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YUCCA PLANT

Home & Garden

Posted by: volcanogirl

19th Nov 2010 05:00am

I have a very big yuuca plant in my backyard. Is slowly turning yellow. Have fed it and watered it but nothing is changing. Can anyone tell me what im doing wrong. I dont want it to die. It is quite big with at least 8 different heads on it.

Comments 11

jjdrer
  • 25th May 2014 11:40pm

There is one problem with some yucca plants if you have children or pets.
Some have sharp points on the end of their leaves and can result in some nasty cuts. I know they have to learn not to touch them.
If you overwater plants in very hot weather the water in the soil can actually get so hot that it will cause plants to wilt and die. My Mum gave some fuschias extra water when we knew it was going to very hot the next day. Looking out the window the next day she watched it literally wilt and it was dead within a few days. When I dug it up I discovered the soil was still quite damp but was quite warm still. A few metres away where they had been no watering the soil was cool.
We recently had bushfires in the Flinders Ranges in SA. CFS were hosing trees putting out fires. Friends of ours that gum tree that the water was sitting in part way up its trunk. When the water got too hot although the tree had not been burnt at all it literally "exploded", sending branches several metres in all directions. Fortunately no personell were injured...or firefighting equipment damaged.

spog777
  • 10th Nov 2012 10:57pm

I think you may be giving it too much kindness. Stop the water and only lightly fertilise once a year

Anonymous
  • 23rd Dec 2011 02:52am

Although I can't answer the question of why the Yucca is or was, turning Yellow, what I can say for certain is that Yuccas require very little water and can even go months, or at least many weeks without being watered or rained on. And it should be stated here that if Yuccas are watered or rained on regularly (like, every day or several times a week), they will actually begin to look like crap and acquire black spots all over their leaves. I know this because I recently worked in a nursery for 22 months and have completed a Certificate II in Horticulture.

P.S. Yuccas also require full sun and are believed by me to have originally come from the harsh, dry deserts of the States of Arizona and Nevada, USA - much like Joshua Trees.

Sarandipity
  • 7th Nov 2011 06:08pm

I can only reiterate what others have said. Many yuccas are suffering lately . Too much rain . Check if the water is pooling and not running away. They dont like wet feet and thrive on dry conditions.

Hope you can save it.

codge
  • 18th Feb 2011 08:42am

Stop watering it immediately. As stated elsewhere, it is a desert type plant and the bulbous root ball is for water storage. With all the rain lately it will not need extra water from you for a long time.

amanda6393
  • 17th Jan 2011 03:27pm

I have a yucca which died to the point that it was just a 12 inch stick! Believe it or not, it came back and now stands over 6 foot tall. I'm not sure if yours is in the ground or potted? Mine was potted and on a verandah which, although yuccas are warm climate plants, was simply too hot for it (over 40 degree heat reflecting off tiles). Although it came back when I moved it, it really took off when I repotted it into a larger pot.

volcanogirl
  • 18th Jan 2011 03:22pm
I have a yucca which died to the point that it was just a 12 inch stick! Believe it or not, it came back and now stands over 6 foot tall. I'm not sure if yours is in the ground or potted? Mine was...

Hi Amanda6393 Thanks for your replyu regarding the yucca plant. To answer your question mine is in the ground under shade cloth and since i wrote the original letter i have applied a fertilizer called blue special about 1 month ago and it has completely changed. It is now thriving thank god, the leaves are now a deep green colour and is growing very well. I thank you and everyone else for their input and am pleased that it is growing well. Again thankyou. Regards Volcanogirl.

cabsy61
  • 3rd Dec 2010 09:59am

G,day v.girl;

Very glad to be of assistance. Let me know how you get on with Peter C. You never know, he just might include your letter as an item of interest in his Earthy Wisdom column or in the Gardening Australia Magazine, as he still contributes to that as well. Oh, by the way, I believe Peter also writes for the G.A.M. associate mag, Australian Organic Gardener. Both mag's are beaut reads & can be picked at at any good newsagent store

Craig B.

cabsy61
  • 3rd Dec 2010 09:51am

cabsy61
  • 25th Nov 2010 04:35pm

G,day Volcanogirl;

Yuccas can be so majestic when they are as big as you indicate yours is. How tall do estimate it is, i.e. as tall as your houses roof, etc? Yuccas are of a dry mediterranian or desert type plant, accustomed to impoverished soils somewhat and don't need much watering throughout the year.

I'm no expert by any means but I do enjoy my gardening; maybe it is suffering from a trace elements or iron chelate deficiency. Yellowing is a fair sign of the latter. What kind of fertilising around it have you so far carried out, do you mulch underneath it as well?

If you want more detailed advice, may I recommend you send a letter to, your friend & mine, Peter Cundall, formerly anchorman of Gardening Australia. I don't have his postal address but I do know that he has a weekly, "Earthy Wisdom" page in agricultural publication, The Weekly Times, and I make sure I don't miss a single issue; The whole issue is that good a read & I deliberately leave Peter's page until the last one I read.

I'm sure if you contacted them, They would be able to forward on your letter or give you his forwarding address.

All the best;

CragD.

volcanogirl
  • 28th Nov 2010 11:37pm
G,day Volcanogirl;

Yuccas can be so majestic when they are as big as you indicate yours is. How tall do estimate it is, i.e. as tall as your houses roof, etc? Yuccas are of a dry...

Hi cabsy61 thanks for your input on the yucca plant. It stands approx 6ft tall with as many as 8 different heads on it. I will do as you stated and send Peter Cundall a letter stating my dilemma. Thankyou very much for your reply im sure it will help me solve my problem. Thankyou again. Volcanogirl

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