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Yucca plants are beautiful and exotic plants that can provide your environment with a tropical look. These plants are easy to grow and care for, making them perfect household plants. Although yucca plants are susceptible to drought and most diseases, once in a while, they get affected.
Saving your yucca plant from the infestation of pests and diseases and even extreme drought might not be easy, but with proper care and guidance, you will be able to revive your dying yucca plant effortlessly.
In this article, we will show you how to save a dying yucca plant.
Why Is My Yucca Plant Dying?
Usually, the most common reasons why your yucca plant is dying are overwatering, insufficient sunlight, fertilizer problems, poor drainage, transplant stress, temperature stress, and pests or diseases.
Yucca plants are drought resistant and do not thrive in soil that is consistently damp and boggy. If the soil is overly damp, it will result in root rot, making the yucca plant’s leaves to turn yellow, wilt, and eventually dye off if the problem isn’t addressed.
How To Save a Dying Yucca Plant
There are many reasons why your yucca plant may seem like it’s dying or is dying. Some of these reasons include; bad lighting, transplant shock, and several other reasons.
These conditions start making your root rot and also wilt off. Some ways you can revive your dying yucca plants include:
1. Provide Enough Lightening
Yucca plants would do well in sunny areas, and for you to ensure that they are healthy, they should be receiving at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily. If you let your yucca plants stay in a shady area for a long time, then ensure that you move them to a sunny place immediately after you realize it starts wilting.
The sunniest part in most homes is the part closest to the southern window, so you should place your yucca plants closer to then, especially in winter when there is less sun.
When your yucca plant seems like it is drying off, you should water the yucca plant and give it a few days, and it should be back to normal then.
2. Do Not Underwater
As much as the yucca plants can be able to survive without being watered for a while, underwatering Is a common mistake that a lot of people make. When you notice that your yucca plants start to develop dry and brown leaves, then yes, your plants desperately need some water.
Keep watering your plants enough for them to be able to soak their plants. Also, remember to leave a hole at the bottom of the pot so the water does not become excessive and cause root rot. After watering your yucca plants properly, place them under the sun.
3. Avoid Over-watering Your Plants
Over-watering is almost the complete opposite of under-watering. When you over-water your plants, you notice that the leaves look yellow, and the roots start to rot, too; yellowing leaves are a clear sign that your plant is getting much more water than t needed, and you have to reduce the amount of water.
Yucca plants can store enough water under their stems, and the water they store can last for a long time, so watering too much would be unnecessary.
However, if you notice that your plants develop any of these signs of over-watering, then you should change the soil in the pot and fill it with well-drained soil; after that, leave the plant in a sunny environment to dry off.
4. Root Rot
Root rot is one of the significant consequences of over-watering your plants. Although root rot is also a sign of the plants not getting enough nutrients, most cases you would hear off is due to over-watering.
The reason is that the roots of the pants become brown, slimy, and rotten; if this happens, you would need to cut out the affected parts of the root, leaving behind only the healthy ones.
After removing the roots that have been deeply infected, you should spray your plant with hydrogen peroxide and some fungicides to go along with it. Finally, you should transplant your plant into a different plant pot for your yucca plant to have a higher chance of survival.
5. Temperature Changes
An obvious sign of a negative temperature change is signs of curly leaves on your yucca. Yucca plants perform best in temperatures ranging from 45 degrees f up to 90 degrees f.
Some other signs of temperature stress are red spots on the leaves and drooping, although curling of the leaves is the most common.
If maybe you moved the yucca plant from its usual spot, ensure that you move it back, and then your yucca plant will be doing well in about a day or two.
6. Transplanting Stress
When you move your yucca plants from one pot to another, the leaves turn wilted and yellow. Therefore, you should try your best to ensure that the yucca plant stays in a healthy pot, and you should only transplant it whenever the root seems to start breaking out of the pot.
7. Dealing With Cases of Pest and Diseases Infestations
The most common pest infestation problem is obvious signs of white spots appearing on your yucca plant. In addition, some types of fungi the yucca plants are sensitive to, like aphids and mealybugs.
You can get rid of the aphids by spraying your plants with liquid pesticides and if affected by spider mites, remove all the parts of the leaves that were affected.
Now for diseases, some of the most common symptoms you can get are the drying out of leaves and the yellowing of leaves coupled with root rot. When you notice any of this, spray the plant with horticultural oil and treat them appropriately. Then, they should be okay.
8. Avoid The Addition of Too Many Fertilizers
If you notice that your yucca plant is growing abnormally, maybe the stem is too big compared to the leaves or vice versa. It is a sign that too much fertilizer is usually added to your plant or too often. It would help if you did not fertilize your plants more than two times in the early spring and even winter.
If this is the case, you must ensure that you wash away as much fertilizer as you can from the soil, and this would work best if you use a hose and water directly on the soil. In addition, you should ensure that your pots have holes so this water can flow away easily.
See Also: Indoor Yucca Plant Problems
9. Treat Your Yucca for Sunburn
Although your yucca plants love sunlight, you should be very careful, so you do not burn the leaves.
After this plant has spent the entire winter inside, taking them under the soil and leaving them there for a long time would be a wrong decision; so, you should ensure that you leave it for about 8 hours before taking it to a shady area.