Yucca- a genus of attractive evergreens of the family Agavovs (Agavaceae), native to North and Central America.
The genus Yucca has about 40 species.
Yucca are tree-like plants, with a trunk or rosette (depending on the species). Rigid xiphoid leaves of various yuccas reach a length of 25-100 cm, a width of 1-8 cm, they are collected in a bunch at the top of the shoot or form a basal rosette. Depending on the species, yucca leaves are green or gray-gray, semi-rigid or hard, erect or drooping, with jagged or smooth edges. The edges of the leaves are often covered with threads, sometimes have a sharp thorn at the end. From the leaves of some types of yucca, fiber is extracted, which is used to make ropes and other plaited products.
Yucca has numerous flowers (about 300 pcs.) Up to 7 cm in length, bell-shaped or cupped, white in color or with creamy greenish, yellowish tones. Flowers are collected in a large panicle 0.5-2.5 m long, erect or descending. Indoors, yucca rarely blooms. The yucca fruit is a dry capsule or juicy fruit (in some species it is edible).
Yuccas are wonderful plants that find many uses in their homeland. Cut flower juice contains a lot of sugar. And the fibers that are extracted from filamentous yucca have good strength. The very first jeans were made from tough yucca fiber rather than cotton. In the United States, about 5% yucca fibers are still added to denim to make denim more durable. Yucca is used to make ropes and paper; it contains substances with valuable medicinal properties.
Indoor adult yucca resembles a false palm tree and can reach a height of 4 m, so it is more suitable for decorating a hall or a large room. Flowering can only be achieved after many years, when the plant becomes an adult. Yucca will bloom with white bell-shaped flowers. Green, glaucous xiphoid, linear leaves are collected in a bunch at the top of the trunk. On the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, many species of yucca grow in open ground... Recently, yuccas and similar plants have become very fashionable and are widely used in interiors. In this regard, many flower farms abroad began to reproduce these plants, obtaining leafless trunks from America and Holland and rooting them in a loose substrate. Specimens with branched trunks forming several points of growth are especially appreciated. Plants are undemanding to temperature, they work better in cool rooms, young specimens require a lot of sunlight.
Yucca is used as a tapeworm in modern interior high-tech style or minimalism. It looks good in classic interior... Several plants, differing in height, planted in a large container, will decorate the office.
Types of Yucca
... Found in the arid regions of the south North America, in Central America, Jamaica and Bermuda. It grows slowly and over time takes the form of a spherical bush or a small tree up to 8 m high. The tree-like stem, with traces of fallen leaves, is highly branched in mature plants, at the ends of the branches there are dense rosettes of hard fibrous leaves. The leaf blade is oblong-lanceolate, dark green, leathery, up to 50 cm long, dentate at the edges and ends with one spiny thorn. In summer, adult plants grow from the outlet paniculate inflorescence 45 cm high with many bell-shaped flowers 3 cm long, creamy white petals with a purple tint.
... It grows in the Northwest regions of Mexico, Arizona, California. Bushy, slow-growing species with a shortened stem, hard fibrous leaves are collected in rosettes with a diameter of more than 1 m. The leaf blade is elongated-lanceolate, leathery, grayish-green, up to 90 cm long, with jagged edges and a spiny thorn at the end. In summer, in adult plants, a paniculate inflorescence up to 2 m high grows from the rosette with many bell-shaped flowers up to 3.5 cm long with a delicate aroma, creamy white petals that have a purple hue. The rosette of leaves is monocarpic: it blooms and bears fruit only once, and then die off, but many shoots form at the base of the plant.
Short-leaved Yucca (Yucca brevifolia) ... Sometimes occurs as Yucca tree (Yucca arborescens) , also referred to as Yucca giant ... Grows in dry, open areas in southeastern California and Arizona (USA). Trees 4-9 m tall, trunk up to 50 cm in diameter, strongly branched at the top. Leaves are densely arranged, trved, short, 15-30 cm long and 0.6-1.5 cm wide in the middle, almost triangularly widened towards the base, grooved, brownish at the apex and prickly, with spongy pale green edges. The peduncle is short; thick panicle. The flowers are pale yellow.
