Advice needed on Yucca Elephantipes

[RunsWivScissors]

I have a large Yucca growing outdoors, but probably due to the weight & the weird angle of the trunk, it lost a few scales from the bark a couple of years ago which has now developed into a hole in the trunk. It still looks healthy, but a new shoot has appeared below the hole & I am worried that it is doing some self preservation & that the top is going to die. Is there anything that I can do to help it? Should I fill/cover the hole & if so, with what?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Pictures showing the hole & the healthy looking top of the plant.

[Silas_Sancona]

7 hours ago, RunsWivScissors said:

I have a large Yucca growing outdoors, but probably due to the weight & the weird angle of the trunk, it lost a few scales from the bark a couple of years ago which has now developed into a hole in the trunk. It still looks healthy, but a new shoot has appeared below the hole & I am worried that it is doing some self preservation & that the top is going to die. Is there anything that I can do to help it? Should I fill/cover the hole & if so, with what?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Pictures showing the hole & the healthy looking top of the plant.

Using the shot of the trunk, If you look closely at the trunk, you can see it is already starting to heal over the damaged portion ( Between the light Blue and Green Lines )




Would carefully peel off the loose, damaged bark ( inside the dashed yellow line ) so that moisture can't collect under it, and the new bark can continue to fill in the damaged area.. ..  Will not hurt the trunk at all. These are extremely tough / resilient..

Back in CA, some people would chop the tops off of these on a bi / tri- yearly basis ( Don't ask me why this was done, lol.. ). Would grow back almost immediately.
 
Some that were chopped all the way to the ground, even specimens where the base of the trunk was 3ft +/ 1+ meter in diameter,  would re sprout w/ out issue within a few months..  

Tough buggers..

[Axel Amsterdam]

I agree, the top is not going to die, not even if it loses half the width of it’s trunk. I personally have not seen elephantipes collapse from weak spots in the trunk, unlike some aloifolia or filifera in the UK. 

Nice to a picture of your garden in London, it seems there is another elephantipes next to the callistemon. Do you have some other pics to share? 

[Silas_Sancona]

16 minutes ago, Axel Amsterdam said:

I agree, the top is not going to die, not even if it loses half the width of it’s trunk. I personally have not seen elephantipes collapse from weak spots in the trunk, unlike some aloifolia or filifera in the UK. 

Nice to a picture of your garden in London, it seems there is another elephantipes next to the callistemon. Do you have some other pics to share? 

 

16 minutes ago, Axel Amsterdam said:

... not even if it loses half the width of it’s trunk.

 

Wound won't even effect the eventual size of the trunk.. Will heal over and continue getting fatter ..Much fatter..

[RunsWivScissors]

14 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Using the shot of the trunk, If you look closely at the trunk, you can see it is already starting to heal over the damaged portion ( Between the light Blue and Green Lines )




Would carefully peel off the loose, damaged bark ( inside the dashed yellow line ) so that moisture can't collect under it, and the new bark can continue to fill in the damaged area.. ..  Will not hurt the trunk at all. These are extremely tough / resilient..

Back in CA, some people would chop the tops off of these on a bi / tri- yearly basis ( Don't ask me why this was done, lol.. ). Would grow back almost immediately.
 
Some that were chopped all the way to the ground, even specimens where the base of the trunk was 3ft +/ 1+ meter in diameter,  would re sprout w/ out issue within a few months..  

Tough buggers..

Thank you SO much for your reassurance!

The darkest patch, where you can see the bark is caving in a bit, is actually quite a deep hole & a bit spongey & I have seen some woodlice popping in & out of there, but I wasn`t sure if they were in there because there is rotten wood for them to eat or if they were actually causing more damage, which is why I considered covering it, but your suggestion of exposing it more to allow it to heal makes much more sense, so I will try that. I do have a palm that had a traumatic experience & managed to heal, which is why I had been leaving this one alone, but when I saw that new shoot I did panic that I was going to have to rename this one Stumpy lol

[RunsWivScissors]

14 hours ago, Axel Amsterdam said:

I agree, the top is not going to die, not even if it loses half the width of it’s trunk. I personally have not seen elephantipes collapse from weak spots in the trunk, unlike some aloifolia or filifera in the UK. 

