Why yucca leaves may dry out and turn yellow: pests, diseases, what to do

Yucca flower in landscape design

The species produces fruits only in its homeland - in Central America or Mexico, where the butterfly that pollinates the flowers lives.

Yucca is an evergreen representative of the agave family, which can be a shrub or a small tree. It is also popularly called garden palm. The plant blooms with beautiful white flowers, resembling bells in appearance, from June to August. With proper care, this period can be extended by a couple of days.

This plant is considered drought-resistant and does not require regular watering from the gardener, even at an air temperature of 35 degrees. It is also highly recommended not to place flowers in the shade - in the absence of bright sunlight they very quickly fade and wither. That is why yucca is increasingly placed in open flower beds, the edges of garden areas, and also on the edges of parks. This is where the plant feels best. Garden palm trees can grow not only in open ground, but also in pots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgem8qpE3GQ

In landscape design, garden yucca is used quite actively. It is planted in flower beds, in parks along the edges of alleys, and is often added to alpine hills and ridges. The plant looks good on the site at any time of the year and does not require frequent replanting.

Varieties of garden yucca

The varieties of yucca are amazing. Breeders managed to develop original and unusual varieties. The most popular types:

Threaded . Grows on sandy, rocky lands. The plant is an evergreen shrub. The flowers are white with a yellow or green tint. Yucca filamentosa has many varieties, each of which deserves attention.
Glorious . Garden yucca can be planted in the south of Russia. This is a heat-loving variety. With age, a trunk is formed, which can reach a height of 5 m. The buds are white, cream, and green. Some specimens have a red-violet border.
Gray . Its homeland is Mexico and the eastern United States. The plant is an evergreen shrub, up to 40 cm high. The buds can be white, green, yellow. The inflorescences are highly branched, the leaves are painted in different colors.

Each of the varieties deserves attention and can grow in summer cottages. Flower growers happily plant plants and admire the beautiful flower bed.

Diseases and pests of yucca

Yucca reacts painfully to many factors:

Watering with cold water.
Drafts.
Excessive watering.
Soil hypothermia.
Root damage.

Excessive soil moisture combined with low temperatures can lead to rotting of the roots, and this, in turn, to the death of the plant. First, the leaves wither and fall off. If the cause is discovered in time, you need to remove the plant from the ground, remove damaged areas, and treat them with a disinfectant. When the cutting area dries out, plant the plant in the ground. But it is better to choose a more suitable area for this.

Root rotting is often combined with the appearance of yucca pests:

Mealybug
Spider mite
Shchitovka

You need to fight pests by treating yucca with one of the insecticides (Aktara, Karbofos). Iskra BIO will help you get rid of spider mites. But first, before purchasing an insecticide, you need to treat the affected areas with a solution of laundry soap.

What does the poor appearance of the plant indicate:

The ends of the leaves turn brown from too dry air or drafts. This may also indicate that the plant needs watering. Light, dry spots indicate sunburn. Curled leaves indicate that the yucca is cold. You need to determine the cause and eliminate it.
Anthracnose is a fungal disease. Brown spots with a yellow border appear on the leaves. The edge of the spot is convex. As the disease progresses, they merge into large ones. High humidity promotes the appearance of anthracnose. Prevention in the apartment: do not spray the leaves, reduce the air humidity in the room. Treat with antifungal drugs (“Folli”). In the garden, they are treated with Saprol antifungal drugs, weeds are removed, and the vegetation around is thinned out so that air can pass freely between the leaves. Spill the soil around the plant with a solution of Fundazol. If the measures taken do not help, then it is better to remove the plant.
Sometimes a white coating forms on yucca leaves. Young leaves are especially susceptible to the disease. This occurs due to damage to the plant. This is a fungal disease, so the methods of dealing with it are the same as with anthracnose. You can spray the plant with “Skor” and “” preparations at intervals of a week.

The result of the fight against the disease can be judged by the further development of the plant. If the growth that appears some time after treatment is healthy and beautiful, the treatment was effective. If it is also affected by powdery mildew, it will have to be pruned. Most often this helps to get rid of the disease. In severe cases of fungal infection, the plant stem may soften. In the initial stage, you need to remove the diseased areas and treat the cut areas.

Indoor yuccas can develop fungal diseases:

Gray rot, which affects leaves and stems.
Cercospora - brown spots on the leaves, merging into one, with a light center and a dark edge.
Yellow mottle is a viral infection of leaves that appears as small yellow spots. They are located closer to the end of the sheet. The appearance of the disease is facilitated by aphids that carry the virus. Affected plants are dug up and burned.

Do not cut off wilted leaves from a healthy garden yucca plant. This may result in the plant not blooming. Purchased indoor yucca may shed its leaves. This is due to stress after moving. After a couple of weeks, the leaves will begin to grow. Yellowing of the lower leaves is a natural process. 2 years after formation, the leaf turns yellow and falls off.

More information can be found in the video:

Very often, when growing yucca, gardeners are faced with yellowing and falling of the leaves of this plant. Its leaves dry out at the tips, and then the leaf blades die off completely.

But if it is rapidly losing leaf mass, it is necessary to look for the reason in improper care of this palm tree.

Yucca can lose leaves due to poor or abundant watering, too dry air and insufficient lighting. Also, the leaves may dry out and turn yellow if the plant is damaged by pests.

Yucca care at home

Yucca, as a subtropical plant, loves warmth and requires a lot of sun. In summer, it is advisable to take indoor yucca out into the fresh air, but not into drafts. The temperature in summer should not exceed 25°C, in winter it should be lowered to 12°C. If the temperature is not reduced, the leaves will become thin and dull.

