Yucca – popular indoor plant. It is unpretentious and hardy, most often grown as a standard tree with a thick trunk ending in plumes of lanceolate leaves.
Portrait of a plant
Previously, this crop was classified as a palm tree; it is still sometimes called “false palm” or “palm lily.” In modern classification, the plant is included in the Agave family (Agavaceae). Yuccas are classified as a separate genus, in which there are approximately 40 species.
The natural habitats of yucca are deserts and semi-deserts of North and Central America. You can also see it in the countries of Southeast Asia and on some islands of the Caribbean. Plants grow profusely in open, sunny areas with sandy and rocky soils.
Externally, yuccas belonging to different species may bear little resemblance to each other. Most of short-stemmed and stemless species, for example: filamentous or garden yucca (Y. filamentosa), fold-leaved (Y. recurvifolia) or pendulous (Y. pendula) and plain (U. campestris). There are also tree-like yuccas that form central and lateral shoots: majestic yucca (Y. gloriosa), beak-shaped (Y. rostrata), strong (U. valida), short-leaved (brevifolia), tall (elata), giant (gigantea) or ivory ( elephantipesa).
Plant sizes also vary different types. There are huge trees that grow in nature up to 12 m in height (the famous “Joshua tree”), there are relatively small ones, up to 2.5 m (yucca glorious), and there are miniature plants whose height does not exceed 20 cm (Y. Standley).
Most species can be grown at home, offices, and winter gardens. Most often this is Yucca majestic, elephantine, beaked, aloel-leaved, Schott (Y. schottii), Treculeana (Y. treculeana). The most popular in interior design are tree-like plants with a single trunk or branched ones.
Yucca leaves have a sword-shaped or lanceolate shape, they are rigid, sometimes with a thorn at the end. They can be erect or drooping, with a smooth or rough surface. Collected in rosettes that either grow directly from the ground or are located at the ends of the shoots. They are painted bright green or green with a bluish tint. The size of the leaves is proportional to the size of the plant itself: from 1 m to 20 cm, in some species the edges are wavy, with hairs or denticles along the edges.
IN open ground Yucca blooms, but very rarely in pots. The bell-shaped flowers are collected in panicles located on a high peduncle. The color is usually white, but may have a pinkish or cream tint. The size of the flowers and the height of the peduncle depend on the size of the plant. The flower can reach 6-7 cm in size, the peduncle grows up to 2 m.
Caring for yucca at home
There is an opinion that yucca is an unpretentious plant. But, in practice, flower growers often have problems with it. What rules for caring for yucca at home should be followed to avoid them?
As already mentioned, the natural habitats of yucca are climatic zones with dry air and low rainfall, but big amount light and sun. This must be taken into account when growing homemade yucca.
Lighting
Yucca requires a lot of light and sun. The best place for it is windows facing south, southeast and southwest.
Good lighting is especially important for young plants to ensure their proper formation. Wherein young plants are more sensitive to sunlight than adults, so in the hottest time they need to be shaded or moved away from the window.
Lack of light has a detrimental effect on the plant. The shoots stretch out and bend unsightly. The leaves become thinner, turn pale, begin to turn yellow and fall off. The plant is weakened and pests may appear on it, for example, mealybug or spider mite.
Yucca needs enough light in winter too, therefore, during this period it is advisable to organize additional artificial lighting for the plant, increasing the daylight hours to 16 hours a day.
Temperature
During the growing season (from March to September), the comfortable temperature for yucca is 20-24 degrees. In hotter conditions, increased air humidity is necessary (spraying, placing on a tray with wet expanded clay). The higher the air temperature, the higher its humidity should be..
It must be remembered that yucca tolerates sudden changes in temperature and drafts painfully and sometimes dies from this.
Watering
Yucca, like all succulents, is capable of accumulating moisture in the trunk; in addition, it has a weak root system. Therefore, it is very sensitive to waterlogging, especially in cool conditions.
