Question
I have these HORRIBLE plants along the side of my home.  My neighbor said they were "yuckas" or "yukas", whatever they are, I would like to get rid of them.  They are about 2-3 ft. high and they seem to have multiplied since I moved here 4 years ago.  They get a thick stem in the middle with small white flowers toward the end of summer.  I have trimmed them back as best I could twice, but that seems to have made them bigger!  I would like to pull them out ( I'd need a forklift I thing!! ) but there is an underground lighting system there and I'd be afraid to mess with the wiring, etc.  Is there a way to poison these plants?  What are my alternatives?  Thank you so much! Diane

Answer
spray the foliage w/RoundUp. it may take 2-3 applications for it to work. they are yuccas. probably yucca filamentosa if you are in the northeast/mid Atlantic area. regular tropicl yuccas if you are in a tropical climate (FL,etc.). they can also be dug out quite easily (shallow root system). they will get tall 6' plus white flower stalks in late spring if they are yucca filamentosa. pull the wiring up before digging. it should be just below the surface. bury it again after pulling the plants out. after digging out spray w/roundup if the foliage appears again. actually i like them as an evergreen plant in the mid-Atlantic states. they do have do be controled by digging out & discarding the offshoots that develop on it's sides.
good luck
rick