Special requirements for watering yucca:

You only need to water with warm water. The temperature should not be lower than 30°C. When watering with water at room temperature, the vessels of the plants narrow, and moisture does not flow well to the stem and leaves. This can cause the roots to rot, causing the yucca to die. But there is no need to measure the temperature with a thermometer. It is enough to test the water with your hand. It should be warm. If it is taken from the water supply, it must first be left for at least a day. Do not close the dishes so that the chlorine can escape freely. If water is taken from a pump room or well, it is advisable to determine its composition. It should contain less sodium salts and more

You need to water the entire lump of soil. Water is poured until it spills and appears in the pan. This will indicate that all the soil in the pot has been moistened. But if you leave water in the pan for a long time, the roots will fester. Half an hour after watering, it is drained. This time is needed for the roots to absorb the required amount of moisture. If the pot is very large, it is inconvenient to remove it. Water is removed using a sponge or syringe.

Yucca stores moisture from the soil. She must use it periodically. This happens when the soil dries out. The next time you need to water the plant only after the entire lump of earth in the pot has dried out. This can be determined by testing the soil at a depth of 3 to 10 cm (depending on the depth of the pot or the size of the plant). It should be damp and the top layer dry.
Yucca tells you when to water by its appearance. Its leaves curl, and the threads on them straighten and hang; the plant needs to be watered.
Many types of yucca require high humidity. They need warm water every day. A tray with stones is installed in the room, which are constantly kept wet. Once a week, wash the leaves with a warm shower. Yucca ivory and aloe vera varieties do not need spraying.

Yucca grows and blooms well after fertilizing. Use mineral fertilizers, humus, and mullein infusion. The frequency of feeding is 2 times a month. But it is carried out only when the plant takes root. Do not feed sick plants.

Yucca plants that have reached a height of at least 30 cm can be pruned in the spring so that the bush becomes fluffy. The height of the plant after pruning will remain the same. Cut off the top with a sharp knife treated with alcohol. The cut area is sprinkled with crushed coal or crushed cinnamon. After a few weeks, new tufts of leaves will appear. Their number should not be more than 4, otherwise the bush will become heavy and unstable. The excess top can be planted separately.

Why do yucca leaves fall off?

This is a very rare occurrence, because the decorative false palm tree is an evergreen plant and changes in nature do not affect its appearance. If the yucca is happy with its environment, it stays green all year round. If an indoor palm tree sheds its leaves, you need to understand the reason and, if necessary, take action.

The reasons for sudden exposure of the stem are:

Stress when changing location. A newly purchased yucca simply needs to be given time to adapt to its new environment. In this case, it will not hurt to replant the plant in fresh soil. A pot is chosen that is 2-3 cm larger, drainage made of expanded clay is placed on the bottom, and soil for palm trees or cacti is sprinkled on top.
Rough transplantation with damage to the root system. Yucca will adapt and throw out young shoots. Any root growth stimulator that is used in accordance with the instructions will help to ease the adjustment period.
Frequent watering. Rotting of the roots entails wilting of the yucca - death of the stem and shedding of leaves. In this case, you cannot do without a transplant. The rotten parts are removed, the cut of the intact lignified top is treated with crushed coal, placed for rooting in damp sand or vermiculite, and watered with epin according to the instructions.
High air temperature in winter with insufficient lighting. How to save yucca from baldness in this case? Provide the plant with cool air (+15 ⁰С) and additional lighting.

Rot on roots and stems

Unfortunately, these diseases are fatal for yucca. Such diseases develop at a very fast pace. Root rot affects the entire underground system, which makes saving the plant simply impossible. The presence of this disease is primarily indicated by dark spots on the leaves. Also, if you check the roots of the flower, you will notice that they have become watery, damp, and acquired an unpleasant odor. Since it is almost impossible to save yucca when it rots, you should take the conditions of its maintenance very seriously.

With stem rot, similar manifestations are also observed, but on the stem. Moreover, the lower part is affected first of all. Peculiar red sores may also be observed. The cause of this disease is considered to be frequent changes in the location where yucca grows. Since it is very difficult to treat yucca in this case, it is recommended to take all measures to prevent such problems from occurring.

To do this, you must adhere to the basic rules of care:

When planting the plant, use only sterile pots and soil.
Carry out periodic moderate watering, avoiding both waterlogging and drying out of the soil.
When growing indoors, be sure to have holes in the pot and a layer of drainage.

Many people are looking for how to save yucca from a soft trunk, because they do not know that this is impossible to do. Therefore, in order not to lose the plant, you need to maintain it properly.

Yucca or dracaena

People often ask how to distinguish yucca from dracaena? There are species of dracaenas that look very similar to yucca, for example, Dracaena aletriformis Dracaena aletriformis or the species Dracaena massangeana (not variegated). The differences are:

Yucca has small teeth along the edge of the leaf: noticeable roughness along the edge of the leaf, if you draw from the tip to the base
Yucca leaves are stiffer, denser, and on young tops they stick out straight up
The edges of yucca leaves are usually straight, while those of dracaena are often slightly wavy (the leaves themselves are softer)
in yucca, the top of the leaf ends in a prickly spine
Yucca's roots are reddish, sometimes quite intense in color; dracaena's roots are always white
with the same crown size, the yucca's trunk is always thicker than that of the dracaena

Yucca garden flower: how to care for it in winter?

If you don't take care of your yucca in winter, it will begin to die.
Therefore, it is necessary to protect plants from frost. How to do this will be described below.

Digging for the winter

Not every variety needs to be dug up for the winter. gray or filamentous yucca variety is highly resistant to frost. Therefore, they will not be affected by short temperature changes.
If you live in a region where winters are quite cold, it is better to cover the bushes. Young bushes that were planted 1-2 years ago also need shelter.

