I Have a Huge Yucca Plant and It Appears to Be Dying…

Question

I moved into a house and the owners left a huge potted yucca in the kitchen. It gets a great deal of light. I’ve been here 7 months and it is starting to turn brown, sag and the tips of the leaves are turning brown. It is a BEAUTIFUL plant and I want to save it. Any advice? I think I was watering it too much, but have since backed off.

Answer 1

Overwatering is the first problem to look into when you see brown tips on the leaves. Basically, yuccas like to get ALMOST dry between waterings. In order to be sure of what you’re doing, you’ll want to test the soil moisture before watering. Also, you need to know about the moisture in the bottom of the pot, not just near the surface. Use a long wooden dowel, or a shish kebob skewer, and test as if you were testing a cake. ” Almost dry” will leave only a few bits of soil sticking, and the skewer will feel almost dry, only the barest trace of moisture. If you were overwatering, and now you’re reducing water, it will still take the plant a long time to recover, although yuccas are pretty tough, so it should eventually. You can carefully trim off the brown tips, preserving the natural shape of the leaves. If the leaves no longer are tipping, you are on the way to recovery.