Features of caring for indoor yucca at home, propagation and transplantation

Yucca nobilis is considered an expensive plant that gardeners are not ashamed to give as a gift. It is ideal for decorating the interior of a home, it is unpretentious, and has an exotic appearance. Yucca is often called a palm tree, which is an erroneous statement: it is a member of the Liliaceae family and has nothing in common with palm trees, except for a slight external resemblance.

Description and characteristics of culture

The description of indoor yucca allows us to highlight its characteristic features and not confuse it with other similar plants. A correctly compiled description makes it possible to recognize a noble flower and give it a place of honor in your home.

External description

The height of indoor yucca reaches 2 meters. The plant has a lignified stem, similar in appearance to an elephant's leg, at the top covered with green or bluish leaves. The yucca foliage sticks out in different directions and droops a little. Its shape is xiphoid. Each leaf can grow up to 0.5 meters in length. There are varieties in which the trunk is completely absent, and the crown consists of 1 or more rosettes.

Root system

The weak point of indoor yucca is its root system. Although the flower itself is large, its roots are small. If the soil is too dense, they suffocate, and if there is too much moisture, they rot and the plant dies.

All about flowering

Not all owners of the plant can admire the flowering of domestic yucca. Some varieties in captivity categorically refuse to throw away the peduncle even with proper care and maintenance.

First flowering

Yucca blooms for the first time only in the 7-10th year of life.In room conditions, this process may be delayed, or the plant may not form a flower bud at all.

How often does yucca bloom?

The frequency of flowering in yucca directly depends on the variety being grown. In most cases, it forms a bud once a year.

Suitable varieties for home cultivation

Not all varieties found in the wild are suitable for indoor growing. This is something to keep in mind when choosing a green pet for your space. Most often on window sills there are such Yucca varieties:

• Elephant (Giant);
• Aloe leaf;
• Glorious;
• Filamentous;
• Gray.

Growing conditions

To grow yucca indoors and wait for it to bloom, you need to create conditions suitable for this and follow the recommendations of experienced specialists.

Optimal place: lighting and location

Yucca is a light-loving crop, so it is preferable to place it on a stand near eastern or western windows. The room must have a sufficient level of illumination, uniform throughout the day. This factor has a significant impact not only on growth and development, but also on the decorative qualities of the flower.

It is not recommended to place the yucca on the floor, since in this case it will not receive additional light. The stand should be flush with the window sill. If the plant is placed near a south window, then at noon it will be necessary to create additional protection from the scorching rays of the sun (blinds or curtains) to prevent sunburn..

A small young flower can be kept directly on the windowsill. In the summer, they will have to be protected from sunburn, and in the winter, make sure that they do not touch the cold window.In winter, yucca experiences a lack of lighting anywhere, so it is imperative to organize illumination using a phytolamp or a fluorescent lamp. The plant's daylight hours should last up to 12 hours.

Temperature

Yucca can be grown successfully at standard room temperatures. The optimal temperature is 22-26 °C. In winter, it is preferable to reduce the temperature to 16-20 °C. The plant does not like sudden changes, and also needs protection from hot air flows from the heating battery.

Humidity

Yucca does not need high humidity. The standard indicator for a city apartment (40-50%) is sufficient for it. If the humidity drops below this limit, then the leaves of the plant are sprayed, and artificial air humidifiers are installed.

Substrate requirements

For Yucca planting You can buy ready-made soil in the store. A suitable substrate is intended for growing palm trees, dracaena and yucca. You can also prepare it yourself, always including the following components:

• turf land;
• rotted needles;
• coarse river sand;
• humus.

It is possible to replace humus with purchased vermicompost, and add peat to the leaf part. An adult yucca needs denser soil, which is why it contains half of the turf soil. A drainage layer must be placed at the bottom of the pot and only then nutritious soil for the plant is added.

Volume and dimensions of the pot

To plant yucca, you need a deep pot that is spacious in width. The root system should be placed freely in the container, and a distance of 1.5 cm should be left to the walls.

Scheme and technology of planting

Planting yucca yourself is not so difficult; it is important to get high-quality planting material. There are several known methods of propagating a decorative flower, in which each step is outlined step by step. It is worth noting that until complete rooting the soil should be kept moderately moist. If it gets too dry, the seedling will dry out, and if it gets too wet, there is a high risk of rotting.

Pots with unrooted yuccas are placed in a warm room. It would be advisable to organize heating of the lower part of the container. Place a plastic bag or a piece of plastic bottle over the plant to achieve a greenhouse effect. A month after planting, the root system begins to form, and after a couple of months new shoots emerge, signaling the need to replant the flower.

Caring for a plant at home

Yucca is an unpretentious flower, but it requires a little attention and care. In gratitude, the plant will delight you with its decorative qualities, and perhaps even flowering.

Irrigation system

It is permissible to water the yucca only with settled water at room temperature to avoid acidification of the soil. The frequency of irrigation directly depends on the size and age of the plant. The larger it is, the less often you will need to water it. The volume of the pot also plays an important role. In a container with a volume of 5 liters, the soil dries out faster than in a container of 20 liters.

In summer, yucca grows actively, so it needs more liquid than in winter. The need for watering is determined by the condition of the top layer of soil. The earthen clod should not be allowed to dry out too much, but excess moisture also negatively affects the health of the flower..

