Concerned that your yucca trees aren’t thriving in the way that they should? Here are four things that you can do to give your yuccas a boost.
Protect Them From Direct Sunlight
Have you noticed white spots on your yucca leaves? Or perhaps brown tips? Both are signs that your yucca plant is being exposed to too much sunlight.
While many yucca varieties will still grow in direct sun, they won’t thrive. Yuccas prefer a partially shaded spot where they can enjoy bright but indirect sunlight. There are a few ways in which you could give your outdoor yucca trees some shade – try putting up some shade cloth or planting other, larger trees around your yuccas.
Keep Them on the Dry Side
Yucca plants are generally known for being adaptable and hardy, but there’s one thing that no yucca will be able to tolerate; overwatering. Since these trees hail from desert regions, they’ve evolved to do best in dry conditions. If you want your yuccas to thrive, you’ll need to replicate this as much as possible.
If your yucca is a houseplant, that’s easy enough to do – simply water it less frequently. However, if your yuccas are outdoors, this isn’t quite so simple since you don’t have control over rainfall. That said, what you do have control over is how quickly rainwater drains away from your trees. If your soil is consistently damp, look into ways of improving drainage around your yucca trees to help give them drier growing conditions.
Don’t Overcrowd Them
Yucca trees need plenty of ventilation. If you have a number of other trees and plants drowning your yucca out, then this could be why your tree is looking less-than-happy.
Either tie back or cut back surrounding plants to give your yucca more room. Alternatively, if this isn’t possible, it may be worth digging up your yucca and moving it to a more suitable location. You could even choose to plant it in a large GRC pot, so that you can move it around your garden with the seasons.
Feed Them…But Not Too Much
When it comes to the nutrients that your yucca tree needs in order to thrive, this all depends on the variety you’re growing. For example, the Yucca Filifera often prefers deep soil that’s rich in minerals, whereas the Yucca Rostrata grows in rocky, practically soil-less environments.
Either way, your yuccas will still need certain nutrients to grow, so find out what these are and then make sure that your plants are getting them. Keep in mind that it’s important not to go overboard with how much and how often you feed your yuccas – over-fertilisation could cause root burn.
Summary
Yuccas are usually pretty easy trees to care for, but this can make it all the more puzzling when things start to go wrong. Fortunately, the solution is usually pretty simple – follow the four tips above and your yucca should start to look happier in no time.