How to prepare garden yucca for winter?

There are several ways to prepare garden yucca for winter frosts:

When the weather is dry outside, gather the bush into a bunch and tie it with a tight rope. Tilt the leaves located below towards the ground. Cover them with sawdust and plastic wrap. Cover the base of the trunk with a mound of soil.

For the winter

Cover the plant with a wooden box. Sprinkle sawdust on top and cover with film.
Cover the bush with foam . Then sprinkle with dry leaves and straw. Wrap the plant in film.

It is better to start insulating yucca in October, a few weeks before the expected frost. Remove protective covers only after frost has disappeared.

Pests

False palm is quite disease resistant

and is rarely attacked by pests. But if the disease has already affected the foliage or stem, it is better to immediately take the necessary measures.

To do this, it is advisable to know what pests we can deal with in order to respond in time and cure the plant, and not throw away the yucca and the pot from under it.

Spider mite

Appears when living conditions are not suitable for the plant, and it weakens - due to excessive dry air or due to heat.

. It settles on the back side of the leaves and feeds on its juices. By sucking the juice from the false palm tree, it makes it weaker and contributes to wilting, because the flower then receives almost no nutrients.

Light spots and yellowness appear on the affected foliage; they are entwined with a thin web, causing the yucca to gradually dry out.

It is quite difficult to see the spider mite itself on the leaf, but from the above signs you can easily determine that it is the one that is infecting the plant.

Shield aphid or scale insect

It mainly affects plants of the agave genus, including yucca. She settles on the foliage. It is dangerous because it multiplies rapidly and is well adapted to the home microclimate
.

At the early stage of the disease, it is problematic to notice shield aphids on the plant. When it becomes an adult, it is covered with a waxy shield. The larvae mature underneath it.

The damaged plant stops growing and withers

. This is caused by the fact that the scale insect begins to eat the leaves, and if the necessary measures to eliminate it are not taken in time, the false palm tree will die.

Yucca garden diseases

Specific ailments and pests hardly bother this tree. If your garden has a low sanitary level, yucca can be affected by slugs, spider mites, as well as scale insects, whiteflies, etc. Rubbing the leaves with alcohol once a week is effective against scale insects. Insecticides will help against ticks and slugs.

The plant may become rotten if it is damp and cool enough in winter. Experts advise planting yucca in the same bed with nasturtium, tobacco or pansies. In combination with these crops it looks even better.

Reproduction methods

Yucca garden is propagated mainly by dividing the roots or lateral shoots. It is recommended to carry it out in the spring. The ideal time for such work is March. Reproduction is carried out as follows:

carefully dig up the plant so as not to damage the root system;
cuttings up to 5 cm long are cut from the rhizome;
the resulting fragments are dried in the fresh air for 4 hours, then they are planted in a greenhouse to a depth of 5-7 cm. For this purpose, it is worth using sandy soil.

After the seedlings sprout, the film is removed. With the arrival of spring or autumn (depending on the time of division), the plants are transplanted to a sunny, warm area of open ground.

Yucca cuttings

Division by shoots and leaves is carried out in a similar way. However, this method is considered less productive, which is why it is practically not practiced by private farms.

It is recommended to divide the yucca rhizome once every 3-4 years. In this case, this process will be successful and will produce healthy and strong young plants. But how to grow Alstroemeria from seeds is indicated in this article.

It is also possible to propagate yucca by seeds. However, this process is much more complex and less productive than division by roots or leaves. Only experienced gardeners can cope with it, so beginners are advised not to take risks and choose easier-to-use methods.

Description and structural features

Yucca grows naturally in the subtropics and tropics. This is a low evergreen tree or bush. In more northern latitudes it can grow if wintering rules are observed. Yucca is valued for its beautiful long leaves and delicate flowers. The leaves are hard, narrow, and sword-shaped. Depending on the species, they can be pointed, covered with thin threads, or end with a spine. Their length can vary from 25 cm to 1 m, width from 2 to 7 cm. The color of the leaves can be different shades of green or bluish. They form a rosette, which can be located near the root or at the top of the trunk.

Yucca flowers are large bells collected in a panicle inflorescence that stands upright or bends towards the ground.

The color of the bluebells can be white, cream or yellow. The length of the panicle reaches 2 m in length. In places where it grows naturally, yucca is used for industrial purposes. Sugar is obtained from its juice, and fiber is extracted from its leaves, which is used to make ropes. In addition, it is used as an ornamental crop.

In regions located above the subtropics, yucca is grown as a houseplant or garden plant. Unfortunately, indoor yucca practically does not bloom at home. But with proper care, the garden will delight the owners with abundant flowering.

How to identify the problem?

The yellow-flowered daylily originated in Europe over 300 years ago and the first officially recorded flower was in England in 1892. Since then, breeders have been able to develop more than 80,000 new varieties.

yellow daylily

Basically, daylilies are unpretentious and do not require careful care. Only some of the hybrids that were bred through microclonal propagation are very capricious. To avoid problems with the shrub, it needs to carefully select the composition of the soil, observe the temperature regime and the amount of watering. The seller, as a rule, informs about all these nuances in the description of the flower.

The daylily is turning yellow, what should I do? The following rules must be observed:

The landing site should be well lit;
the soil is fertile, loose and with a neutral acidity level;
watering must be carried out using sun-warmed or spring water;
Before the beginning of the growing season, the plant is fed with nitrogen fertilizers, during flowering - with potassium-phosphorus-nitrogen fertilizers, and after flowering - with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers.

To maintain the beauty of daylilies, you need to ensure that pests do not settle on the bushes, and that the roots do not rot from excessive watering.

