Question
Hi Darlene, please can you help? I have had my indoor yucca for 12/13 years from a 12" plant. It has been re-potted several times over those years and was about 5ft tall. It was thriving and then both of the shoots got "top heavy" and have drooped right over. The shoots are bald for about 1 foot and then green leaves, but the tops are just too heavy for the stems to cope with. The trunk bit seems OK. I was about to re-pot it when this problem occured. Is there anything I can do? Can a Yucca be pruned and start again? Please help as my Yucca is like part of the family. Many thanks, Maz.

Answer
Marion,

I am not sure what you mean by, " both of the shoots got "top heavy" and have drooped right over." Has the trunk turned mushy or soft up where it is green? This plant is a desert plant. I suspect you have been keeping it too wet and not giving it enough sun so the roots have rotted and the plant is collapsing. You should only be watering it once a week in the summer and every 2 weeks right now. In January and February you should not water it more often than every 3 weeks.

No plants should be repotted in the fall of the year as the days are getting shorter. They are slowing their growth then. They should only be repotted in the spring when they are increasing their growth.

Try shaking gently the entire plant at the base. If the plant seemes very loose you should be able to tell if the roots are still intact or if a lot of the roots have rotted away. Do not remove the plant from the pot. Try not to disturb it any more than necessary. It may still be savable.  

It should only be in a pot with a drainage hole and a drain tray under it. You should never allow excess water in the drain tray for more than a few hours. That causes the roots to rot which is the problem I suspect that you have now. Because the plant is a desert plant it also needs lots of sun, it needs to be in front of a south facing window with the drapes or blinds open all day. Try putting a stake in and tying the plants up.  Drain as much water off as possible and do not water it until it has been bone dry for at least a week.  Then give it 1/2 the water you normally do and do not water it again until it has been bone dry for at least a week. Continue that and there is a good chance that it will grow new roots and survive unless the top turns brown. If the top turns brown it is dead. Good luck.

Darlene