Nice to a picture of your garden in London, it seems there is another elephantipes next to the callistemon. Do you have some other pics to share? 

Thank you I really appreciate your feedback, as I am pretty sure that the hole isn`t half way through yet, there is hope, yay!

The rest of the Elephant herd is behind that one and lower than the picture, which is at a weird angle to see up to the top of that one so they are not visible there. The thing you can see on the left edge is a Cornish Palm Cordyline australis. I am away from home until next Tuesday, but I will post a pic of that & the rest of the Yucca family when I get back - Though I am not sure how I will be able to take a photo of that one, as I can`t get far enough back from it, but I will give it a go.

[RunsWivScissors]

14 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

 

Wound won't even effect the eventual size of the trunk.. Will heal over and continue getting fatter ..Much fatter..

Thank you for your reply, my first reaction was "uh oh!" as its already a bit squished against a low wall and it is a really funky shape, as it started life in a chimney pot which it pretty much burst out of, which was when it was moved to the garden. Do you know if they straighten up as they get fatter? I wouldn't expect it to ever get totally straight, but as I think its top heavy weight and weird angle caused this problem initially, it would be nice to know if it will eventually get a bit more stable - I have got a cable holding the top now to try to take some pressure off the scar, so that it didn`t just snap at the weak spot.

[Axel Amsterdam]

It’s not the same problem but this is my elephantipes of around 2 meters. It lost the central growing point in winter, something that won’t happen in large parts of London, and is regrowing multiple new heads. 

[Silas_Sancona]

6 hours ago, RunsWivScissors said:

Thank you SO much for your reassurance!

The darkest patch, where you can see the bark is caving in a bit, is actually quite a deep hole & a bit spongey & I have seen some woodlice popping in & out of there, but I wasn`t sure if they were in there because there is rotten wood for them to eat or if they were actually causing more damage, which is why I considered covering it, but your suggestion of exposing it more to allow it to heal makes much more sense, so I will try that. I do have a palm that had a traumatic experience & managed to heal, which is why I had been leaving this one alone, but when I saw that new shoot I did panic that I was going to have to rename this one Stumpy lol

  No worries..

Wood Lice ( Sow/ Pill Bugs, ...as we call them here ) are part of the " Decomposers crew " so no surprise they're investigating things, and fulfilling their role at eating any dead organic material. Can't think of a situation where i've seen them eating live tissue, so that should be fine..

That's the one thing many people don't realize about Yucca ..and other " Wood Lily " -types of plants.. While it is pretty tough, the interior of them does consist of a spongy- er material that will decay - faster  than woody material-  when damaged. That said, as long as the outer " Cambium- esque " layer is healing itself over, minor holes like that will too.. When the outer layer fills in the gap, there will still be a hollow spot in the trunk, but it will seal itself off. Unless the damage is very extensive within, it shouldn't hurt the stability of the plant, especially on a younger specimen that has years of growth to add.

Many folks fall for the " i should seal open wounds " idea not comprehending that when you apply a sealant, more often than not, you're also sealing in what bacteria, moisture, etc that has already entered a / the wound, which will often make the issue much worse over time, compared to taking off what looser bark material can be removed -w/ out damaging things more-, and allowing nature -and the sun- to stimulate the process of healing / new cambium layer formation..  

 

5 hours ago, RunsWivScissors said:

Thank you for your reply, my first reaction was "uh oh!" as its already a bit squished against a low wall and it is a really funky shape, as it started life in a chimney pot which it pretty much burst out of, which was when it was moved to the garden. Do you know if they straighten up as they get fatter? I wouldn't expect it to ever get totally straight, but as I think its top heavy weight and weird angle caused this problem initially, it would be nice to know if it will eventually get a bit more stable - I have got a cable holding the top now to try to take some pressure off the scar, so that it didn`t just snap at the weak spot.

The fact that it put the pot it started it's journey in to shame should be a good indicator at how robust these can be.. If you look around at pictures of specimens growing in CA. on the internet, you'll see just how big these can get, and -comparatively speaking- they get big pretty fast, especially if spoiled.

It should straighten up a bit as it gains height / base of it gets bigger.  It will also branch ....and try to form new branches from the base ( Many i grew up around in CA. often did just that )


As long as the damage to the trunk at this age /size wasn't major ( Hard to tell from the picture, but didn't look significant ), it should be fine as it grows more, adding the cables for added, albeit temporary, stability will help too..