. A tree up to 3 m high with a thick trunk and a branched crown. Numerous leathery leaves are thin and long, narrow (about 1 cm wide), flat or biconvex. The leaf has a sharp spiny apex, striped, with yellow serrated edges. The long peduncle bears a branched panicle inflorescence with white flowers.
Yucca radiosa (Yucca radiosa) . Synonym: Yucca high (Yucca elata) ... A tree that in nature reaches a height of 5-7 m. Leaves are numerous, densely arranged, linear, 45-60 cm long and up to 1 cm wide (in the middle). The leaf tapers towards the base, slightly grooved, with a sharp apex. The edges of the leaf are white, narrow, covered big amount thin threads. Inflorescence up to 2 m high bears a long branched panicle with flowers.
... Homeland east of North America. Almost stemless plant. It grows thanks to root suckers. The root system penetrates deeply into the soil. One of the most frost-resistant yucca, it can endure short-term frosts down to -20 ° С, sometimes even more. The leaves are gray-green, up to 70 cm long, with a width of 4 cm, with a pointed tip, the edges are covered with numerous white, thin, curling threads. Viable seeds can only be obtained by artificial pollination. Flower panicle up to 200 cm tall. Flowers are yellowish-white, drooping, up to 8 cm long. The fruit is a rounded box up to 5 cm in diameter.
Has a variegated shape "Variegata" with yellow or white-spotted leaves.
Yucca lipped-leaved (Yucca recurvifolia) . Synonym: Yucca gloriosa var. recurvifolia ... An evergreen plant with a short trunk up to 1-1.5 m, a single or branched trunk, rigid fibrous leaves are collected in a rosette at the top of the trunk. The leaf blade is oblong-lanceolate, leathery, grayish-green, up to 90 cm long, drooping, with jagged edges and a spiny thorn at the end.
... It grows in Central America. The specific epithet comes from two Latin roots: "Elephas"- elephant and "Pes"- leg. Indeed, this yucca in old age resembles a huge 4-8-meter leg of an elephant. It grows slowly and over time takes the form of an upright bush or a small tree 8-10 m high. A tree-like, highly branched stem, at the ends of the branches bears numerous rosettes of hard and fibrous leaves. The leaf blade is elongated lanceolate, light green, leathery, 50-100 cm long, serrated at the edges and with a short sharp thorn at the end.In summer, in adult plants, a paniculate inflorescence up to 1 m high with many hemispherical flowers 5 cm long grows from the rosette. culture widespread variety "Variegata", with leaves with a yellowish-white border.
... It grows in the western regions of the United States. An evergreen plant up to 2 m high with a strongly shortened stem. Leathery and fibrous leaves are collected in dense rosettes up to 90 cm wide. The leaf blade is elongated-lanceolate, bluish-green, up to 60 cm long, the edges are white or gray with peeling fibers. In summer, in adult plants, a paniculate inflorescence up to 1 m high grows from the rosette with many bell-shaped flowers with creamy white petals that have a brownish or greenish tint.
Yucca gloriosa , popularly called "Spanish dagger"... Grows in the southeastern United States. It grows slowly, in its natural environment it takes the form of a spherical bush or tree 2 m high. A tree-like stem, single or weakly branched, with rosettes of hard and curved leaves. The leaf blade is elongated-lanceolate, leathery, bluish-green, up to 60 cm long, with smooth or slightly serrated edges and with a long sharp spine at the end. In summer, in adult plants, a paniculate inflorescence up to 2.5 m high grows from the rosette with many hanging bell-shaped flowers 5 cm long, with cream petals that have a purple hue.
grows in Mexico and the southern regions of the United States. Slow-growing evergreen species with a tree-like, weakly branched stem, up to 5 m high. Bluish-green leaves, straight or slightly curved, collected in dense rosettes. The leaf blade is oblong-lanceolate, leathery, more than 1 m long and about 7 cm wide, pointed at the end. In summer, in adult plants, a paniculate inflorescence up to 1 m high grows from the rosette with many hanging bell-shaped flowers with creamy white petals, sometimes having a purple hue.
