Question
Yucca
Hi there,
I have what I think is a Yucca plant (three stems ranging 8-32") in a 9.5" pot. It is a few feet from a sunny east-facing bay window. I water it about once a week. Over the past few months it has been deteriorating slowly.. the leaves seem to be drying up & turning yellow. Whole foliage clusters have broken off when I was inspecting them. I read some warnings about overwatering but would the leaves appear to dry up if this was the case?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Stephanie
AnswerStephanie,
Yes, your plant is a yucca and yes you are overwatering it. Mine is about the same size and I water it once every 3 weeks. The leaves appear to dry up because the roots are rotting and are no longer able to absorb water and take it to the foliage. If you stop watering once a week and let it dry out the roots will slowly regrow and by summer it will send out new green growth. In the summer you can set it outside in a shady location so it doesn't get sunburned and it will put out a lot of new growth. During the summer you can water it once a week but in the fall as the days start getting shorter you have to cut back on the amount of water and allow longer between waterings until by Christmas you are at 3 weeks between waterings. Then you will not have the drying and die back that you are now seeing. You have to drain water off ASAP and dry it out so the roots will breath and begin growing back. Move it closer to that window if possible. If you doubt me try gently wiggling the stalks and I think you will find a lot of movement because the roots are badly damaged. If you let it dry out they will recuperate. Good luck.
Darlene
