Question
Hi, I have a beautiful yukka, that at 9ft tall has outgrown my house, I have read many articles now about people in the UK who have planted them outside and they have survived but I am wary of this.

The bottom line is, I don't want my yukka to die, so is pruning a better option - if so, how do I do this?

Answer
Jane,

Yes, pruning is the best option and this is the best time of year to prune it. Is this plant a single stalk or does it have arms? In any case you start by pruning the top 24 inches off just above a leaf with sharp pruning saw. Remove the lower leaves on the piece you cut off and apply rooting hormone to the cut. Insert it in a fresh pot of cactus soil in a 10 inch pot and treat it like the parent. If you want the parent shorter you can cut off another 24 inch section off just above a leaf and treat it the same as the first. The parent plant can be moved to a larger pot and the cuttings can then be inserted in the pot beside the parent plant if you would prefer. Cutting off 2 24 inch sections would leave you a 5 foot tall yucca. Or you can make the 2 cuttings 36 inches then the parent keft wiykd be 36 inches or any variation you would prefer. If you have more questions feel free to write again. Good luck.

Darlene