Hence, it would help if you kept inspecting the area for new growth of shoots after filling the hole. If you find any new growth, you must immediately pull it off the ground.
2. Apply Herbicides
Herbicide application may be your last option for killing Yucca plants. It works most of the time and prevents any further growth of Yucca plants in your lawn. However, applying the right herbicide mix is the key to getting rid of Yucca.
Non-selective herbicides targeting the root system of Yucca plants are considered preferable over traditional weed killers. To apply herbicides, you need to gather the items you used for digging in addition to an effective herbicide mix.
Here are the steps you need to follow for herbicide application on Yucca plants.
Choose the Right Time
Herbicide application works best when you do it at the right time of the year. Hence, you must first choose the perfect day for herbicide application. Applying herbicides during spring, early summer, or fall is preferable. It is because herbicides work best during cool temperature ranges.
Cut Down to Stump
Herbicides work best when you apply them closest to the root system. It is possible only when you cut down the plant to the stump level. The best time to cut the plant is during summer or spring when it is still growing.
You can use shears to remove all the branches, shoots, and stems and leave behind only the stump.
Prepare the Herbicide Mix
Once you are done with the cutting, it is time to prepare the herbicide. It is the most crucial step of the process. To prepare the herbicide, you must pour the herbicide first into a container, followed by vegetable oil or diesel fuel.
Usually, 19 ounces of herbicide with 128 ounces of vegetable oil or fuel works best. You can then vigorously stir the mixture for 15 seconds and pour it into a sprayer using a funnel.
You must wear protective clothing while handling the herbicide and the right equipment to transfer and spray it.
Spray the Mix on the Stump
Now it is time to spray the herbicide on it. But before spraying, you must ensure the stump is dry and there is no rainfall. You must wait for the stump to dry if it is not.
It is necessary to shake the mixture before applying it to the stump. It is enough to spray the stump for 2 seconds only. But it would help if you aimed correctly on the stump and not harm other plants in the vicinity of it.
Check for New Growth
After applying the herbicide, you must keep checking the area for new growth, as it might reappear. You must pull out any new shoots appearing immediately and spray the area with the herbicide mixture again. It might take around two months before you stop finding any new shoots of the Yucca plant.
Hence, in this way, you can use the two methods to remove Yucca plants from your yard permanently.
Also Read:- 13 Different Types of Yucca Plant With Picture
Recommendations
Yucca plants are a tough job to handle. Instead of using the most effective ways, you can see new plants reappearing from roots left behind. Hence, to ensure you do not repeat the whole process repeatedly, you must kill the Yucca sprouts immediately.
Yucca sprouts are easier to kill as, unlike mature plants, they are soft. You must check for new growth in the area dug or sprayed with herbicide. You can dig out the sprouts or spray them with the herbicide mix.
Attending the treated area weekly or monthly with patience and consistency will help you free your lawn of Yucca plants forever.
FAQ’s
Early summer, spring, or fall is the right time for herbicide application due to cool temperature ranges.
Sword-like leaves and white blossoms make Yucca plants different from other flowering plants.
Yes, Epsom salt is effective against Yucca plants. You can apply it by digging holes into the stump.
Non-selective herbicides targeting extensive root systems are effective against Yucca plants.
You must mix the herbicide and vegetable oil or fuel in the right amounts. You must ensure to pour the herbicide before the oil or fuel.
Conclusion
Yucca is an ornamental plant found in many gardens and lawns. But it stands as an invasive species and grows aggressively. Though charming it looks, it can choke out other plants in your lawn and spread rapidly, thus making it necessary to kill. While there are many ways to get rid of yucca plants, digging and spraying with herbicides works most effectively. But you must use the correct technique to implement these methods and get a serene lawn free of Yucca.