If ..and i'm only adding this because i'm the type of person who considers any and all possibilities, even the most drastic of possible outcome(s)-  there should be an issue w/ the top  ...Say it did get knocked off at or just above the weakened point, before the entire plant does fatten up to even things out stability-wise, .. these are easy to start again as cuttings.. Once rooted, replant, ..and it will take off just as quick as the plant it came from..

The shoot you're seeing forming on the trunk, and others that would likely form, would take up the role of regrowth to the now be-headed plant. Those will go through the same process as the original trunk /stem.. growing taller, getting fatter..



Only thing you might keep an eye on as it gains size  is just how large the trunk will get ( mature diameter of it.. ) As mentioned, these can get massive.. and can push around almost anything in their way..  Don't recall there being issues w/ any that were planted up a little close to a home's foundation / exterior wall(s) / a little too close to a driveway or sidewalks back in California, ...but that doesn't mean there weren't any ( issues )

As mentioned earlier on, Tough to remove once firmly established too.. Can cut them down to the ground, and new shoots can re appear from the roots / still buried portion of the crown of it.. Same thing happened at least a couple times w/ specimens that had been seriously damaged by the rare, significant freeze events we have had out there..  Tops might have frozen / rotted away later ( if not removed after the freeze ) but the base ( as long as it was large enough ) came roaring back by the following summer.

As i'm sure you've already experienced, lol,  leaves are deceivingly saw-edged and can cut like a razor too.
 

[RunsWivScissors]

1 hour ago, Silas_Sancona said:

The fact that it put the pot it started it's journey in to shame should be a good indicator at how robust these can be.. If you look around at pictures of specimens growing in CA. on the internet, you'll see just how big these can get, and -comparatively speaking- they get big pretty fast, especially if spoiled.

It should straighten up a bit as it gains height / base of it gets bigger.  It will also branch ....and try to form new branches from the base ( Many i grew up around in CA. often did just that )

As long as the damage to the trunk at this age /size wasn't major ( Hard to tell from the picture, but didn't look significant ), it should be fine as it grows more, adding the cables for added, albeit temporary, stability will help too..

If ..and i'm only adding this because i'm the type of person who considers any and all possibilities, even the most drastic of possible outcome(s)-  there should be an issue w/ the top  ...Say it did get knocked off at or just above the weakened point, before the entire plant does fatten up to even things out stability-wise, .. these are easy to start again as cuttings.. Once rooted, replant, ..and it will take off just as quick as the plant it came from..

The shoot you're seeing forming on the trunk, and others that would likely form, would take up the role of regrowth to the now be-headed plant. Those will go through the same process as the original trunk /stem.. growing taller, getting fatter..

Only thing you might keep an eye on as it gains size  is just how large the trunk will get ( mature diameter of it.. ) As mentioned, these can get massive.. and can push around almost anything in their way..  Don't recall there being issues w/ any that were planted up a little close to a home's foundation / exterior wall(s) / a little too close to a driveway or sidewalks back in California, ...but that doesn't mean there weren't any ( issues )
 

The chimney pot that it started in was one of those metre tall victorian terracotta ones, if you are familiar with them & it got to the point where there was literally no soil left & the whole stack was just crammed with roots, that was fun getting it out & even more fun digging a hole deep enough to replant it lol

I was surprised that the new shoot is the 1st one its ever had, considering its over 30 years old, I had another one in a giant terracotta pot which also got replanted after it kept blowing over in strong winds, that one was almost growing horizontal and within a year of replanting, it had babies all along the trunk, so now its like a row of elephants, I figured she must be female & he was just a lone bull elephant lol

I live in a basement, so my garden is well below ground level and there is a huge wall along the side that the sun comes in, so all plants tend to bolt and get really tall, before their stems are strong enough. The Cornish palm did just that, then it got covered in snow one year & the weight just snapped the top half off, leaving a bare post about 7ft tall. It got 2 new shoots at the top which both grew well & the junction healed over making a cool Y shaped palm which is now about 3 storeys high, just last year it got a new head growing at the old junction, between the other 2, which I like because the other 2 are so high now I can`t really see them apart from the underside. From what you said I am now wondering if I should have replanted the head half when it snapped off, didn`t think of trying that at the time.