You can determine whether it is time for the next watering by simply feeling the soil with your finger. The soil should have time to dry between waterings before potting day..
In the summer, water generously, but drain the water that has drained into the pan. In winter, watering is usually reduced, but its frequency and abundance depends on the temperature in the room; during cool winters - less often, during warm winters - more often.
Observe correct mode Watering is important because excess moisture leads to rotting of the roots, which causes the plant to die.
Spraying
The soil
Yucca requires soil with slightly acidic to neutral acidity, pH 5-7. The soil must provide good moisture and air permeability so that the roots receive nutrition and are well ventilated.
The composition of the soil, prepared independently, includes leaf, turf soil, coarse river sand and humus in a ratio of 2:2:2:1. Humus in the soil is needed by young plants. For adults who have reached the desired size, its presence is optional.
To plant homemade yucca, you can use purchased soil for dracaenas, succulents and palm trees.
Transfer
Young yuccas are transplanted when the root system becomes cramped in the old pot. Young plants are usually replanted every 1-2 years. For adult large specimens, instead of replanting, the top layer of soil is replaced.
Yucca is difficult to transplant, so if there are no reasons forcing you to do it urgently (for example, after flooding you need to transplant the plant into fresh soil), it is better to plan this procedure for the earliest possible time. favorable time- March-April, i.e. time of the beginning of the growing season.
Transplantation is carried out using the transshipment method - with a lump of earth. This method is the least painful for the plant. Drainage must be placed at the bottom of the pot so that the roots are not in water after watering.
How to perform a transplant:
- buy a stable pot 2-3 cm in diameter larger than the previous one,
- pour drainage and a little soil at the bottom,
- with a lump of earth, move the plant into this container,
- fill the voids with soil and compact them.
Before planting, it is necessary to inspect the roots of the plant. If there are rotten, black, unpleasant-smelling ones, they need to be cut off, first freed from the old soil, sprinkled with crushed charcoal or activated charcoal and then planted in fresh soil.
Top dressing
To maintain the decorative appearance of yucca during the period of active growth, i.e. from April to September, regular feeding is required. For indoor yucca, mineral fertilizers for palm trees and cacti are suitable; they are applied during the specified period once a week.
In winter, yucca is not fertilized.
Yucca propagation
Possible for yucca different ways propagation: cuttings (apical and stem), suckers, seeds. Stemless species are propagated by dividing the rhizomes.
It is advisable to propagate domestic yucca by cuttings or suckers (daughter rosettes).
Propagation by cuttings
The best time for cuttings is March - April. Cuttings prepared at this time give roots faster and take root more easily.
For propagation, stem and apical cuttings (tops) are used.
Rules for cutting cuttings
- The optimal cutting length is 10-15 cm.
- The cut can be made at an angle or straight.
- It is important that the cut is smooth, without bark tears, cracks or delamination of wood. Cuttings that are cut carelessly tend to rot.
Treatment of cuttings before planting
- Dry the sections for 2 hours.
- Treat the sections that will be placed in the soil with a root formation stimulator (Kornevin, Zircon). Yucca takes root reluctantly (yield 50/50), and such treatment increases the likelihood of successful rooting and accelerates root formation by 1-1.5 weeks.
Rooting substrate
Loose sterile soil is used as a rooting substrate: a mixture of peat with sand, perlite, vermiculite, you can use ready-made soil for cacti or palm trees.
Apical cuttings
The top with leaves is cut off from the plant and processed as noted above.
The apical cuttings can be rooted in water, into which two whole tablets of activated carbon are placed for disinfection. Rooting vertically in the substrate is also possible.
Stem cuttings
The stem is cut into several parts, each of which should have viable dormant buds. Sections are made along leaf scars - places where leaves are attached. The material for cuttings needs to be strong, elastic and healthy.
If the cutting has no leaves, you need to mark where it is top and where it is bottom.