Feeding and fertilizer

You can feed yucca with one of the preparations offered in the store.The modern assortment allows you to select both complex mineral and organic fertilizers that are suitable specifically for a given type of plant. The recommendations and dosages specified by the manufacturer should be strictly followed. Otherwise, instead of the expected positive result, you can cause significant harm to the flower. It is also taken into account that in the fall the amount of fertilizing is reduced, since the yucca prepares for the dormant period and consumes less nutrients from the soil.

Formative pruning

You need to trim your yucca so that it has a beautiful shape. Otherwise, the plant will have one elongated trunk with a bunch of leaves at the end. Also, using this procedure, you can rejuvenate an outdated tree. The first pruning is carried out when the trunk height reaches 65 cm and its diameter reaches 5 cm. It is preferable to carry out the work in the spring, after watering the flower.

When pruning, remove the top of the yucca and leave a trunk 45 cm high. When the cut area dries out a little, it is treated with garden varnish or sprinkled with activated carbon. After this, several axillary buds are activated. Only those that will form the necessary branches are retained, the rest are used for propagation.

Transfer

Immediately after purchase, the yucca will need to be replanted. This procedure is also carried out when:

• suspected root system disease;
• every 2-3 years, increasing the volume of the pot.

Transplantation is carried out in the spring, having previously prepared a larger container, soil mixture and drainage. A few days before the planned work, they stop watering the yucca. If the soil in the pot is still good, then only the top layer is removed.

Before direct transplantation, a thorough examination of the condition of the root system is carried out. If there are soft and darkened areas, they are immediately cut off and the wounds are treated with activated carbon powder.

How to care for leaves, clean dust

Leaves are the main decorative element of yucca, so their condition is very important. Over time, dust accumulates on them, which not only spoils the appearance, but also negatively affects the health of the flower. Some people prefer to send their green pet into the shower, washing off everything unnecessary, but the correct thing to do is to regularly wipe the leaves with a damp cloth. After the shower, you should let the plant dry in a place protected from light, or better yet, carry out the procedure in the evening.

Diseases and their treatment

Like any indoor flower, yucca is susceptible to pests and various diseases, which significantly impair its decorative properties and can even lead to the death of the flower.

Foliage curls

Curled leaves often signal low temperatures and lack of lighting during the dormant period. It is necessary to take care of normalizing these indicators by installing phytolamps.

Leaf spot

This sign indicates the presence of fungal diseases caused by excess moisture. It is necessary to reduce the number of waterings, reduce the humidity level in the room, and remove and destroy the affected parts of the yucca.

Dry spots on leaves

An alarm indicates too much light and insufficient humidity. It is recommended to move the pot to partial shade and increase the humidity level.

Rot

Rotting of the root system is most often caused by excess moisture and stagnation of water in the pan. It is urgent to replant the plant, removing all the affected parts and treating it with activated carbon and a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Pest control

Pests of indoor plants pose no less danger than pathogens. They must be dealt with decisively and in a timely manner.

Spider mite

The pest acts on the underside of the leaf blade, as a result of which it becomes dull and eventually dies completely. An effective prevention is to spray the green mass with a soap solution and insecticides.

False shield

The false scale insect acts not only on the leaves, but also on the stems of yucca. If the pest is not destroyed in a timely manner, the flower may die. To combat it, use a solution of the drug “Actellik”, which is used to wipe the leaf plates.

Culture propagation

There are several effective and simple ways to propagate indoor yucca that gardeners use.

Plant cuttings

Propagation of false palm by cuttings is carried out mainly in the spring, but this method is practiced until August. To obtain planting material, it is recommended to divide the plant trunk into parts 10 cm long each. The cutting from the top is planted in a nutritious soil mixture and a greenhouse is formed on top of it. The remaining cuttings are placed horizontally in the soil and slightly buried. After some time, the dormant buds will awaken and form new shoots. When they grow a little, you can plant the young yuccas in separate pots.

Sowing seeds

The seeds are sown in nutritious soil, a sheet of glass is placed on top or covered with a transparent film to create a mini-greenhouse. The humidity in it is maintained at 75%, daily ventilation is organized, and if necessary, the soil is sprayed with a spray bottle. A month later, the first yucca shoots appear.As soon as they grow up, each seedling is planted in a separate container.

Tops

Yucca can be propagated using any broken twig or cut top with a rosette of leaves. If it is long, then the trunk is shortened a little and allowed to dry for a couple of hours, and then the lower leaves are removed. The resulting cutting is planted in nutrient soil and covered with cellophane or a glass jar. The soil should be kept slightly moist.

Stem cuttings can be placed in water for rooting. To avoid rotting, activated carbon and ash are added there. As soon as the roots are formed, the yucca is planted in a separate prepared pot. The method of propagation by segments makes it possible to save a flower that, for various reasons, has lost its root system.

Propagation by lateral shoots

This method is very similar to propagating yucca by cuttings. A sufficient number of lateral branches are formed from the main trunk of an adult tree. If you carefully separate them and place them in water or damp sand for further rooting, then after a while you can get a young independent plant. The fact that the flower has successfully taken root and begun to develop is indicated by the appearance of new shoots.