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Yucca schottii . Synonym: Large yucca (Yucca macrocarpa) ... Grows on sandy gravel soils of southern Arizona. It has a straight or slightly branched trunk 3-4 m high. Straight rigid leaves are smooth, 20-50 cm long and 2-4 cm wide, glaucous. The leaf tapers slightly at the base, covered with fine threads at the edges. Branches and peduncle are bent; inflorescence - loose panicle.
Southern Yucca (Yucca australis) . Synonym: Yucca filifera (Yucca filifera) ... It grows in Mexico. It is a powerful, highly branched tree in the upper part, in nature it is 8-10 m high, with leathery short leaves 25-30 cm long and 2-3 cm wide. The leaves are dark green, with filaments around the edges, densely arranged. Long (1-2 m), branched, hanging multi-flowered inflorescence with cream flowers.
Yucca care
Lighting. Yucca grows well in a bright and warm room. This plant is very light-requiring - especially at a young age, yucca requires a lot of sunlight, but it is better to shade it from direct sun rays... Optimal for her are windows with an east or west orientation. It is better to shade on windows with a south orientation at midday, from direct sunlight.
With a lack of illumination, it can be grown under artificial lighting for 16 hours a day, using fluorescent lamps, placing them at a distance of 30-60 cm above the plant.
V summer time yucca can be taken out on open air at the same time, it should be protected from precipitation and provided with diffused lighting. It should also be remembered that when placing in the open air, the place should not be damp and dark. If it is not possible to place the yucca outdoors, then it is necessary to regularly ventilate the room in the summer.
V winter time also needs good lighting.
Temperature. Yucca prefers moderate temperatures in the spring-summer period, 20-25 ° С. In case of extreme heat, the plant standing in the sun should be shaded, if the plant has been in the sun for a long time, it can overheat, so it is removed in the shade, after it cools it is sprayed. In the autumn-winter period, it is necessary to ensure the temperature is within 8-12 ° С. If too high temperature content in winter, combined with a lack of lighting, yucca grows: the bases of its shoots are strongly elongated, the leaves become thinner, brighten and hang, losing their natural density and juicy color. Pests appear on a weakened yucca (,); her leaves turn yellow and fall. Plants that will not be placed in a cool (10-12 ° C) place in winter should be kept outdoors as long as possible, and next year they should be taken outside in a protected place as soon as possible. In a sheltered place, the plant can withstand even short frosts.
Watering. The frequency of watering yucca depends on many factors: the size and material of the pot, the size of the plant, the characteristics of the substrate, the temperature and humidity of the air. In the warm season, yucca is watered abundantly - but only after the topsoil has dried to a depth of about 5 cm. In hot summers, yucca is watered more often; but do not forget that the soil in the pot should dry out between waterings.
In the rest of the year, watering of the yucca should be moderate (in winter, watering is reduced), otherwise its roots rot from stagnant water in the substrate, and the plant may die.
Air humidity. Yucca species sensitive to dry air should be regularly sprayed with a fine spray boiled water room temperature. To increase air humidity, you can place a pot with a plant on a pallet with wet expanded clay, moss, gravel. Spraying yucca in the sun can cause sunburn spots on its leaves. For better decorativeness, the plant should be washed from time to time under the shower or under running water, making sure that water does not get onto the substrate (for example, close the pot with plastic).
Fertilizer. You need to feed the yucca in spring and summer, with an interval of two to three weeks, with a diluted solution of mineral fertilizers. This plant responds well to feeding with mullein infusion, horse manure, leaf humus. The best results give foliar feeding(leaves are sprayed with a solution of mineral fertilizer from the bottom side). You cannot feed the plant immediately after transplanting, as well as if the yucca is sick.
Growing features. Often yucca grows with one trunk, but you can achieve branching. In order to grow several tops of the yucca, choose a young, well-rooted plant with a height of at least 30 cm (the higher the better). In the spring or at the beginning of summer, the top of the yucca is cut off with a sharp knife or blade (a stalk 5-10 cm long), but at the same time leaves should remain on the stem - the more leaves, the better. The slices are sprinkled with crushed coal.