It is important to know! Daylily does not easily tolerate viral and fungal infections. It can be very difficult to get rid of them

Shrub disease

General characteristics of the plant

Yucca leaves are quite rigid, from 25 to 100 cm in length and from 1 to 8 cm in width, and are predominantly green in color. The shape can be straight or drooping, with a pointed end and a smooth or jagged edge of the leaf. In some varieties, the leaves are arranged in bunches or collected in a rosette.

Yucca flowers form peculiar panicles, on which there are about three hundred buds with a very pleasant aroma. The size of the flowers of this plant reaches approximately 7 centimeters in length.

The fruits of garden yucca are fleshy berries that are sometimes edible, but when planted, subsequent growth and appropriate care in Belarus, the plant practically does not produce seeds.

What to do with brown leaf edges

A similar problem occurs when growing a flower indoors. Often, the tips of yucca leaves dry out in winter, when the heating season begins. Due to the operation of heating devices, the air in the room becomes very dry, which cannot but affect the condition of the plants. In most cases, the flower copes with such trouble. But sometimes the tips of the leaves may still begin to dry out.

To avoid this indoor yucca disease, it is necessary to increase the humidity in the room. This can be done in two ways: using special humidifiers, or frequent spraying from a spray bottle.

What to do if yucca does not bloom

Yucca blooms with a variety of beautiful flowers, painted in different shades. Moreover, buds should appear every summer if you follow all the rules of care, creating conditions close to natural. However, unfortunately, not everyone, even experienced gardeners, manages to achieve this. A prerequisite for cultivating yucca is the presence of long daylight hours, since it loves light very much, as well as the correct temperature. When growing in indoor pots, you will have to be content with only its gorgeous leaves.

Often the owners of such a specimen do not understand why the young plant does not bloom. For the first buds to appear, proper care is required for four to five years.

What to do for fungal leaf diseases

Overmoistening of the root system or general hypothermia leads to fungal infections

. Dark spots on the leaves are a fungal disease caused by high humidity and excessive watering.

Changing the watering schedule and permanent location of the yucca will help combat the fungus. Diseased leaves are removed.

Another fungus that attacks the trunk causes stem rot. In the first stages, the fungus may not be noticed; in advanced cases, rot is detected too late, when the stem is affected, and inside it is filled with rot.

If the rot has not yet spread to the entire trunk, then the plant is cut back to healthy tissue and rooted. In advanced cases, it is disposed of along with the pot so that healthy people do not become infected.

Prevention lies in the correct selection of soil

. Fine expanded clay, sand and coconut shavings should become faithful companions of the new soil; the soil will become softer and airier. Watering is moderate; between waterings the top layer of mail should dry completely.

Yucca is and remains a plant that does not require constant control. The right location is the key to active and healthy growth. Caring for and periodic spraying, moderate soil moisture and fertilization will have a positive effect on the appearance.

Yucca is a heat-loving plant that naturally grows during severe droughts and can transform into a giant tree.

Growing this plant at home is not difficult, but ayucca has diseases that can affect it, and it is important for every gardener to know how to deal with them

What problems can you encounter when growing a flower?

The basic rule when caring for yucca is to avoid waterlogging the soil. If you water too often or too much, root rot or other diseases will begin. It is better to underwater a flower than to overwater it, since it tolerates drought better than a large amount of moisture.

Many people don’t know what to do when the yucca drops its leaves. But it is precisely this fact that most often indicates waterlogging.

The most common problems encountered when growing this plant:

lack of flowering;
bacterial burn;
the formation of brown spots on the leaves;
the leaves on the yucca turn yellow;
the edges and tips of the leaves become brown;
the appearance of gray spots on the leaves;
the presence of rot on the trunk and root system.

In addition to diseases, yucca can also be affected by a variety of pests. Most often these are whiteflies, false scale insects, slugs, spider mites and mealybugs. How to deal with the above problems, we will consider in this article.

Why did the yucca leaves drop?

If the leaves gradually droop, become soft and pale, and the stem of the flower has softened, then this is a sign of disease - stem rot. It develops very quickly and in a neglected situation (the leaves are hanging and their base is yellow) it is impossible to save the palm tree.

If the yucca has a soft trunk, but the leaves have not turned black, are not very yellow and have not completely drooped, then you can try to save it.

Cut off all affected parts of the plant (if there is only one soft trunk, then remove only that).
Remove the palm tree from the pot, cut off the rotten roots and dip it in a solution with a fungicide (Topaz, colloidal sulfur or copper sulfate).
Plant the flower in dry new soil mixture and do not water for 4-5 days.

If the only trunk has rotted, then cut off the top and plant it in the soil for rooting, as when propagating by cuttings. Throw away the remaining part of the flower along with the soil, wash the pot and soak in boiling water for 10-15 minutes.
If the leaves of the plant have turned black (become dirty gray) and the trunk has become very soft, then all that remains is to throw it away along with the soil.

Yucca dropped its leaves

Transfer

Timely transplantation of yucca contributes to its good development; the procedure is carried out every two years. The plant safely tolerates transplantation at any time of the year, but it is recommended to do this in the spring.

The yucca root system is fragile and vulnerable , so the main difficulty when replanting is not to damage the roots. And the main goal is to increase the volume of the pot by filling it with new soil with nutritional properties.

It is important to choose the right pot for yucca , which should be several centimeters larger than the diameter of the plant’s root system. The bottom of the pot is covered with a layer of drainage, which can be used as expanded clay, pebbles or gravel. Then a layer of earth is poured, and an earthen ball with roots is installed in the center. After this, with delicate movements, the voids are filled with new soil and slightly compacted. Good watering completes the transplanting procedure.