Stem cuttings do not root in water; they are rooted in the substrate in two ways: vertically or horizontally.
Vertical rooting
With vertical rooting, the cutting is placed vertically in the substrate, immersing its lower part in the substrate. Both stem and apical cuttings can be rooted vertically.
Horizontal rooting
Only stem cuttings are rooted horizontally, they are buried halfway, and the ends of the cuttings are not buried. With horizontal rooting, both shoots and roots are formed from dormant buds, so one cutting can produce several new plants, which, after successful rooting, are divided and planted in separate pots.
Rules for keeping cuttings
The substrate must be constantly kept moderately moist. If it is overdried, the cutting will wither and dry out; if it is too damp, it will rot.
For rooting, containers with cuttings are placed in a warm place, with a temperature of at least 20-24 degrees. It is good to organize bottom heating for rooting, for example, by placing it on a wooden plank or a thick towel over a radiator.
On top of the cuttings are covered with transparent bags, jars, trimmed plastic bottles, creating high humidity around them.
Cuttings are accepted on average after a month. 2 months after successful rooting, new shoots begin to appear on the stem cuttings, and the crown begins to grow on the apical ones.
When the cuttings are strong enough, they can be planted in pots. For 1-2 weeks after this, they should continue to be kept in the greenhouse, and later the greenhouses should be removed, but not immediately, but gradually accustoming the plants to fresh air.
Mother plant
The mother plant usually produces new shoots after cuttings.
However, sometimes problems can arise with it. The trunk, which does not have leaves, sometimes begins to dry out, and the plant dies after a while. You can try to “reanimate” the barrel by placing it under a bag or plastic bottle.
Reproduction by offspring (daughter rosettes)
Reproduction by offspring is also carried out in the spring (April - May). At this time, not only do the rosettes take root better, but also the cuts on the mother plant heal faster.
The daughter rosette is cut from the mother plant and the cut is treated with crushed coal.
The rosette is buried in loose and sterile soil (peat with sand, perlite, vermiculite, suitable soil for cacti). Further rooting of the offspring is carried out in the same way as rooting of the cuttings.
Yucca in winter
In winter, more precisely, from October to February, yucca enters a dormant period. To feel good, she needs to reduce the temperature, preferably to 8-10 degrees Celsius. At higher temperatures, yucca grows, the leaves begin to turn yellow and fall off.
It is also necessary to reduce watering to a minimum because... at lower temperatures the plant needs less water.
Yucca pruning
To get side shoots on yucca, you need to cut off the top of the plant. It is advisable to perform this procedure in the spring.
Trimming is done with a sharp knife, having previously been disinfected with alcohol. The sections are sprinkled with crushed charcoal or activated carbon.
The cut top can be rooted as described above.
|
Over time, a large plant may develop thinner, as if overstretched, areas on its side shoots. Such shoots need to be cut back to the point where thinning begins. If possible, when pruning a shoot, leave a stump, from which 1 to 3 young shoots will appear. |
Yucca is a plant belonging to the Agave family. Originally from Central and North America. This is a false palm. The tree-like stem may emerge to the surface. Most often, the upper part is represented by a basal rosette of leaves.
The sword-shaped leaves grow 25-100 cm in length, can be hard or semi-hard, erect or drooping, the edges can be smooth or jagged. The leaves of some types of yucca are very hard; their fiber is extracted to make ropes and wickerwork.
Bloom
At home, yucca blooms extremely rarely. Numerous (about 300) bell-shaped flowers appear on a long peduncle. They are colored white, yellowish, creamy green.
Is yucca poisonous to cats?
Yucca is not dangerous for cats: they are not interested in the leaves, and if they scratch the trunk, then, contrary to popular belief, they will not be poisoned by the “poisonous” juice. The palm tree itself is more likely to suffer, not your pets.
How to care for yucca at home
Lighting
It is important to provide good lighting. Daylight hours should be about 16 hours. It grows best near a south window; windows facing east and west are suitable. In autumn and winter, resort to artificial lighting.