Transfer. It is better to replant the yucca in the spring, or, if necessary, in the summer. This plant thrives in a well-drained substrate. When transplanting a yucca, drainage from expanded clay, fine gravel or broken brick must be poured onto the bottom of the pot. It is better to choose medium earth mixtures. If a mixture with peat is used, then it must be neutralized to neutral values (pH 6.0-6.5). It is advisable to add coarse sand (up to 30% by volume) to the earthen mixture.
When transplanting a yucca, it is advisable to preserve as much as possible an earthen lump around the roots, therefore it is better to transship rather than transplant a healthy plant. A transplant is required when the roots of the yucca have begun to rot from excessive watering. Rotten roots are very soft and creep under the fingers, a rotten smell emanates from such roots - they must be removed when replanting the plant.
Yucca is successfully grown hydroponically.
Reproduction. Propagated by seeds, stem segments, apical cuttings.
Yucca seeds are sown immediately after collection in a light mixture (turf and leafy soil, sand in equal proportions). The crops are covered with glass; air them daily and wipe the glass, regularly moisten them. Yucca shoots appear a month after sowing. Seedlings dive into 6 cm pots, gradually accustom them to the care conditions of an adult plant, next year they are transferred into 8-9 cm pots.
From Holland they supply trunk sections yucca elephant. Leafless cuttings with waxed sections evaporate relatively little moisture, which allows them to be transported over long distances. Examine the stalk in the store: it should be elastic, not dried out or rotted, it should have the upper and lower ends indicated. Reproduction by segments of the trunk becomes a necessity even with prolonged maintenance of the plant, since the yucca grows excessively. To this end, in the summer, an arbitrary number of segments should be sawed off from the trunk, which should be at least 20 cm long. The lower end is stuck into a slightly moistened mixture of peat and sand and taken out to a shaded place on Fresh air... The place of the cut on the mother plant should be covered with garden pitch... Cuttings with leaves are covered with a transparent film to prevent moisture evaporation. The temperature should be at least 20 ° С, and the substrate should be moderately moist (waterlogging is dangerous). Rooting a yucca is a long process that takes 1-2 months.
If you got a poorly marked stalk when buying (it is not clear where is the top and where the bottom is), then lay it horizontally and half-deepen it into the substrate. Sleeping buds will wake up on the trunk, which, after rooting, can be separated from the mother trunk.
For rooting the apical cutting yucca from a plant, cut off the top (with a sharp knife or blade), sprinkle the cuts with crushed charcoal or activated charcoal tablet powder. The cut of the resulting cuttings is dried (leave it in the air for 2 hours) and then the yucca cuttings are planted for rooting in wet sand or placed in a container with boiled water at room temperature. It is useful to put a piece of charcoal in the water as a means of inhibiting the growth of bacteria. During the rooting of the yucca cuttings, the lower leaves can rot on it, then it will appear bad smell... The decaying leaves must be removed, the spoiled water must be replaced; it is important that the stem of the rooting cutting does not rot. After the roots appear, the yucca stalk is planted in the substrate.
Possible difficulties
Plant death often caused by either too much watering in winter or too cold temperatures. If, from excessive moisture in the substrate, the roots of the yucca began to rot, and dark spots and softened areas appeared on the trunk - but at least a few leaves and part of the trunk remained light in color, hard and elastic to the touch, then you can try to grow new roots in the affected plant in two ways :
1. Rooting the healthy part of the yucca trunk using the air-lay method. On the living part of the stem (at least 10-15 cm above the decaying part, and at least 60 cm from the top), remove the bark with a sharp knife with a "ring" 0.5 cm wide. yucca with wet sphagnum moss, and on top of it - plastic wrap so that moisture does not quickly evaporate from the moss. The moss should be kept moist at all times, wetting it with a spray bottle if necessary. After 2-3 weeks, the plant usually has new roots above the bark. For another two weeks, the roots grow, without removing the moss and film from them. When the new roots of the yucca grow and branch out, the top of the plant with the new roots is cut off below the point where the bark was removed. Sprinkle the cut with crushed coal, dry it slightly and plant the plant in a new pot with fresh substrate. The soil should consist of garden or humus soil and coarse sand (at least a quarter of the total soil volume).
