Yucca transplant technique and plant care rules

The cultivated "false" palms of the genus Yucca have long been used as a spectacular decoration not only in the gardens of the southern regions, but also in offices and living quarters. Yucca requires a minimum of maintenance, while possessing high decorative qualities.

Varieties

The homeland of yucca is North and Central America. This plant of the agave family has taken root in the Crimea and in some regions of the Caucasus, where it grows well in open ground. In summer, it pleases local residents and tourists with beautiful original flowers, somewhat reminiscent of huge (up to 1 m) chestnut candles. The inflorescences are usually white or cream in color.

At home, this mini-palm tree blooms extremely rarely, it is grown mainly for the sake of decorative greenery. On sale under the name "indoor yucca" the following types are most often found.

1. Elephant. The plant is so named because of the shape of the trunk. In adult specimens, it really resembles an elephant's leg. This yucca is considered the most unpretentious to the climate, but its growth rate is slower than others. The trunk is branching, bare from below, from a fork densely overgrown with pointed dark green leaves collected in rosettes. In the wild, it can reach a height of 10 m.
2. Aloe leaf (the only self-pollinated species). More demanding than elephant. It quickly reacts to unfavorable conditions by wilting and dropping the lower leaves up to the upper rosette. The trunk does not branch, but it tends to bend and fall over, so it is often necessary to provide the palm with support. A healthy aloe yucca looks like a globular, lush bush. In the shade or in high humidity, the plant is a lanky, scaly trunk, topped with a crumbling rosette of long hard leaves.
3. Sizaya (rostrat). The original variety: a short trunk, on which a voluminous ball grows, formed by smoky-gray long (up to 60 cm) leaves, which over time begin to slightly fibrillate (a kind of "web" appears). Blue-gray yucca reaches only 2 m in height, about 1 m in width.

The following types of yucca are not often found on sale, mainly in specialized stores. In the southern regions, they are planted in open ground, so this group was united under the name "garden yucca".

1. Yucca whippla. Leaves of greenish-gray color are collected in a volumetric rosette on a shortened stem. The diameter of the plant at home reaches 1 m.
2. Yucca is beak-shaped. It resembles a huge hedgehog curled up on top of a short hairy trunk. Plant height in its natural environment reaches 3 m. Leaves are thin and long, like thorns.
3. Yucca is filamentous. An interesting variety: a rosette of leaves comes out almost from the ground, and the edges of the leaf plate are hung with thin curly threads. Filamentous yucca is very fond of warmth and sunlight. There are varieties with a dark yellow stripe in the middle of the leaf, but specimens with gray-green rosettes are mainly found.
4. Yucca folded (glorious). The shape of the rosette resembles the green top of a pineapple - protruding leaves as they grow (up to 90 cm) smoothly turn into drooping ones.

Some types of yucca (gray and filamentous) tolerate short-term frosts, but they also need good shelter for the winter.

Care

Adequate sun and warmth are essential for yucca to grow normally. In humid and shady places, this plant will lose its appearance and die.It is not necessary to put home yucca on the windowsill, especially since at the age of 2-3 years it forms a spreading crown and requires free space. The best option is to place the palm tree next to the window, but not close to the heating radiator.

Some growers are surprised at the wilted appearance of the plant, which, it would seem, is receiving proper care: there is enough heat and light, and watering is regulated. Overheating is often the cause of growth inhibition. Despite the habit of yucca to hot climates, it is not recommended to regularly expose the planting container to direct sunlight. Under natural conditions, the root system is hidden deep in the ground, and through the hot wall of the pot, it literally "cooks".

Yucca is a plant that is accustomed to and well adapted to an arid climate, therefore, frequent watering is not only unnecessary for it, but also dangerous by the development of root rot. Many owners complain that the rosette of the palm tree softens and disintegrates, the leaves lose their rigidity and fall off, and moist dark spots remain on the trunk in their place. The reason is waterlogging.

Advice

You need to water the yucca as the earthen coma dries up by about 1/3. The water is distributed around the perimeter of the pot, rather than pouring directly under the barrel or into the outlet.

Homemade yucca is a good air cleaner, but in order for its leaves to work actively, they must be regularly cleaned of dust (this is also a good prevention of attacks by a number of pests). Many palm trees are heavy and bulky, so the water procedure will have to be carried out on site. This will require heavy cloth or rubber gloves, since it is very easy to cut the hard yucca sheet. Processing is carried out simultaneously with two hands. You need to wipe the leaves with soft, but not fibrous, well-wrung cloths. The movement is directed upward from the barrel to the tips so as not to break the plate. Dust can be collected from some varieties with a special brush.

Yucca is usually fed from the age of 5. From spring to autumn, you can water with complex additives for palms and succulents.

Bloom

You can achieve flowering yucca at home if you comply with a number of conditions:

• quite spacious container and nutrient substrate;
• there is a wintering period at a temperature of 8 to 10 ° C;
• good lighting all year round.

Yucca begins to bloom from the age of 5, it forms seeds only in the open field

On a note

Yucca wippla dies off after the flower stalks wilted, leaving root rosettes ("babies").

