Causes of yellowing and drying of yucca leaves and what to do

In southern Europe, yucca normally overwinters in open areas; in cool climates, a representative of the Agave family is bred as an indoor flower. The subtropical culture loves warmth, is demanding on lighting and temperature conditions, does not tolerate drought, and does not tolerate excess moisture. What to do if the leaves of the yucca turn yellow and dry out must be decided promptly, since the plant, which purifies the air and is pleasingly decorative, may disappear.

What affects the appearance and health of yucca leaves

The evergreen perennial, according to gardeners, takes root better in the garden than indoors. But when optimal conditions are created, the subtropical plant is comfortable in the room.

Agricultural technology

Succulents love permeable soil that absorbs moisture. Before planting yucca in a pot, you need to make a drainage layer and fill the space:

• humus;
• vermiculite;
• peat;
• sand.

If single leaves turn yellow, there is no need to worry, but when the color changes massively and the plant begins to dry out, this is a serious problem.

Lack and excess of watering

Under natural conditions, the evergreen perennial, like all succulents, accumulates water, which it uses during dry periods. At growing yucca indoors you need to water, but this should not be done every day. If watering is too infrequent, the leaves begin to wilt. With frequent watering, moisture stagnates in the pot, which leads to:

• to root rotting;
• eating disorders;
• to drying out of the shoots.

In summer, the plant is watered when the top layer of soil dries out. In winter, yucca rests. During dormancy, the succulent should be watered less and less frequently. When there is excess moisture, the tips of the leaves become dark in color, then dry out and fall off.

Violation of transplant rules

When the soil in the pot is too wet, it is necessary to loosen the top layer. If the shoots continue to dry out, the subtropical guest is dug up and replanted. When the roots are damaged, the perennial sheds its leaves. To make the succulent easier to bear stress, the pot with it is moved to a dark pantry for several days.

Changing the plant's growing location

Yucca is usually placed on a south window, but not everything is so simple. Sometimes the leaves of a false palm suddenly begin to turn yellow and shoots stop developing. It's worth trying to move the pot to another place. Often after this the yucca comes to life.

For the winter, it is better to take the succulent to a cool but bright room.

Lack of microelements

If conditions close to the optimal environment are created for the plant, but the leaves wither and lose their rich green color, this may be a sign of a lack of nutritional components. First you need to find out what the yucca is deficient in, and then carry out foliar feeding - spray it with fertilizer containing the necessary substance.

With a lack of nitrogen, the ends turn yellow, young leaves acquire a white-yellow color. Lack of phosphorus is fraught with the death of the plates. With a deficiency of iron and magnesium, dark veins appear.

Natural causes

Yucca, like any plant, becomes an adult and ages. The lower leaves gradually turn yellow, which is a normal process of life. Dried greenery is simply cut off, which gives the palm tree an even more attractive appearance.

Climate-related reasons

The succulent was brought from the subtropics of America, where the sun rises high, it is hot in summer, and if the yucca does not create similar conditions, the leaves lose their green color.

Inappropriate lighting

The heat-loving plant is placed on the south side, but during prolonged cloudy weather, just as in the period from February to March, the yucca does not have enough light. In the cells of the perennial, hydrostatic pressure drops, the tips of the leaves dry out, the blades stretch out and turn yellow. To restore turgor, you need to connect a fluorescent lamp; the succulent needs at least 10 hours of diffused rather than direct light.

When a false palm is placed on a north window, it loses its decorative appearance; the leaves at the base become almost white.

Temperature

For yucca growing in the house, 25 °C in summer is enough, but the decorative flower feels normal at higher temperatures. During the rest period, the room should be cooler. However, already at +12 the palm tree begins to shed its leaves, at +5 they curl and darken. Yucca cannot withstand drafts.

Inappropriate humidity level

Under natural conditions, the succulent grows in dry and hot climates, but in apartments heated in winter, hot radiators cause the air to dry out. And during dormancy, yucca needs moisture, and the plant, as well as the room, is sprayed with a spray bottle, otherwise the leaves curl into a tube and the tips dry out.

Pests

Pretty yucca growing in the garden attracts mealybugs, beetles, aphids, and thrips. Parasites also find decorative perennials in apartments.

Spider mite

An arthropod insect, the body of which does not exceed half a millimeter in length, has 8 legs. The pest is brought into the room with flowers bought at the market and falls through the air to the lower floors. Spider mites most often become active during the heating season and begin to feed on sap and yucca leaves:

1. Take on a yellow tint.
2. Covered with whitish spots.
3. They dry out and die.

To cope with the pest, the window sill where the yucca is located is washed with water and laundry soap and wiped with ethyl alcohol. The room is sprayed to increase humidity, and the plant is treated with an insecticide.

Shield aphid or scale insect

Fertile insects love indoor flowers, attach themselves to green shoots, cling to the leaf veins on both sides and drink the juice. Parasites leave behind a sticky trail. Yucca stops developing and the young plant may dry out.

Diseases

With improper care, excessive irrigation in combination with low temperatures, pathogenic microorganisms are activated, causing diseases, which lead to the fact that yucca loses its decorative properties and sheds its leaves.