2. Rooting the healthy part of the yucca trunk in a mini greenhouse. With a sharp knife cut off the living part of the plant from the decaying one. It is desirable that the length of the resulting cutting be no more than 30 cm, and the remaining living part of the trunk can be rooted separately. Sprinkle the cut of the cutting with crushed coal, dry it a little and plant the cutting in a pot with wet coarse sand. To ensure increased air humidity, the cutting is covered with a large jar on top or a mini-greenhouse is arranged: 3-4 thin sticks are inserted vertically into the pot with the cutting so that they are higher than the cutting itself, and cover the pot with the cutting with a transparent plastic bag, tying its edges on pot. The renewed plant takes root in a month and a half; it is important not to overmoisten the soil, but also not to let it dry out.
Yellow lower leaves- if the leaves turn yellow slowly, this is natural and inevitable for old plants. It is common for yucca to have green leaves only on the top of the bare stem. This appearance is explained by the fact that their leaves do not live long, after two years they turn yellow and die off.
When transplanted or acquired, the plant also can shed some of the lower leaves, it is a natural reaction to changing conditions. If this is massive, then hypothermia or drafts are possible.
Brown tips or edges of leaves- dry air. Most yuccas require high humidity air. Cold drafts or insufficient watering can be other reasons.
Brown spots on the leaves- insufficient watering. The earth ball should be moist at all times.
Soft curled leaves and brown edges- the temperature is too low. In gentle species, similar symptoms appear if left near a window on a cold night.
Light dry spots on the leaves- too much sun.
Greyish brown leaf spots (leaf spot). Fungal or bacterial disease caused by high humidity air and soil. It is necessary to remove the affected leaves. Spray systemic fungicide, reduce watering and stop spraying.
Rot of the stems. A disease caused by a fungus. Part of the stem or crown becomes soft and rots. The fungus that infects the plant usually develops quickly and, as a rule, the entire plant dies. Waterlogged soil and a poorly ventilated room contribute to the development of the fungus. V initial stage disease, you can try to save the plant by removing all affected tissue. In case of serious damage, destroy the plant along with the soil and pot.
Gets damaged
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Exotic plants have always attracted attention. Specific styles registration of a site or memories of the southern regions - here thermophilic representatives of the flora appear everywhere. The use of these sissies in the open air is very limited and most often they are used as tub crops, which are transferred to the room with the onset of cold weather. But among the southern exotic species there are species that can withstand frost, for example, garden yucca, which with light shelter tolerates winters middle lane.
Yucca are several species of perennial evergreens native to Mexico and the Caribbean. Long leaves tapering towards the end form a hemispherical cap, and when favorable conditions in the middle of summer, flower stalks appear, strewn with large white flowers. The flowers last for several weeks and have an amazing aroma.
In regions with cold winters outdoors they can grow:
- Yucca is garden or filamentous;
- Yucca is nice.
Yucca filamentous (Yucca filamentosa L.) has leathery leaves, split into thin filaments at the edges (hence the name), and its trunk is almost invisible. The peduncle can reach two meters in height, and the number of flowers sometimes exceeds 200. The height of the entire plant in adulthood is 1–1.2 m.
Garden yucca (filamentous) 
Yucca garden in winter 
Yucca garden (flowers)
The standard color of the leaves of yucca filamentous is dark green, but variegated varieties exist: with a yellowish border on the leaves, or vice versa, with a yellow center of the leaf and a pink-greenish border.
Yucca gloriosa, unlike the aforementioned relative, has a noticeable trunk. Its dark green long, up to 70 cm, leaves form a rosette or bunches, and the inflorescence is looser than that of filamentous yucca. The flowers of this southerner are shaped like those of a lily of the valley.
Yucca is glorious 
Yucca glorious (flowers) 
Yucca is glorious in winter 
Yucca glorious (variegated form)
Yucca also has variegated forms.
All representatives of the euonymus genus are especially appreciated by landscape designers for their versatility, unpretentiousness, ...
Yucca planting
The best time to plant a yucca is in May, when the soil has already warmed up, but the plant has enough time to prepare for the upcoming winter.
