Hi All I have a yucca plant that has been growing in my living room for about 10 years, and this is the first time I've noticed a steady progression of the leaves turning yellowish and dying. I hadn't done any major pruning in years, so I decided to cut a couple smaller branches off, hoping that the plant would defer that energy to the main branches, but so far I just keep seeing more yellow leaves. The yellow color starts in the middle of the leaf, then progresses outward until the whole leaf is yellow, then moves on to the next leaf. Any ideas?
when was the last time you repotted it?? have you moved it to another spot (closer to a heat vent)?? did you do a good look-over to see if there's a bug infestion or maybe mildew going on? can you post some pics? that would be helpful.
Agree with joclyn: my first reaction is 'repot'. Could be rootbound and likely would enjoy nice fresh soil. Pictures please! And: Welcome to the Forum!---Wow, Alaska...how cold IS it up there?
Yucccas indoors are susceptible to a very nasty bug, the mealy bug.. if you see a white wooly area on the leaves you have them, or perhaps mites? I have witnessed Yuccas that are 40 years plus... in the very same pot.
Thanks for the quick responses. It's not a mealy bug, because I've successfully battled those things before on other plants. The plant has always been located near my heat vents next to hufe windows, so I don't think temperature and light are the problem. I ruled out rot, because the main trunk seems to be really solid. I haven't repotted in several years...so that may be the culprit. I don't see anything else that would make me think of mold, and until the last three weeks or so, I'd been congratulating myself on the plant being the healthiest it's been since I got it in college. The temperature here was in the -20's for the last two weeks. It finally warmed up to around 30 today...so it feels like a heat wave!
Whoa! Here in Ohio we're supposed to get blasted with minus Fahrenheit the next few days. Just a few more MONTHS till spring! Your plant looks good. If you haven't repotted in ten years, maybe the time has arrived. Soil gets old, as do we all. Hey, K Baron---since right now is not optimum repotting season, d'you think that top-dressing would help this plant?
It shouldn't hurt, however make sure you are not incubating more pests in the potting medium, and oxygen deprived roots will not help your situation... I would wait until the growing season arrives before shocking by altering the plant's current environment.... but, if you have a climate controlled green house then you could do just about anything your green thumbs desire!
