How to Propagate a Yucca Plant

Yucca plants are appreciated for the tropical look they give to a room. If you would like a second yucca plant or are concerned your plant my die, you might want to propagate it. Professional yucca plant growers propagate the plant by cutting up the large trunk of the plant. It's a long and difficult process, but fortunately there is one way amateurs can successfully propagate a yucca plant.

Wait for your yucca plant to produce an offshoot from its trunk that you want to remove. When you purchased your yucca, it probably had two of three offshoots, but removing one of those might detract from the look of the plant. If the plant does not appear to be near death, wait until a third or fourth offshoot is produced.

Remove the offshoot when it has leaves six inches in length or longer with shears or a sharp knife. For best results propagate in the spring, when the plant is most actively growing. However, propagation can be successful at other times of the year if necessary.

Dip the tip of the removed offshoot in rooting hormone powder to stimulate root growth and prevent rot. Place it in a 4-inch pot filled with regular potting mix with a little sand or perlite added to give it more aeration.

Water the potting mixture thoroughly at first and then keep it just barely moist afterward. The top of the potting mix must be dry to the touch before you give the cutting more water.

Place the cutting in bright light, but avoid direct sunlight. Direct sunlight can harm a weak new cutting.

Treat the yucca plant as a mature new plant when new growth begins. A yucca plant takes about two months to propagate. After four months, transplant into a larger pot of regular potting mix and resume fertilization.

Because you must wait for an offshoot to be produced to propagate a yucca plant, it may be a good idea to propagate as soon as you have a suitable offshoot. This way you can have a backup plant should you ever need it.