Causes of yellow leaves

Yucca is an evergreen plant, so the leaf cover does not change every year. However, the leaves gradually age, die and are replaced by new ones. So don’t be surprised or alarmed if some of them begin to turn yellow and dry out in the lower part of the plant. This is a natural and completely normal process.

However, intense leaf fall throughout the tree indicates some problems with its health or living conditions. Let's look at them in detail.

Lack of light

In nature, yucca receives a lot of sunlight. In the Russian climate in winter it is not enough for the plant. As a result, the leaves turn pale, become limp and yellow. The solution to the problem is to increase the duration of daylight hours to 10-12 hours using artificial lighting.

You can purchase special phyto-lamps or install regular ones. But there is an important nuance - they should not get very hot. This is dangerous due to leaf burns and drying of the air in the room.

The air is too dry

Monstera is a resident of arid areas, so it does not need high humidity. But the Russian climate, combined with the heating season, can make the indoor air too dry even for her. In this case, the leaves begin to turn yellow and dry out.

Remove the pot away from the radiator or other heat sources.
Raise the humidity level.

Installing a special electronic humidifier, containers with water, periodically wiping the leaves with a damp sponge or spraying the tree with a spray bottle will help.

Please note: you should spray not so much the plant itself, but the space around it. If there is too much water on the yucca, it will begin to accumulate in the axils of the leaves and lead to their rotting.

No rest period

In winter, yucca “rests” and gains strength before the new growing season. During this period, it is undesirable to expose the plant to any stress or changes in conditions. Otherwise, her immunity weakens, her strength decreases, and not only the old leaves, but also the young rosette begin to turn yellow and wither.

If, out of ignorance, you have violated the dormant period, try to create a comfortable and stable regime of watering, temperature and humidity for the plant as quickly as possible, and eliminate drafts. Unless absolutely necessary, do not move the pot or replant the yucca.

Excessive humidity

This reason can be diagnosed by the fact that yucca leaves turn yellow and wither, but do not dry out. Waterlogged soil or too much water spraying can harm the plant. If the plant is in a draft, the situation will worsen even more.

Whether the yucca can be saved will depend on its condition. If most of the root system and trunk with leaves have rotted, it is easier to throw out the plant. If only a few leaves are affected, they need to be cut off and watering or irrigation of the yucca should be reduced accordingly.

Nutrient deficiency

With yellow leaves, yucca often signals another problem - soil depletion. No matter how nutritious it may initially be, the plant gradually draws out everything valuable from there.

To compensate for the deficiency of microelements in a pot with yucca, you can completely change the soil, for example, during the next replanting. The second option is to add complex fertilizers containing iron, magnesium and nitrogen to the soil.

Tip: For indoor plants, fertilizers are best used in the form of weak solutions. This will help avoid burns to their root system.

Rough transplant

Changing the yucca pot should be done carefully, trying not to damage either the roots or the above-ground part of the tree. Otherwise, the plant will experience severe stress, which will be demonstrated by yellowing and dropping leaves.

Usually, after some time, the yucca will adapt and throw out new healthy leaves. But to speed up the process, you can feed it with a root growth stimulator. This will provoke their restoration and activation of green mass growth.

Watering

Watering yucca depends on several factors, primarily on the size of the plant and the volume of the pot, and then on the temperature and required air humidity. In summer, yucca requires abundant watering.

The first sign indicating the need for watering is dry soil on the surface of the pot (2 cm). Visually, this can be determined by the fact that the earthen lump is separated from the walls of the pot.

At air temperatures up to 20 degrees Celsius, one watering every 7-8 days will be enough for yucca.

For watering, you can use water that has stood for at least a day at the temperature in which the plant is kept in order to avoid a stressful situation for the roots.

In autumn and winter, it is better to reduce watering to prevent root rotting. Overwatering causes brown spots on yucca leaves. They curl and deteriorate the decorative appearance.

Yucca - reproduction

Question: My yucca is dying from waterlogging of the soil, I’m trying to propagate it: I rooted two offspring in a pot (without roots), covered it with polyethylene. I don’t know if it’s possible to make cuttings from the trunk and also root them?

Anna: Just put the cutting (cut off top) in a jar of water. Do not pour a lot of water so that the trunk is covered by no more than 1 cm, so as not to rot, and add water periodically (it evaporates). In a week, the yucca will have roots. Wait until small lateral roots of about 3-4 cm grow and plant in the ground. The main thing is, don’t overfill it in the future. But in winter, yucca needs additional lighting to root!

Alice: Yucca propagates vegetatively quite easily, but only if it is light and warm, and the biorhythms of the plant are on the rise. Try not to simply prune yucca in autumn or winter; the best time for propagation is from late January to June. It is also possible in July, if there is no heat. If the temperature is above 27C, this is also not good; the cuttings will not have enough strength to absorb moisture when the leaves quickly evaporate. Therefore, if you cut a large branch of yucca for rooting, you need to tear off some of the leaves, leaving 4-5 at most.

Reproduction

Having become familiar with how to plant and care for garden yucca, flower growers will learn details about propagation. The photo shows beautiful flowers.

Plants are propagated in the following ways:

Seeds. For planting you will need fresh seeds, containers, and soil. You can make the soil composition yourself. To do this, you need to mix leaf and turf soil and sand. All components must be taken in equal quantities. The first shoots will appear within a month after planting; flowering can be expected in the third year.
Cuttings from apical shoots. To work, you will need apical shoots. They need to be dried a little and planted in perlite. Rooting should be carried out in a moist substrate.
Cuttings from stems. As soon as a mature stem appears on the bush, it needs to be cut off. To propagate, the cuttings must be placed in a container with sand and sprinkled with a little substrate. After new shoots appear, the bush should be divided into parts, each with sprouts and roots.
Dividing the bush. This method is considered the most common, and is used more often than others in practice. In spring, you need to carefully separate the side shoots and plant them in the garden. It is best to find an area in the shade. Sun rays can damage seedlings.