Yucca is a plant in desert zones and is not used to excess moisture, so it is undesirable to plant this beauty in lowlands and in swampy areas. For the same reason, plants of the genus Yucca do not grow well on heavy loams.
The landing site should be well lit by the sun in summer (otherwise it simply won't bloom), but at the same time be protected from cold winds in winter.
Prepare before planting landing pit, with dimensions several times larger than the root system of the plant (this is especially important if the soil on the site is not at all suitable for the cultivation of yucca, it needs a light sandy soil). A drainage layer must be laid out at the bottom of the pit. Suitable potting soil can be obtained by mixing garden soil with sand in equal proportions.
When replanting yucca from a container, it is important not to damage the root system - this can be dangerous for the plant. Also, you can not deepen the root collar.
Southern beauty care
In spite of exotic look, plants of the genus Yucca are rather unpretentious.
- Additional watering to the southern beauty is needed only in dry summers, and so she does well with rainwater. The plant itself tells when it lacks moisture - it lowers the leaves to the ground.
- Yucca needs to be fed a couple of times a season. mineral fertilizers with a high content of potassium and phosphorus, and a few years after planting, you can fertilize the soil with rotted organic matter.
- If yucca is used as a tub plant and grows in a pot, then the frequency of fertilizing and watering is increased.
- It is necessary to remove non-wintered leaves from the plant, and after the flowers wither, peduncles.
Caring for a flower such as a yucca in the garden in the winter is not difficult. It is only important to properly cover the plant: to build a wooden or plastic container around the bush and cover it with spruce branches or cover it with dry foliage. You can also tie the leaves of the plant and cover it with non-woven fabric, but not polyethylene.
The shelter is removed in April.
Reproduction
The most common way of yucca propagation is by stem or root suckers, which often appear on mature plants. They are separated from the parent specimen and planted in light soil, and after the development of the root system, they are planted in a permanent place.
It is difficult to realize the seed propagation path, because only fresh seeds have good germination. It is possible to obtain seeds from already existing flowering specimens only by resorting to artificial pollination - in her homeland, a southerner is pollinated by a certain type of moths.
Pests and diseases
Garden yucca is rarely affected by diseases, but it can suffer from pests. So, a spider mite can settle on a southerner, with which prevention plays a significant role, and scale insects. And garden slugs can also spoil a beauty's appearance.
Spider mite 
Whitefly 
Shield 
Garden slugs
Over-watering the plant can develop stem or root rot. In this case, the stem softens and it is almost impossible to save the bush.
Like its distant ancestors, born under the hot sun of the subtropics, ampelous begonia retained its love for the warm ...
Yucca in landscape design
Yucca is decorative throughout the warm season, so it is actively used in landscape design. Both single and group plantings of this plant, as well as combinations with other drought-resistant species, look beneficial.
Many types of yucca are ideal "office plants", as they are quite content with artificial lighting. And some forms (for example, filamentous) with large flowers pale cream color on a high peduncle can be a decoration of a gravel garden or rockery.
What does a yucca flower look like and how it blooms at home (with photo)
The genus unites species, many of which are more xerophytes than succulents. In regions with warm climates, it is often grown in open plantings. Plants are variable: from almost stemless rosettes to tree-like forms. The leaves are long and thin (up to 1 m long and 1–8 cm wide), green with a bluish bloom or bluish, serrated or smooth along the edges, often in filaments, often ending in a thorn, rigid or hard, erect or drooping. Inflorescence is a branched panicle, multi-flowered, erect or drooping. The flowers are waxy, white or pale yellow, up to 8 cm long. During the flowering period, the plants are very effective. After flowering, the plant does not die off, but blooms annually or after a year. The yucca fruit is a dry capsule or juicy fruit (in some species it is edible).
Look at the photo of how yucca blooms at home - unfortunately, this happens very, very rarely:
Most species form groups with age. Fibers of some types of leaves are used in rope production. Yucca are deciduous ornamental plants widely used in landscape design.
Yucca Is a tree of happiness. V modern conditions yucca is widely used as decoration in offices and homes. Growing yucca at home brings happiness, prosperity, good luck.