Watering and air humidity
Excessive leads to rotting of the root system. Water when the soil dries to a depth of 5-7 cm. For 5 l. add about 1 liter of soil. water.
Most yucca species prefer dry air to humid air. Only some will require misting and periodic placement on a tray of humidifiers.
How often should you water your yucca in winter? As the temperature drops, reduce the amount of watering by about 2 times, only trying to keep the soil slightly moist.
Air temperature
During the warm season, maintain the air temperature at 20-25 °C. Flower bud formation occurs in cool conditions, so if you are trying to get flowers to bloom, keep them cool over the winter. With the onset of autumn, lower the air temperature to +10-12 °C.
Priming
The composition of the soil can be anything, the main condition is air and moisture permeability. An important requirement is good drainage; for this, a layer of expanded clay or pebbles must be placed on the bottom of the pot.
Feeding
During the period April-August, every 3 weeks, apply complex mineral fertilizers along with watering or apply foliar fertilizers over the leaves, spraying from the bottom of the leaves. Immediately after transplantation, as well as a diseased plant, should not be fed.
Trimming yucca at home
Remember, pruning is best done in early spring, before the active growing season starts after the dormant period.
When yucca is already too tall, it can be planted at the top like a regular cutting (we’ll talk about this below). The trunk is cut at a height of at least half a meter, and so that the succulent does not suffer from severe loss of moisture at the cut site, a candle is held, tilted, over the cut so that paraffin flows there. You can also treat the cut with garden varnish. Do not prune plants with thin trunks, less than 5 cm, otherwise they will not grow thicker.
Trimmed yucca sprouts new shoots at the cut site, which in turn, after a while, turn into long trunks. They are dealt with in a similar way: as soon as the length of the daughter apical trunks becomes too long, the tops are cut off.
The yucca is also trimmed if the trunk softens.- this is a sign of its decay. Then the apical part is urgently cut off and rooted in a light substrate, creating greenhouse conditions.
Is it possible to prune yucca in winter and autumn? In emergency cases, when the plant is sick, in order to save the apical part, pruning is carried out immediately at any time of the year. If the pruning is planned, it is better to be patient and wait until March.
Transplanting yucca after purchase and during the growing season
The first time after purchase, but the plant must first adapt to indoor conditions for about 2 weeks. Carry out a planned replanting in the spring every 2-4 years.
Soil with a slightly alkaline reaction is preferred. A mixture of turf soil, compost, humus, perlite and sand is suitable.
Transplanting yucca on video:
The container needs to be stable and deep enough. Remove the plant from the pot and inspect the roots for rot. If it is detected, trim the roots, treat with a fungicide, and completely replace the soil. If the roots are in order, roll over with a clod of earth. Add soil and tamp lightly. Be sure to place a drainage layer at the bottom.
Growing Yucca from Seeds
The most commonly used method is seed propagation of yucca.
- Seeds must be scarified: carefully break the dense shell of the seed with a needle or rub with sandpaper.
- Fill the box with a mixture of leaf, turf soil and sand in equal proportions. Plant the seeds to a depth of 2-3 cm.
- The distance between the seeds is 3-5 cm, but it is better to plant them immediately separately in cassette or peat cups.
- Cover the crops with glass or film. Sprout at an air temperature of 25-30 °C and bright, diffused lighting.
- Ventilate the shelter daily to remove condensation.
- In the first 10 days, maintain constant soil moisture, then moisten moderately.
- Shoots will appear in about a month.
- When 2 true leaves appear, plant them in separate containers with light nutrient soil.
- After 2 weeks, feed (1 g of nitrophoska per 1 liter of water).
- When 4-5 leaves appear, transplant into a pot and care for it as if it were an adult plant.
Propagation of yucca by cuttings
When the yucca becomes too tall, you should cut off the top of the trunk, divide the trunk itself into parts, depending on the number of shoots.