Young plants take root well in the flowerbed. If you do everything correctly, you will be able to create a flower garden of incredible beauty on your site.

The appearance of pests

Changes in the appearance of the plant can also be explained by pest activity. Among them, the most dangerous for yucca are spider mites, thrips and scale insects, each of which can cause yellowing and curling of the leaves.

In order to promptly eliminate the problem and protect the plant from death, it is important to know about the first signs of insect infestation.

Spider mite

A favorable factor for the rapid reproduction of spider mites is an increase in temperature with a simultaneous decrease in air humidity. The pest gets onto yucca from other plants, and you can notice it by the characteristic light grains in the lower part of the leaf blades. If an insect has been living on the yucca for a long time, then it is possible that a thin silvery web will appear, entwining not only the leaves, but also the place where the leaf is attached. Over time, the affected leaves lose their usual color and become covered with yellow, shapeless spots.

Among the folk remedies, garlic, tobacco and onion peels will help in the fight against the pest, the infusion of which should be rubbed on the surface of the leaf plate. For additional treatment, you can use a soap solution, and in difficult cases, you can also spray the yucca with one of the popular insecticidal compounds: for example, Vertimek or Fitoverm. Treatment with their use is carried out at least three times, with an interval of 10 days.

Important! The spider mite is doubly dangerous, because it not only sucks out all the juices from the plant, but can also be a carrier of gray rot and other flower ailments that become noticeable soon after it hits the yucca

Thrips

Thrips are one of the most common pests of not only ornamental but also agricultural crops. The reason for its appearance is new, infected plants in the house, and the reproduction of insects is facilitated by dry air and reduced humidity in the room. You can notice the new resident by the characteristic silvery pattern on the surface of the sheets, which consists of chaotic strokes. This pest quickly sucks the juice out of the plant cells, and the females also gnaw through the internal passages in the leaves, which are those same silvery stripes. At temperatures of +16…+25°C, insects reproduce very quickly, doubling their numbers every 4–6 days. Getting rid of thrips is not easy, but it is possible. In the initial stages of yucca damage, its leaves can be treated with a solution of laundry soap and covered with a plastic bag and left for 2-3 hours.

In some cases, treatment with mineral oils (a solution of 1 liter of water and a few drops of kerosene or machine oil) may help, but it is safer to spray the yucca with special chemicals: for example, Aktara, Iskra, Mospilan or Agravertin. Some of these compositions can be used not only for spraying, but also for watering at the root, which makes it possible to get rid of insects both on the plant and in the soil.

Did you know? Yucca is recommended to grow for people with chronic low blood pressure and problems with the respiratory system.

Shchitovka

If the leaves of the yucca turn yellow (no matter the lower or upper ones), and the stem slows down its growth, you can suspect the activity of scale insects. It is not difficult to detect them, because they are already noticeable upon visual inspection of the plant: they are presented in the form of small rounded tubercles of brown, green or yellow color

Insects usually attach to areas along the veins of leaf blades, but can accumulate in leaf axils.

The main reason for their appearance is a violation of the plant’s natural defenses, which is often associated with an excess of nitrogen in the soil or a change in the growing conditions of yucca: for example, a decrease in light intensity or increased air dryness. At the initial stage of pest reproduction, yucca leaves become covered with a sticky secretion, which is also one of the most characteristic symptoms of the presence of a problem. In the fight against it, insecticidal compounds alone cannot always bring a positive result, so sometimes you have to additionally treat the leaves with a solution of laundry soap. To remove scale insects, they often use a cotton swab soaked in an insecticide (for example, Actellik or Bankole), with which they are simply cleaned off the surface.

Yellowing, or even more so, curling of yucca leaves cannot be ignored. Almost any of the above reasons can destroy a false palm tree, so the sooner you take appropriate measures to solve the problem, the better your chances of coping with it.

Yucca diseases

Mostly plants start to get sick due to improper care. As a result, the immunity of the crops weakens, and infections make themselves felt.

The most common diseases:

Cercospora blight . Occurs due to high humidity. The first signs appear on the leaves in the form of round spots of a light brown hue. Over time, they grow and cover the entire leaf blade. You can protect bushes from fungus using fungicides.
Brown spotting . Light brown spots appear on the leaves, which eventually turn yellow. Fungicide Ridomil Gold will help save the bushes.
Leaf marginal necrosis . The edges of the leaf plate become covered with spots. If the lesion is small, the area can be excised. After the procedure, the yucca must be sprayed with a fungicide.
Fusarium rot . A dangerous disease that leads to rotting of leaves. Fungicides will be needed to combat rot. If the case is advanced, the plant will have to be thrown away.
Stem rot. The affected trunk becomes soft and brown spots appear on it. To save the bushes, the affected areas must be pruned.

Why do yucca leaves dry out or turn yellow? What to do?

Yucca leaves are an indicator of proper flower care and signal the presence of problems. They may turn yellow and dry out due to excessive lighting, low humidity or insufficient watering.

Now, you know why the lower leaves of yucca turn yellow, and in what situation there is no reason to worry.

Yellowing yucca leaves

Light dry spots on yucca leaves

The reason for the appearance of such spots is an excess of sunlight. Protect the flower from direct bright rays of the sun in summer.

Brown spots on yucca leaves

Brown spots can be caused by a fungal disease due to high soil moisture. The reason lies in excessive watering, incorrect composition of the soil mixture (insufficient drainage, low air permeability) or inappropriate acidity of the substrate.