Yucca will help you gather strength in difficult times. She will not allow quarrels and scandals to grow, instills self-confidence.
If you know how to properly care for a yucca, the atmosphere at home will become a little more businesslike and more comfortable, conducive to calm conversations.
Yucca has a stimulating and strengthening effect on the human psyche, stimulates decisive action. At correct cultivation and caring for yucca, this plant will dispel doubts and instill confidence.
This flower, being present in the house, can strengthen the musculoskeletal system of the owners, protects against fractures and muscle sprains, from rheumatism and any sharp pains. Planting yucca flowers is believed to promote quick healing of cuts in the skin.
Conditions for growing yucca at home: soil and temperature
The main condition for growing yucca in the summer is a temperature of about 20 ° C, in winter it is advisable to lower the temperature level to 12 ° C. When growing yucca, do not forget that it is light-loving plant which grows well in diffused sunlight and partial shade.
You should choose a bright location for a yucca: from just a bright room to very well lit by the sun. The plant definitely needs access to fresh air, so in the summer it is better to take it out of the house, and if this is not possible, then it is necessary to provide good ventilation. Humidity can be high, yucca loves reasonable moisture, but it also tolerates dry air, does not require spraying the leaves. It is important to protect from dampness, do not flood when watering. Watering is plentiful from spring to autumn, and in winter it is gradually reduced.
The temperature is moderate - 13-21 ° C, in winter the plant requires cool conditions. During the dormant period, the plant should winter in a bright place, cool enough (but not below 8 ° C), protected from frost. Larger, and therefore more hardy specimens can also overwinter in heated rooms, although they will lose a few leaves.
Soil for yucca at home requires the following composition: turf - 1 part, humus - 1 part, sand - 2 parts.
How to properly care for a yucca: watering and feeding
Yucca is a fairly moisture-loving plant. When watering, you should be guided by the condition of the land. It is necessary to water it when the earth is already dry well, it is better not to water the plant once again than to fill it with water. In addition to watering, it is recommended to constantly spray the yucca with water.
Maintenance consists of regular watering. The next year it is necessary to carry out transshipment; and then every 2 years before planting in tubs with a diameter of 30 cm. Transplantation from tubs is carried out until the latter rot. In the interval between transplants, soil is added annually and regularly fertilized with slurry at least once a month.
During the growing period, the plant needs additional feeding with special fertilizers, which are poured into the soil along with water for irrigation every fourteen days.
See photos of planting and caring room yucca and plants in the garden:
Planting and caring for the indoor yucca flower at home: propagation by seeds and stems of the trunk (with photo and video)
Yucca is propagated vegetatively (by cuttings, division and offspring) and seeds. Apical cuttings are taken - the upper part of the trunk with a bunch of leaves is cut off, dried for several days, then planted in pots. The substrate for planting the cuttings is sand.
Reproduction of yucca by pieces of the trunk is possible: it is cut off above the root collar and placed horizontally on wet sand. With moderate watering and a temperature of at least 20 ° C, shoots with roots develop; they are cut into separate rooted parts. Yuccas on the trunk easily form lateral processes; they are separated, dried a little and planted for rooting. Rooting of cuttings during the reproduction of yucca by segments of the stems of the trunk lasts for 1-2 months.
As you can see in the photo, when yucca is propagated at home, rooted plants are planted in pots; the size of the pots is selected depending on the size of the plants:
Sowing is carried out with freshly harvested seeds. Land for growing yucca from seeds: turf - 1 part, leaf - 1 part, sand - 1 part. Seedlings appear within a month. Seedlings dive into 6cm pots one at a time and set in a well-lit area. For the summer, they are placed on the sunny side.
Here you can watch a video of yucca breeding at home by cutting, pieces of the trunk and seeds:
Due to their decorative effect, yuccas are widely grown in gardens. Yucca is suitable for landscaping both at home and in the office (shop, restaurant), for decorating winter gardens, terraces, in a tub culture, vases.
The fruits, seeds, flowers, stalks and roots of some yucca species are edible. Yucca fibers were once used to make ropes, and baskets were woven from the leaves. All yuccas contain saponin, a natural hair wash used today in cosmetics and soaps.