Brown spot

With excess moisture and insufficient nutrients in the soil, the plant's immunity is weakened, and the palm tree becomes vulnerable to fungi that cause brown spotting. Colorless spots appear on the lower leaves. If no attention is paid, the affected areas become yellow in color, and after a few months they turn brown and mycelial spores become noticeable. To cure yucca from brown spotting, you need to:

1. Dry the soil in the pot.
2. Reduce the amount of irrigation.
3. Pick off infected leaves.

The succulent needs to be treated 3-4 times over 2 weeks with Topaz or the stronger fungicide Ridomil Gold.

Leaf marginal necrosis

Excess moisture promotes the activation of the Cytospora fungus. The pathogen begins to multiply, but if signs are detected in a timely manner yucca diseases can be saved. Gray spots first form at the ends of the leaves, quickly spread to the entire plate, darken, and acquire a brown-black color.

Fusarium rot

To cure a succulent from a fungal infection, you need to spray the entire plant with chemicals, from the root to the trunk and top. It is better to remove some of the soil, since there are spores in the soil.

When infected with fusarium, the leaves rot at the base and die.

Symptoms and determining the root cause

To restore the decorative quality of yucca, you need to understand why it turns yellow and withers. Characteristic signs help to find out what triggered the problem.

The tips of the leaves dry out

Insufficient lighting leads to the fact that the ornamental plant does not look so beautiful. If in early spring or late autumn the tips of the leaves of an evergreen succulent turn yellow and dry out, the cause of this phenomenon may also be too dry air.

To return the plant to an attractive appearance, you need to:

1. Place the pot further from the battery.
2. Turn on the phytolamp periodically.
3. Wipe the above-ground part with a sponge moistened with water.

To increase humidity, yucca is sprayed with a spray bottle. It is often undesirable to begin such a procedure; liquid will accumulate in the leaf sinuses, which can lead to rotting.

Yellowing and drying of the entire plate

In order for the palm tree to rest in winter, it must be kept in a cool room. The temperature should not fall below 12 or 13 °C. Failure to comply with such conditions, combined with poor lighting, leads to a weakening of the plant’s immunity; the plates of both old lower leaves and young rosettes turn yellow and dry out. They become stained and dry out when the yucca is exposed to direct sunlight.

To protect the plant from burns, the pot is moved away from the window.

Leaves turn yellow at the stem

With frequent spraying, abundant watering, due to waterlogging, the roots of the plant begin to rot, an unpleasant smell of dampness appears, the stems crack, and the leaves turn yellow. To prevent the yucca from dying, it is transplanted into a new pot filled with fresh soil. Undamaged roots are sprinkled with wood ash, rotten ones are removed.

The leaves turn black and fall off

When the succulent is placed in a draft, at low temperatures and high humidity, which occurs in the absence of a drainage layer in the pot and abundant watering, you will notice that the tips of the yucca leaves have turned black. They fall off when infected with fungi, which are activated when the rules of care are violated or there are no optimal conditions for the tropical plant.

The leaves are curling

The succulent freezes when the air temperature drops to 5 °C, which can happen if the yucca is left on a balcony or loggia and it gets sharply cold outside. The edges of the perennial leaves darken and curl.

How to revive a plant

Finding out the reason for the loss decorative yucca, it is necessary, without delay, to solve the problem.

Fighting fungal diseases

If a plant is affected by cercospora or brown spot, dry the soil in the pot, reduce the amount of watering, tear off diseased leaves and spray the yucca with chemicals “Topaz”, “Ridomil Gold”.

To cope with marginal necrosis, the infected area is removed, capturing healthy tissue. The sections are sprinkled with activated carbon, and the palm tree is treated with Topaz.

To treat fusarium rot, use “Profit” and “Previkur”. The top layer of soil in which fungal spores grow is removed. Fungicides are sprayed on the leaves, shoots, and trunk.

Destruction of spider mites

Having discovered whitish spots caused by pests, the yucca should be thoroughly treated with laundry soap and the plant should be covered with polyethylene for a day, and then sent under a warm shower. The window on which the succulent stood is washed by adding Karbofos to the water. The plant is sprayed with insecticides “Fitoverm”, “Intavir”, and the air in the room is humidified.

Rescue from scale insects

To cope with the pest, which drinks the juice from the leaves and stems of yucca and covers them with a sticky coating, the plant is treated with kerosene or a special product. The composition is prepared by combining 2 tsp with a liter of water. alcohol and 15 mm liquid soap. If such treatment is ineffective, the succulent is sprayed with Actellik and Aktara insecticides.

How to save a yucca if it has suffered from improper care

To revive a houseplant that withers in winter at home, you need to check the temperature. When the temperature in the apartment is more than 15 °C, the pot with the palm tree must be moved to a cool place. If the leaves have turned pale and stretched out, you need to arrange additional lighting. Softening of the trunk indicates rotting of the roots, which occurs due to frequent and abundant watering. It is unlikely that the yucca will be saved, but it is worth trying to cut off the top and transplant it into another container.