[Silas_Sancona]

18 minutes ago, RunsWivScissors said:

The chimney pot that it started in was one of those metre tall victorian terracotta ones, if you are familiar with them & it got to the point where there was literally no soil left & the whole stack was just crammed with roots, that was fun getting it out & even more fun digging a hole deep enough to replant it lol

I was surprised that the new shoot is the 1st one its ever had, considering its over 30 years old, I had another one in a giant terracotta pot which also got replanted after it kept blowing over in strong winds, that one was almost growing horizontal and within a year of replanting, it had babies all along the trunk, so now its like a row of elephants, I figured she must be female & he was just a lone bull elephant lol

I live in a basement, so my garden is well below ground level and there is a huge wall along the side that the sun comes in, so all plants tend to bolt and get really tall, before their stems are strong enough. The Cornish palm did just that, then it got covered in snow one year & the weight just snapped the top half off, leaving a bare post about 7ft tall. It got 2 new shoots at the top which both grew well & the junction healed over making a cool Y shaped palm which is now about 3 storeys high, just last year it got a new head growing at the old junction, between the other 2, which I like because the other 2 are so high now I can`t really see them apart from the underside. From what you said I am now wondering if I should have replanted the head half when it snapped off, didn`t think of trying that at the time.

Yep, you see the same types of pottery here..


For future reference, Cordyline are similar to Yucca in that yes, you can start any cut off / broken off stems pretty easily,  if you wanted to..  Have noticed that Cordyline branches can be a tad weaker - wooded than yucca can be as well ..Of course, durability will depend on age / how much tougher wood the plant has had a chance to grow before being damaged.

C. australis  is a fairly popular landscape plant back where i grew up in CA and i'd occasionally see tall, multi- branched specimens that looked like a thinner trunked, red- leaved Yucca elephantipes / guatemalensis / gigantea in stature. Those seemed pretty sturdy.

Other specimens, which had just one or two branches w/ a big mop of leaves at the top.. those were the ones i'd check after bigger windstorms, just to see if any of the heads had snapped.. Off the top of my head, i don't recall noting any that were damaged, but imagine there was a higher possibility of those specific specimens being more susceptible to damage.

[Axel Amsterdam]

3 hours ago, RunsWivScissors said:

 

I was surprised that the new shoot is the 1st one its ever had, considering its over 30 years old, I had another one in a giant terracotta pot which also got replanted after it kept blowing over in strong winds, that one was almost growing horizontal and within a year of replanting, it had babies all along the trunk, so now its like a row of elephants, I figured she must be female & he was just a lone bull elephant lol

 

Like this one in London

[RunsWivScissors]

On 7/6/2023 at 7:30 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

Other specimens, which had just one or two branches w/ a big mop of leaves at the top.. those were the ones i'd check after bigger windstorms, just to see if any of the heads had snapped.. Off the top of my head, i don't recall noting any that were damaged, but imagine there was a higher possibility of those specific specimens being more susceptible to damage.

Yup, that was it, a tall thin stick with a big mop, that grew way too fast & lost its head & half the trunk lol - It learned from the experience & has a nice fat trunk supporting its 2 (nearly 3) mops now

[RunsWivScissors]

@Axel Amsterdam LOLOL must be a London thing! 🤣

[RunsWivScissors]

@Axel Amsterdam @Silas_Sancona

Home at last & been out snapping pics ...

The 1st 4 are the Cornish Palm,  with its healed over scar & its newest mop. 

Then there is my other Yucca,  the tallest head at the back is the original,  the rest are all growing along its trunk.

The last one is a pic of something I believe a bird planted in the garden, from Google I think its a Fatsia japonica. 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, RunsWivScissors said:

@Axel Amsterdam @Silas_Sancona

Home at last & been out snapping pics ...

The 1st 4 are the Cornish Palm,  with its healed over scar & its newest mop. 

Then there is my other Yucca,  the tallest head at the back is the original,  the rest are all growing along its trunk.

The last one is a pic of something I believe a bird planted in the garden, from Google I think its a Fatsia japonica. 

 

Yep, sure looks like Fatsia to me..  Nice Cordyline  specimen too