- Treat the cut areas with a fungicide and air dry until a dry crust forms.
- Root in a mixture of turf soil and sand, creating greenhouse conditions, do not water immediately, the plant will have enough moisture available in the damp soil.
- When the roots appear, plant them in a permanent pot and care for them as if they were an adult plant.
- The remaining stump of the mother plant will also produce young shoots and continue to grow. Leave three to five shoots on it, remove the rest.
Reproduction by dividing the bush and lateral shoots
Propagation by lateral shoots (daughter shoots) is best done in the spring. Divide the overgrown bush very carefully into separate parts with part of the rhizome and plant, creating conditions high humidity during rooting.
Why do yucca leaves turn yellow and dry? Reasons
Security proper care protects against diseases and pests.
- Yellowing, drying and falling of the lower leaves is a natural process. But if the dryness extends to upper leaves, most likely the air is too dry or the air temperature is too high.
- The tips of the leaves dry out from lack of moisture.
- The appearance of yellow elliptical spots that turn brown over time indicates brown spotting. Remove damaged areas and treat with fungicide (spray and water with phytosporin solution). Repeat the procedure 2-3 times every 10 days.
If the root system or stem rots, it is necessary to carry out an emergency transplant, removing the rotten roots and treating with a fungicide.
Pests
Thrips, aphids, scale insects, spider mites are possible pests of the plant, due to which the yucca leaves also turn yellow and dry. First, wash them with soapy water and then treat them with an insecticide.
Indoor types of yucca
Yucca aloifolia
The shape of the crown is spherical, the leaves are hard, dark green in color, the trunk is gradually exposed.
Yucca elephantipes or giant Yucca elephantipes
The base of the trunk looks like an elephant's leg. The hard leaves are about 115 cm long and 6-8 cm wide.
Yucca glauca
Dense leaf rosettes consist of green-blue leaves.
Yucca filamentosa
The leaf blades reach a length of 30-90 cm; threads hang along the edges, which fall off over time.
This wonderful flower can often be found indoors and on the streets of southern cities. Sometimes flower growers have questions about propagating Yucca at home. The reasons for doing this are very different:
- Much overgrown and a flower that has lost its shape
- Root rot, which destroyed root system plants
- Just desire to share this beautiful plant
There are many in various ways, suitable for Yucca to reproduce at home, so we’ll talk about the basic methods. All methods give positive results, the main thing here is to choose one that will suit a particular flower lover.
Seeds
Seeds can be purchased at shopping centers that sell ordinary flower seeds. Each such package, depending on the manufacturer, contains from 3 to 5 large seeds that are black in color and glossy in appearance.
To speed up seed germination needs to be stratified, for those who don’t know what this is – damage to the seed coat. After which they are placed for cultivation in nutritious and loose soil. There is no need to deepen them too much, even 5 mm is enough.
The temperature in the room where Yucca will be grown from seeds should be at least 25 degrees Celsius. Therefore, many recommend sowing seeds when stable heat sets in. To prevent the bowl with seeds from drying out due to high temperature, it is placed in a transparent plastic bag or covered with glass.
To prevent high humidity and temperatures from causing rotting, the bowl is ventilated daily, removing condensation from the glass as this is excess moisture.
When two true leaf plates emerge from the ground, the Yucca seedlings must be planted in different bowls, the size of which must strictly correspond to the size of the seedling’s root system.
It is important to know, in order to grow Yucca in this way you need to have a lot of patience, since an adult tree will only appear in a few years.
How to propagate yucca from tops
This the most common method of reproduction plants. Any rosette of leaves at the top or a randomly broken branch will do for this method. If the broken branch is too long, then part of the trunk is removed, leaving only a small piece of the trunk “heel”. This cutting is dried for a couple of hours and the lower leaf plates are removed.
