Divide Red Yucca After Five Years in the Ground

Q. We have multiple red yuccas in our front yard. For the first time they have started turning yellow in the last few weeks.  They are on a drip irrigation system and are watered twice daily for 5 minutes each time in the early morning and late evening. Any idea what the issue could be?

This is what  your red yucca could look like if it were divided every few years so that it produces more flower stalks.

A. They are watered too often. Red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) is native to the desert Southwest. They can be found growing naturally in the Chihuahuan desert of western Texas, New Mexico and in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.

Red Yucca is okay planted in rock mulch but should not be hedge pruned. Instead red yucca should be divided when flowers begin to grow from the edges. Your natural way of propagation (getting more plants and more flowers) is by digging it up in the spring or fall and separating the clumps it has formed. These clumps prevent flowering from its center.

            They don’t need water frequently but they could sure could use applications of water 12 to 18 inches deep when they do get it! Slow applications of water, deep, are ideal for drip irrigation. Applying water every three weeks or so will get them to grow larger. Applying water every eight weeks, but still deep, will sustain their size.

Producing flowers from this plant means dividing it.

            Watering frequently (once a week or less in the summer) causes desert plants to grow. They like water for growth...but not often....Irrigating them three weeks apart will get them to grow larger while watering them with the same amount of water, but less often than three weeks apart will make them keep their size. 

            Experiment with your soil. Soils are different in how they hold water. They can be watered slowly with a garden hose or connected to the irrigation system with an irrigation clock, but using the timer only when the plant needs water. The key is to experiment with you soil but do the experiments when it is cooler.