Wild Interiors — How to Care for Yucca Cane (2024)

FAQs

Wild Interiors — How to Care for Yucca Cane? ›

The Yucca Cane's underground rhizome holds onto water, so you really only need to water when the top inch or two of soil is dry, about once every 10 days. To avoid overwatering, make sure the roots are not sitting in water and the plant is in a well draining soil and pot.

Stake type fertilizers can be used following the directions on the package. With any of the above techniques a balanced mix should be used, 20-20-20 or 20-30-20 or 18-24-16. Organic fertilizers, like manure, can also be used with good results.

Yucca requires a sunny position all year, well drained compost and careful watering. A south-facing window would be ideal in winter with an east or west-facing window in summer. Provide light shade from direct summer sun and ventilate freely to encourage air flow to reduce excessive high temperatures.

During the summer you can water it once a week, and in winter one watering every 20 days will be enough. Bonus tip: spray the yucca leaves from time to time to provide it with a bit of moisture, it will make your plant happy.

If your yucca plant is getting too big in your yard or its pot indoors, simply cut off the top or cut it in half. Yuccas sprout and grow new leaves where they're cut while the severed top can grow roots if you plant it in soil! Trim leggy branches or branches that are leaning, too.

How long does a yucca plant live? The yucca is a very hardy houseplant and can live over 100 years given the right care conditions. Repot your yucca every few years and fertilise twice a year to keep the soil fresh and full of nutrients.

Yucca plants don't require acid soils, but coffee grounds are an acceptable source of nitrogen, attract red worms, and make a decent mulch around acid-loving plants.

Fertilising yuccas

For yuccas planted out in the garden, simply incorporate a bit of compost into the soil once a year. Indoor potted yuccas also benefit from some fertiliser from time to time. We can recommend our Plantura Liquid Houseplant Food, or alternatively, diluted liquid nettle fertiliser.

Yuccas don't need additional moisture. They like warm, dry conditions that are well-ventilated, so you don't need to worry about misting your plant.

However, it is also possible that they have not received enough water and cannot support their new growth - though this would require very dry conditions indeed. In either case, you'll want to clip off the brown leaves so that new leaves will have a chance to grow.

What does an unhealthy yucca plant look like? ›

Unhealthy Plant Signs

Monitor your Yucca plant carefully, as drooping stems, wilting leaves and yellowing could all indicate either too much water, or not enough water. Yellowing leaves can also indicate poor sunlight.

Providing proper soil moisture (or lack of moisture) is important in caring for a Yucca Cane. The most common cause of yellowing leaves among Yucca Canes is overwatering–they don't need much water to survive. Only water when 75-100% dry. Water until water flows freely from the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot.

If you do overwater your plant, it can develop yellow leaves. Always check the soil before watering.

Bottom watering will not wash away salts and other minerals from the soil, so make sure to also give water over the soil every now and then.

It can be alarming to notice the tips of your Yucca Cane turning brown, but don't be alarmed! This is almost always normal, and easily fixed. Your Yucca cane likes to dry out between waterings, but if you let it go dry too long it can cause the roots to start to die back. Water when 75-100% of the soil volume is dry.

Like most desert plants, yuccas love basking in sunlight—and lots of it. Martinson notes that although yuccas can tolerate lower levels of light, they often prefer sunny south-, west-, or east-facing windows where they can catch direct or indirect sunlight.

Over watering is the main and probably the only way to kill a yucca.