After which the cuttings are planted in nutrient soil and covered with a glass jar, creating greenhouse conditions for the cuttings. You need to make sure that the soil is always slightly moist and does not dry out. But you shouldn’t fill it with water, as this will allow gray rot to appear on the cuttings.
The soil under a jar or bag dries out very slowly, so you need to be careful with watering.
Or the cuttings are placed in water to grow the root system. To prevent the cuttings from rotting in water, add wood ash or 3 tablets of activated carbon.
This method is good for propagation when the flower has lost its root system for one reason or another.
Cuttings at home
Yucca cuttings are carried out either late winter or early spring when the plant wakes up and begins to grow. Typically, cuttings are carried out on an adult plant when its crown is formed, removing excess shoots-cuttings. Since after pruning the lower part will stop growing, and the formed tree is unlikely to grow.
Palm trees are pruned with pruning shears, after which the cuttings are dried for an hour and planted in mini-greenhouses with loose nutritious soil. After about a month and a half, young roots will appear, and then the cutting can be freed from greenhouse conditions, gradually accustoming him to room conditions.
The formation and growth of roots will be clearly visible if the cutting is planted in a transparent pot.
Lateral processes
To form layering, make an incision on the bark below the lower leaf plates by about 40 cm and remove the bark along the entire circumference, 1.5 cm wide. In the area where the bark is damaged, apply a layer of wet moss, and wrap the moss in polyethylene to prevent moisture evaporation . After a certain time, dormant roots wake up in this place, and as they grow, they form a cutting.
When the roots have grown so much that you can be sure that the layer will grow on its own, it is cut off with a sharp knife or pruning shears. The cut is treated with crushed activated carbon and planted in a substrate suitable for Yucca.
By shoots
This method provides the presence of root shoots or stems. Separating excess shoots that thicken the mother plant is a completely necessary thing. After all, for the beautiful formation of a tree or bush, five sprouts of the same age are enough.
Therefore, excess sprouts are removed and all cuts are sprinkled with charcoal to prevent rotting. Then the sprouts are planted in coarse sand and placed in a mini-greenhouse to root them. Watering should be done so that the sand does not dry out. The greenhouse is ventilated and condensation is removed daily.
With proper care, the first roots will appear only after a month and a half. After which the sprout is transplanted as an independent plant into a separate container with nutritious soil.
Stem cuttings
This method of reproduction is suitable only for experienced flower growers . After the tops are cut off, stems without leaf plates remain on Yucca. The trunk itself must be at least 25 cm long and all its cuts must be treated with garden pitch or, if it is not available, then with crushed activated carbon.
After this treatment, a second treatment is done with any stimulator of root mass formation. After all these procedures, the trunk must be transplanted into nutrient soil.
It is important to plant it as it was before cutting off the crown, that is, in the place where it grew upward. Therefore, one end should be marked so as not to confuse the ends and to place it in the right direction.
Usually, with this method of propagation, two buds, less often than three, appear at the top. To stimulate the appearance of these buds, you can spray the plant with the following preparations:
- Zircon
- Cytokinin paste
After the growing buds appear, you need to start feeding the plant with nitrogen fertilizers. This is done so that the plant has enough strength to grow a full head of hair or several tops. In this case, the container with such a plant should be in a bright place, but without direct sunlight. And if necessary, it must be turned towards the light so that the top of the Yucca grows evenly.
Air layering
This method is used when will Yucca be rehabilitated after her illness?. For propagation, only hard areas without rot are selected and the lower cut is cleared of the bark, removing 5 mm of it. stripe.
Be sure to have sphagnum moss on hand to cover the lower cuts.
The moss will need to be moistened periodically to create an appropriate microclimate around the cutting. After about a month, the first small roots will appear, which should thus be grown to a length of 5 cm.
After growing the roots in this way, the Yucca is planted in a new soil suitable for it and watering is carefully monitored so that rotting does not start again.
Methods of transplanting and transplanting Yucca
In order for Yucca to grow well, it needs replanting; young plants are replanted annually; in old plants, only the top layer of soil can be renewed.