Remove the affected leaves, reduce watering, loosen the soil (described in the watering section), and also place the palm tree in a brighter place. Treat the plant with a fungicide (Fitosporin is the safest) or a folk remedy (iodine, potassium permanganate, etc. - more details in the article - folk remedies section).

Brown edges and tips of yucca leaves

This sign indicates excessively dry air in the room. Also, the tips of the leaves may turn brown due to insufficient watering or strong drafts, especially in the cold season. If the leaves turn brown at the end of summer, it means that the palm tree did not have enough spraying and watering.

Why do yucca leaves curl?

If the leaves of a flower curl and have darkened edges, then this is a sign of hypothermia. Avoid excessively low room temperatures.

And if they curl into a tube, but do not darken, then the reason is that the substrate is too dry or the humidity is very low (July-August or winter). Protect your home palm tree from the scorching sun and the flow of hot air from the battery.

The yucca leaves turned pale at the base, and the flower itself stretched upward

The leaves turn yellow or lighten (turn to almost white) at the base, and the plant stretches upward in low light, most often in late fall/winter. See section - lighting.

And if they turn pale and become soft and lethargic, then read - stem rot.

ADDITIONS TO THE ARTICLE:

We wish you a beautiful and healthy “home palm” yucca and a great mood!

Yucca diseases and their treatment, photos of which can be seen below, most often appear due to improper maintenance. This flower is very heat-loving and can easily tolerate hot weather and drought. With proper care it can grow to enormous sizes. However, sometimes it can succumb to various diseases and pests. Therefore, every gardener needs to know what dangers exist and how to deal with them.

Pest Control

In addition to diseases, various insects can also cause significant harm to yucca. More often this flower is attacked by whitefly. It sucks the juice from the leaves of the plant, causing the areas to be severely damaged and the yucca to wither. To get rid of it, use insecticides diluted in the appropriate proportion.

Yucca can also be affected by false scale insects. To combat these pests, use alcohol and water-oil emulsions. Also replace the top soil in your yucca pot.

Spider mites are a fairly frequent “guest” on this flower. This is one of the reasons why yucca leaves curl into a tube. If you have spider mites, you can use improvised means. This insect is afraid of water, so rinse the plant thoroughly under a cold stream. Then treat the plant with acaricide.

Another mistake that is often made when cultivating this plant is that gardeners cut off the lower, wilted leaves. We recommend not to do this, since this is not typical in a natural environment where the flower feels comfortable and calm. Otherwise, there may be no budding.

As you can see, yucca, like any other plant, can be susceptible to various diseases and pests. However, knowing the basic rules of care and prevention, these problems can be easily avoided.

Video about yucca

Evergreen exotic plants can add elegance and harmony to the interior of an apartment. Such flowers with large or long leaves are placed in large halls, living rooms or even in the bedroom. Caring for them is not difficult, but they must be carefully protected from diseases and harmful insects. Today we will talk about yucca.

In this article we will look at the most common diseases of yucca, which can not only spoil the appearance of the plant, but in some cases even destroy it. I will also tell you which insects pose a danger to exotic plants, list methods to combat them and important basics of prevention.

Why do yucca leaves wither, turn yellow and dry out and what to do?

Single old yucca leaves turn yellow and die due to natural causes, as with all evergreens. But if the color and structure of all the leaves are disturbed, it means that the plant is experiencing stress as a result of improper care or attack by pests of indoor plants

To understand why yucca leaves turn yellow, it is important to consider all the factors affecting the plant: water regime, mineral nutrition, temperature and lighting. It is important to remember that yucca comes from an arid climate zone, so not only a lack of moisture is detrimental to it, but also its excess

It also requires a certain air temperature and daylength. Sudden changes in growing conditions negatively affect the appearance of the plant, leading to yellowing and falling leaves.

Yucca, both indoor and garden, has a hard time withstanding not only a lack of moisture, but also its excess. This indoor plant is classified as a succulent that creates a reserve of water in the stem, which allows it to survive the dry period in nature. In indoor culture, succulents require abundant but infrequent watering. Violating this rule can lead to some problems.

If you water too rarely, the yucca leaves wither, turn yellow and die over time. Abundant watering creates a threat of souring of the roots as a result of stagnation of moisture in the soil. Damaged roots do not cope with their functions and are not able to provide the plant with moisture and mineral elements, which leads to yellowing and drying of the shoots, the leaves wither and droop.

In summer, yucca is watered after the top layer of soil in the pot has dried. In winter, the lump of earth should completely dry out between waterings, since the plant is in a state of forced dormancy. A sign of excess water intake is the darkening of the tips of the leaves, which dry out over time, and the trunk becomes limp.

Yucca leaves turn yellow and dry out when there is a lack of sunlight and sudden temperature fluctuations. Direct rays of the sun leave burns on the leaves - large light areas that can form anywhere on the leaf blade. Bright, indirect light will help prevent such spots from appearing and keep the plant looking healthy.

In winter, it is recommended to move the yucca to a room with a temperature of +10. +15 degrees so that she can better survive the period with short daylight hours and dim lighting. If, during a period of forced dormancy, the palm tree is located near a heating device in a stream of dry warm air, the tips of the leaves turn yellow and dry out, and the leaves curl. The pot should be moved, choosing the optimal place for it in the house. To maintain the uniform green color of yucca leaves, you should avoid:

direct sunlight hitting the shoots;
placing the plant in a draft and in a stream of hot air;
excess air humidity;
poor watering during long daylight hours.

