The Yucca, often called a Spanish Dagger or Adam’s Needle, is famous for being a tough-as-nails ornamental plant. However, even these hardy survivors have an Achilles’ heel. If you notice the trunk feels soft, mushy, or hollow to the touch, you need to act fast—this is a major red flag that your plant is in serious trouble.
The Root of the Problem
When a Yucca trunk feels hollow, it’s usually because the plant is rotting from the inside out. The culprit? Almost always overwatering. When the soil stays soggy, the roots can’t breathe or absorb moisture properly. This leads to root rot, which eventually climbs up into the trunk, turning the healthy wood into mush.
Common reasons your Yucca might be getting “wet feet” include:
- Watering too much or too often (the most common mistake!)
- Poor drainage in the pot (excess water has nowhere to go)
- Standing water in the saucer (which keeps the soil constantly saturated from the bottom up)
Starting a Rescue Mission
I’ll give it to you straight: you can’t save the plant in its current form. Once the tissue has rotted, there’s no bringing it back. But don’t lose hope! The silver lining is that Yuccas are incredibly resilient. You can often grow entirely new plants by propagating the healthy sections that are still left.
Inspect and Divide Your Yucca
To figure out which parts are still salvageable, carefully lift the Yucca out of its pot. If the trunk snaps off during the process, don’t panic—we were going to have to cut it anyway. Once you have the plant in front of you:
- Cut away any sections of the trunk that still feel hard and healthy.
- Double-check the ends of these cuttings to make sure there’s no brown, rotted residue left (trim further if needed).
- Clean up any broken edges with a sharp, clean knife.
- Pro tip: Mark which end is “up” on your cuttings so you don’t accidentally plant them upside down!
Planting Your Trunk Cuttings
To prevent any lingering bacteria from spreading, it’s best to give each cutting its own “hospital wing” (a separate pot). Here’s how to get them settled:
- Create a drainage layer at the bottom of the pot using gravel or broken terracotta pieces.
- Cover that with a thin layer of fresh, well-draining potting soil.
- Place your cutting into the pot.
- Fill in the rest of the soil around it.
- Give it just a little bit of water to settle the soil.
If you see new green shoots popping out of the trunk after a few weeks, congratulations—your rescue mission was a success!
Saving the Leafy Tops
If the top of your Yucca still has a healthy green cluster of leaves (a “head”), you can treat it just like the trunk cuttings. Just make sure the piece of stem attached to the leaves is long enough to provide the energy needed to grow a brand-new root system.
