A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 yukka tree

Hey,
i've got a yukka tree at home, the kind with the arcing, droopy leaves, not the leaves that stick straight up. anyways, its been getting what i thought to be adequate light and water, but the leaves began browning from tip to base. i ammended the soil with bat guanno when i potted it, so nitrogen levels should be sufficient. could i have given it too much, or is it still lacking phosphorous, etc.? perhaps, though not root-bound, the soil is too tightly packed, preventing aeration? would love some advice, great forum!

Hi, bodhigaea. I hate to see a question go unanswered, so I'll give yours a try. Mostly, when trying to figure out what a plant wants in my home, I look at where it thrives in nature. The most wonderful wild yukka I have ever seen grew on rocky, volcanic "waste land" in the Arizona desert. Therefore, it wants a lot of sun, not a lot of water, and a fast draining soil that isn't too rich in organics. My guess about yours is that it needs more drainage material in an otherwise balanced soil, and no fertilizer, especially in winter when most northern hemispheric plants are resting. I hope this helps.

margaret,
thanks for the advice, the trees gettin good sun almost all day, but the soil is very organic. I foolishly ammended the potting soil with lots of guanno and a little worm castings. At this point do you think it would be wiser to repot in a more rocky medium w/o ferts, or just try and flush this pot? The nutes are organic and there's a good amount of perlite in the pot, but the dirt seems pretty packed. I used a chopstick to poke some deep aeration holes, will this help? Lastly, should I cut off the dying leaves? if so, where? thanks so much for the help!

I'd repot it in a nice, fast draining mixture and then let it be for a while. As far as the dying leaves go, let them finish drying out and maybe they'll fall off on their own or you can cut them close to the stem. If they're very unsightly, cut off any yellow or brown part up to the healthy growth. Be careful repotting, try not to break the roots. Do you have a picture? What other plants do you grow?

no picture right now, but ill get on uploading one. ill repot soon though, thanks for the advice. im a neophyte when in comes to house plants, but ive got some standards: sweedish ivy, jade, wandering jew, jobes tears, polkat dot plant, as well as an avacado, and grapefruit tree. what do you grow? im always looking for new plants!

peace

I love yuccas.I got a few.I got a spineless yucca that I just love.its grown inground.its mostly sandy loam& actually all of mine are grown in ground.

tell more about your growing conditions& climate.and what size container.

turns out i actually have a massangeana. its in a room that faces south and its in a pot that would hold a basketball comfortably. climate is cool, what would be the effect of placing it near a radiator??

I wouldn't put it near the radiator it will dry the leaves out.Mine do fine with cool condtions.I winter mine in cold GH and it dips briefly to upper& mid 30s and they both do well.I don't water mine much in winter.When I lived In Indpls I use to winter one in the back of kitchen under a grow light.
I'm loading some pics tomorrow into my yahoo under winter fall photos.you'll have to peek later.


tell me how your soil is now.maybe add some grit for drainage.I repotted mine when bought(50% off) I added foam peanuts in bottom,but just used potting mix walmarts expert brand.

soils a bit tight, would throwing some perlite in the mix be sufficient, or should i try new soil altogether??