Yellowing of leaves - chlorosis - is one of the signs that the plant is experiencing a lack of mineral elements. With nitrogen deficiency, young leaves grow light, and with potassium deficiency, the color of adult leaves changes. Yucca in indoor culture can reach 4 m in height, increasing significant vegetative mass, so it needs good mineral nutrition. Once every few years, the flower should be replanted, since the soil becomes acidic and needs to be changed. Some time after transplanting, the soil becomes depleted. The lack of macro- and microelements is compensated by applying mineral fertilizers.

The condition of the leaves is negatively affected not only by deficiency, but also by excess of minerals in the soil

When applying mineral fertilizers, it is important to adhere to the manufacturer's recommendations. Feed yucca no more than once a month, from mid-spring to late summer.

In winter, feeding is stopped so that plant growth slows down.

Proper care is the basis for strong yucca immunity

In nature, yucca grows on continents with hot and dry climates. This plant is accustomed to the scorching sun, so in order for it to feel harmoniously at home, it needs to create approximately the same conditions.

The main point in caring for yucca is the period of “rest”, into which the plant falls with the onset of late autumn. The health and beauty of an exotic flower depends on how the rest period is organized.

Around the end of October, the yucca falls into “deep sleep.” This period lasts until mid-February. At this moment, the plant stops growing, it no longer requires a complete nutritional complex of minerals, and it does not need abundant watering.
The optimal temperature in the room where yucca grows should be up to +12 degrees. It is important that the plant is not exposed to catastrophically low temperatures (+8 degrees and below).
The plant does not need edges until the beginning of the growing season.
Watering needs to be reduced to 1-2 times a month.

At the time of vegetative development, an exotic flower needs the following conditions:

plenty of sunlight;
the temperature in the room is not higher than 30 degrees;
regular spraying of foliage;
application of mineral fertilizers (once every 2 weeks);
protection from drafts and sudden temperature changes.

You need to know the enemy by sight

In addition to diseases, some insects are enemies of yucca.

Pests rarely attack a plant with strong immunity, but diseased, depleted specimens often become their target. Let's consider who can live with your pet.

Mealybug

Most often it affects a palm tree in the off-season, when the plant experiences stress from changes in temperature. Externally, mealybugs look like small cotton balls; if you crush the fluffy ball, bloody discharge appears. Its harm is enormous, since it sucks juice from leaves and branches and multiplies very quickly.

If you notice a mealybug infestation, thoroughly wipe the yucca leaves with a sponge dipped in warm, soapy water, removing all visible traces of the pest. After this, treat the plant with an insecticide (Aktara, Calypso, Fitoverm, etc.). The procedure must be repeated 3-4 times with an interval of 7-10 days.

Shchitovka

Another dangerous enemy of yucca is the scale insect. A tiny insect, similar to a small turtle, is generally mistaken by some for a growth on the leaves, since it is motionless. Having firmly attached itself to a leaf blade or cuttings, the scale insect sucks out the juices of the plant. The first sign of a dangerous neighborhood is a sticky, shiny discharge.

Not only the scale insect itself harms the flower, but also the sticky substance. It clogs the pores of living tissue, creating favorable conditions for fungal infections.

The “shell” of the scale insect is so dense that it is difficult to kill it even with chemicals. First you need to remove adult individuals mechanically - with a swab moistened with a concentrated soap solution or vodka, clean the leaves and stems of brown “growths”. Remove the top layer of soil.

After this, treat the plant with an insecticide. As with mealybugs, repeat the procedure at least 3 times.

Preparing for winter and wintering

Particular attention is paid to preparing yucca for winter. The amount of work depends on whether your region needs to cover it for the winter or not.

Wintering without shelter

In the south of Russia and Ukraine, where frosts, even if they drop below 20 ° C, then only for a short time, yucca overwinters without shelter. You don’t have to do anything at all, but in this case the bushes will look unkempt after wintering, some of the leaves will break under the weight of snow and gusts of wind, and some will freeze. Moreover, not only the outer leaves will suffer, but also the middle of the bush. What should I do to avoid this?

Before the onset of persistent cold weather, the bushes need to be tied, collecting the leaves of each rosette into cones. This will prevent them from being damaged by snow. In addition, the more delicate core with the apical bud will be protected by several layers of dense leathery leaves. To protect the rhizome from freezing, the soil around is mulched with humus, peat chips, and leaf litter.

In most cases, such preparation is sufficient for successful wintering of filamentous yucca in the Krasnodar region, Kuban, Rostov region, and Crimea.

Options for constructing shelter structures

Garden yuccas growing north of these regions require shelter for the winter. Again, they can be of varying degrees of complexity and “warmth” - this is usually learned through experience.

Sometimes it is enough to wrap the plants tied in bunches with a breathable covering material - spunbond, lutrasil. The cone is tied with twine at the top and pressed down with something heavy at the bottom or buried in drops.
The second option is to cover the bushes with a frame made of wooden slats and wire. Covering material is thrown over the structure, and spruce spruce branches and reeds are piled on top.
Where winters are too harsh (Ural, Altai), tied and mulched yucca is covered with a wooden box, pieces of foam plastic, fallen leaves, and spruce branches are placed on top. All this is covered with film.

When covering the yucca for the winter, make sure that there is an air gap and that it is dry inside. And then, from the first days of spring, the plant will delight you with perfectly preserved evergreen foliage.

In spring, do not rush to remove the covering material. Wait for cloudy weather, leave the shade on the south side for a day or two, and do not forget to clean the bushes of damaged leaves. All. The exotic beauty is ready for the new season.

How to care and replant

If you choose the right place for planting garden yucca and if the root collar of the bush is not buried, caring for it will not cause any special problems. The main thing is not to overdo it with care: despite the fact that yucca is an unpretentious plant, and excessive care only causes harm. Reproduction and replanting of a bush requires careful actions from the gardener; the photo shows how to do it correctly.