Transplant and reproduction

Yucca can “sit” patiently for a long time in a cramped container without losing its decorative appearance, but growth will slow down or stop. At the first sign of oppression, you can replace the top layer of the earth, but it is better to transplant the plant.

Transshipment

Ideally, the transplant is carried out every three years by the transshipment method, that is, without damaging the earthen coma. Before the procedure, watering is temporarily stopped until the soil is dry. Yucca is tossed on its side on a pre-spread protective material and carefully pulled out of the pot by the trunk. The small plant is easy to remove and upright.

Advice

When buying a new yucca in a store, it is not at all necessary, as many sources advise, to immediately transplant with a change of soil. The plant is displayed for sale in a highly nutritious substrate. It is enough to transfer the earthen lump into a larger container and sprinkle it with soil, while the yucca will be provided with substances stimulating growth for a long time.

Healing transplant

If the plant is depressed (the leaves droop, turn yellow, fall off) and needs to change the infected and sour soil, then a transplant is carried out with the rehabilitation of the root system.

1. The earthen lump removed from the pot is lowered into a bucket of water in order to carefully release the roots from the infected soil.
2. Rotting black roots are trimmed back to healthy living tissue.
3. The washed root system is immersed in a container with a weak manganese solution for several minutes.

The method is traumatic, but effective. In good soil, the yucca will quickly adapt and recover if the lesion has not touched the core of the trunk.

Planting capacity and soil

For yucca, it is better to choose a stable pot with dense walls, especially for varieties on a high trunk. Even young plants often collapse due to the overweight of the crown at the slightest curvature of the stem (most often this happens with aloe yucca). In diameter, the new container should be 3-4 cm larger than the previous one, it is desirable to have the same amount of stock in height. Drainage is necessarily poured at the bottom: purchased expanded clay, broken shards, fine gravel. The layer thickness is approximately 1.5-2 cm.

Soil for yucca is prepared as follows: mix one part of the sod land, compost and humus.

On a note

Some people do not see the difference between compost and humus, but in the context of preparing soil mixtures, these concepts differ. Compost is a product of natural decay of plant residues and the life of worms, and humus is rotted manure.

Yucca should be planted only in soil with good aeration, stagnant moisture is destructive. When preparing the substrate, such impurities as:

• coarse sand;
• dolomite crushed stone;
• pebbles (12 mm);
• charcoal (10 mm);
• coarse-grained perlite.

The above also applies to the preparation of a planting pit for a garden yucca. You need to choose a well-lit and well-drained area.

Self-mixing of the substrate is usually carried out by the owners of summer cottages, and for the rest, the best option would be to purchase ready-made soil for palm trees.

It is impossible to pour heavily the transplanted yucca, especially after the healing procedure.

Reproduction

Yucca is propagated by seeds, cuttings, division of the rhizome. The first method is laborious, but quite feasible. Before planting, the seeds are subjected to scarification - incision or filing (for example, with sandpaper). Then they are buried in moist soil by about 2-3 times the diameter. If there are no shoots within 2 weeks, then the soil is dried, then moistened again.

Using the cuttings method, several young palms are quickly obtained at once. Trimming the top with a portion of the healthy stem is sometimes the only way to save a rotted yucca. If its length is enough, then at the same time you can propagate the plant by dividing the lignified stem into several parts (10-12 cm each) with a sharp knife. After drying, the upper part of the cuttings is powdered with coal dust or covered with garden varnish, the lower part is immersed in a container with water or in wet perlite. With the appearance of the roots, the yucca is planted in the substrate.

The cuttings procedure is performed and, if necessary, rejuvenate the plant. Along the entire length of the yucca trunk, visually indistinguishable dormant buds are laid, which awaken in the absence of the main growth point. From the hemp remaining after the cut, as well as from the cut cuttings on the sides, new layers will go.

Reproduction of some species (such as filamentous yucca) is carried out by dividing the bush: by digging up the basal offspring or part of the rhizome.

Diseases and pests

The main enemy of yucca is decay due to waterlogging. Due to infection with a fungus, various types of defects appear on the leaf plate: strokes, spots, dots. This can be a symptom of the following diseases:

• brown spotting;
• gray spot;
• bacterial burn;
• root and stem rot.

Treatments with copper oxychloride (4 g per liter of water) or specialized preparations such as Topaz are effective against stains on the leaves. Localized rot on the trunk can be dealt with by cleaning the affected parts and several treatments (spraying on the leaf and watering the soil) with "Fundazol" - 2 g per 1 liter of water.Garlic infusion is also effective against fungi.

Advice

If the trunk of the yucca has become soft, reddish sores are visible on it, then the plant is destroyed.

Of insect pests, the palm tree can be attacked by scale insects, mealybugs, spider mites and thrips. Spider mites will be treated with Neoron, which is diluted in a proportion of 2 ml per liter of water. The worm quickly disappears after spraying and watering with drugs that contain cypermethrin. Insecticide "Aktara" is effective against thrips. The tick can be collected with a cotton swab dipped in soapy water. If the colony is large, then treatment with acaricides is carried out.

Yucca is not a capricious plant. If initially placed in suitable conditions, then only infrequent watering will be required. This also applies to street varieties. Yucca is able to ennoble with its appearance any room or corner of the garden, and the magnificent inflorescences invariably cause admiration.