Land preparation
The soil can be purchased ready-made at garden centers or you can make it yourself. The main thing is that he is nutritious and quite fluffy so that air flows to the root system. You can make this mixture, taking everything in equal parts:
- Chernozem
- Sod land
- Sand
Details about proper transplantation
| 1. | Container for Yucca | Any container will do, as long as it matches the size of the plant’s root system. It should have drainage holes to drain water. |
| 2. | Drainage | Drainage is necessary to avoid root rot. Typically, expanded clay is used for this purpose, which is sold in flower shops in the department along with the soil. It is poured in a layer of 2 cm. |
| 3. | Planting a plant | After drainage, a handful of soil is poured onto which the Yucca is installed. The roots should be evenly spread in different directions. After that, soil is poured evenly on all sides and pressed with hands around the circumference of the pot to remove air voids. |
| 4. | Watering | It is better to water after a day; this time will allow the wounds on the injured roots to heal. This will reduce the risk of root rot. |
What is the difference between planting in a pot and in open ground?
Actually, the only difference is that all transplantation procedures are done only in spring time before the heat sets in or at the beginning of autumn so that by the cold weather the plant takes root and undergoes adaptation in a new place.
Indoors, replanting and transshipment of flowers can be done at almost any time. We can say that even in winter, if a flower needs help and needs an urgent transplant, then it has a chance to reschedule it. You just need the temperature to be 25 degrees Celsius and additional lighting for a flower.
Errors
Sometimes failures occur when transplanting Yucca, here are some that could have been avoided if you used the tips correctly.
- Must always be present in the pot drainage.
- In the container where Yucca will be planted, there must be drainage holes to drain water.
- The earth must be loose and nutritious.
- Watering is strictly regulated.
- The temperature should be not lower than 25 degrees heat.
Only if you follow all the instructions will rooting be successful.
How to root a flower
After transplanting into new soil, the plant requires absolutely no fertilizing. The first watering with fertilizers should be carried out when Yucca begins its active growth and a month after transplantation. Watering must also be adjusted, since constant moistening will not give a positive result. The soil should dry out by one third of the pot between waterings. The place shouldn't be too sunlight must be absent-minded.
If a month after transplantation the plant feels good, then the transplantation was successful.
Yucca can be propagated at home. You just need to follow the necessary recommendations and everything will work out. As a result, there will be one or many young bushes of the wonderful Yucca.
In indoor culture, yucca reproduces very easily. This unpretentious plant can be propagated in several ways. Having mature plant, it will not be difficult to obtain many young specimens quickly enough.
Time to propagate yucca
Yucca cuttings and propagation by shoots are carried out in the spring in April-May. At this time of year, rooting occurs especially quickly. It is also convenient to divide the rhizome in the spring when replanting the plant.
It is important to sow yucca seeds immediately after collecting them. They must be very fresh. They cannot be stored, as their germination capacity is lost.
Reproduction methods
In apartment conditions, yucca can be grown by seeds or vegetatively. There are the following methods vegetative propagation of this plant:
- Apical cuttings;
- Propagation by stem pieces;
- Rhizome division;
- Reproduction by layering.
Sowing seeds
IN room conditions Getting yucca to bloom is not easy. Therefore, the seeds of this plant can only be bought or collected from yucca growing in open ground. Only fresh seeds will germinate, which must be soaked for a day in water before sowing. warm water. They are wrapped in a piece of cloth and covered with a 1 cm layer of water.
Sow yucca seeds in a container (pots) with soil. A mixture of turf and leaf soil with peat is suitable as a substrate for sowing. The components of the earth mixture are taken in equal parts. The seeds are pressed into the soil and sprinkled with a small amount.
For successful germination, the soil must be kept moist by spraying water. The entire container is covered with glass to create stable high humidity.
