A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Yukka Plant Problem - Help!

Hi there everyone,

I have had a Yukka plant for about 5 years now and it has been doing really well. Last year, we moved house and as I was told that the plant loves the sunshine, I put it on the window ledge in our front room. In my previous house, we didn't have much natural light, so I always tried to position it where it was near to the windows.

When I started putting it in the window, the leaves started going brown and dead-looking! So, I moved it into our hallway, where it has a goodb source of natural light but is not in direct sunlight. I went onto a different 'gardening/plant' website before (finding this one) and asked for advice on where I should position it so that it would revitalise and look healthy again. Anyway, a guy replied saying that he puts all of his house plants outside during the summer and advised me to do the same. So, this is what I did and have since brought it back in the house because it looked terrible! The leaves went white/silver in colour and have dried up and died.

After bringing it back in, the leaves died and turned a black/brown colour. Today, I have decided to cut the dead leaves off (although I'm not sure if this was the right thing to do) but now the poor thing looks naked and poorly!! It does have it's new shoots at the top, but will this be enough to keep it alive?

I don't want it to die because it's one of my favourite plants!

Please help!

Thanks ever so much,

Hazel.

Hi Hazel - welcome to the best gardening forum on the "net"!

I have only grown yuccas outside here in NY - I didn't even know that it could be grown indoors? I have the green and yellow variegated variety and they need full sun.

Would you be able to post a picture of your plant?
It would help us get a better idea of what is going on with it.

plants get used to an environment and then resist change. I imagine it was getting drey and sun burned in the window. ereturn it to the original conditions and move little by little.

Indoor Yucca is sensitive to the cold (but outdoor Yucca is resistance), but is resistance to the low light density. So you can keep it in your house with no problem. And it is not necessary to keep it near the window. Somewhere cool and shadow is the best for indoor Yucca.
Sunburn is not a serious problem for this plant and just the end of the leaf goes yellow.
I think your plant had adapted to its previous situation and when you moved it to another place and then outdoor, it bothered the plant. Before moving your plant, try to introduce it to new situation gradually. Keep it in a situation and don't move it too much.
I suggest you to look for any disease on your plant. (Rust can be a problem in Yucca. It appears like small dark and brown spots on leaves, and in long period it make the plant to decay).