During seed germination, the container must be ventilated daily. and wipe condensation from the inner surface of the glass. The temperature should not be lower than 20°C. In such conditions, seedlings appear after 1 month. As they grow, young plants are pricked and then planted in separate pots.
Apical cuttings
Sometimes it makes sense to cut off the top of a yucca so that the remaining plant can branch out and form a lush crown. The cut apical cutting must be dried in air for several hours. It is then rooted in sand or water.
When rooting in sand, the lower edge of the yucca cutting should be buried shallowly in the sand.. It is advisable to place it under film or a glass jar, and keep the sand moist.
It should take 1.5 or 2 months for young leaves to begin to appear - a sign that the roots have already grown and the cutting can be planted in a separate pot.
It is somewhat easier to root the top of the yucca in water. It is advisable to take boiled water so that the cuttings do not rot. After about a month, roots appear, after which the cuttings are planted in the ground.
Propagation by stem segments
Old yucca specimens are gradually losing lower leaves and their trunks become bare. Often such ugly and elongated plants are cut into cuttings in order to grow new ones from them. The stump of an old plant should not be thrown away. New shoots are gradually formed on it.
Sections of a yucca trunk with several buds are dried and rooted in sand or water.. From one fragment you can get one large plant or several small ones.
To grow one specimen, the cuttings are buried in sand or placed in water with the lower end. Gradually, roots will form from below, and a crown will begin to grow from the upper buds.
You can place the cutting horizontally in the sand and bury it halfway. With such rooting, a young plant with roots will develop from each of its buds.
After this, all that remains is to cut the cuttings so that each piece has roots and leaves, and plant them in separate pots. Stem cuttings in which it is impossible to determine the top and bottom are rooted in the same way.
Reproduction by layering
You can get a young plant from lateral cuttings of yucca. To do this, cut a cutting more than 10 cm long, dry it in air as an apical cutting, and then root it in sand or water. It is important to maintain the temperature at least 20°C so that the cuttings take root after 1.5 months.
Rhizome division
Only a very grown adult plant that has 2 or more trunks can be divided. To do this, the plant is removed from the pot and the rhizome is cut so that each trunk has a part of the rhizome with roots.
All yucca sections must be thoroughly rubbed with activated carbon so that rotting does not begin after planting in the ground.
After drying for 2 hours, the trunks with roots are planted in separate pots.
Which method is the most effective?
In apartment conditions, yucca is rarely propagated by seeds. This method is quite labor-intensive and time-consuming. It takes at least 2 years for a seed to grow into a flower of sufficient size.
Vegetative propagation in an apartment is more preferable. It allows you to get yucca decorative look already in a few months.
When the top is rooted or the rhizome is divided, a large young plant grows very quickly. And when propagated by stem fragments, several small young specimens can be obtained from one segment.
Yucca does not grow - simple ways restore development. Read in today's article why yucca does not grow at home and what to do if basic care does not help?
Why doesn't yucca grow at home?
Yucca develops in its own rhythm - it may seem that the plant has stopped growing, and in some cases the guess will be correct, but in others it will be groundless. It is important to learn to distinguish when yucca is sick and during what periods it has moved to another level of development.
Why yucca does not grow at home:
- Need a transplant;
- It has not been replanted for a long time;
- These procedures were not followed correctly;
- The earth is exhausted;
Because yucca is not bad adapts to the home microclimate, The reasons why a mature plant has stopped growing are limited. An inspection will help determine this: if the roots of the yucca are visible from the drainage holes, or appear on the surface of the pot, then a transplant is clearly needed. When the top of the yucca no longer moves, remaining at the same level for several years in a row, pruning is needed.
You can combine pruning with yucca propagation By cutting off the top and rooting it according to the principle of planting an adult plant, then you will get several beautiful palm trees at home. 
Proper transplantation of yucca at home
↓ Write why your yucca did not grow? Did the basic methods of stimulating plant growth at home help?
(No ratings yet, be the first)