Types of yucca with photos and names: aloe leaf and giant
Aloe leaf yucca (Yucca aloifolia) Is a tree-like perennial up to 4 m tall from the Agavov family. Homeland of the USA, Mexico; grows in humid subtropics. The trunk bears scars from fallen leaves. Leaves in a bunch in the upper part of the trunk, rigid, xiphoid, straight outstretched, long - 30–45 cm, 2.5–3 cm wide in the middle part of the plate and expanding to its base up to 15–20 cm, dark green, with bluish bloom, with a hard reddish-brown thorn at the apex and sharply serrated whitish edges. The peduncle is short.
As you can see in the photo, in aloe-leaf yucca, the panicle is diamond-shaped, dense, 30-60 cm long, shortly branched, 12-15 cm each:
It grows on dry open hills, on sandy and gravel soils, in coastal bushes in the southeast of North America, in Eastern Mexico, on the island of Jamaica, Bermuda.
It is optimal to keep in a sunny, ventilated place, in winter at a temperature not lower than 10 °. Land mixture: 3 hours of turf, 2 hours of leafy earth and sand. Propagated by freshly harvested seeds, stem cuttings and root suckers. The upper part of the shoot with a bunch of leaves is cut onto the cuttings, dried for several days, and then planted in a wet mixture of sand with peat or perlite. To obtain stem cuttings, the shoot is cut off just above the root collar and placed horizontally on wet sand at a temperature not lower than 20 °, sprayed from time to time. From the nodes of the shoot, buds develop, from which young shoots grow, which are subsequently separated and rooted. Yuccas are excellent tapeworms for group compositions (fragments winter garden) and are also very good for winter gardens.
Yucca giant – Yucca brevifolia. Homeland - the southwestern deserts of the United States. It is typical of this group of evergreen, often decorative, rigid-leaved agave plants. The largest is the now felled Yucca giant, which grew in Antelope Valley in California, reached a height of 20 m, and its trunk diameter exceeded 110 cm.However, it is not bred in gardens, since there are many other varieties that require much less hassle.
Indoor adult Yucca giant resembles a false palm tree and can reach a height of 4 m, so it is more suitable for decorating a hall or a room with high ceilings... She needs a deep pot with good drainage. In summer, you can take it out into the open air. In winter, they are kept in a bright, unheated room. Flowering can only be achieved after many years, when the plant becomes an adult. Yucca blooms with white bell-shaped flowers. Green, glaucous xiphoid, linear leaves are collected in a bunch at the top of the trunk.
Propagated by stem suckers, less often by seeds. Reproduction by segments of the trunk becomes a necessity, since the Giant Yucca overgrows. To this end, in the summer, an arbitrary number of segments should be sawed off from the trunk, which should be at least 20 cm long. The lower end is stuck into a slightly moistened mixture of peat and sand and taken out to a shaded place for fresh air. The place of the cut on the mother plant should be covered with garden varnish. Cuttings with leaves are covered with a transparent film to prevent moisture evaporation. After the appearance of their own roots, they are seated.
Yucca filamentous and gray: photo and description
Here you can read the description and see a photo of yucca filamentous and gray.
Yucca filamentous – Yucca filamentosa. Homeland - the east of North America. Almost stemless plant. Thanks to root suckers, it grows. The root system penetrates deeply into the soil. One of the most hardy yuccas, it can endure short-term frosts down to -20 ° C, sometimes even more.
The flowers of yucca filamentous are yellowish-white, drooping, up to 8 cm long. The flower panicle is up to 200 cm tall. The fruit is a rounded box up to 5 cm in diameter. Viable seeds can only be obtained by artificial pollination. The leaves are gray-green, up to 70 cm long, 4 cm wide, with a pointed tip, the edges are covered with numerous white thin curling threads.
It has a variegated form filamentosa variegata with yellow or white-spotted leaves.
Yucca gray – Yucca glauca. Homeland - the eastern regions of North America. The plant is stemless, the leaves are collected in a dense rosette. The leaves themselves are narrow-linear, up to 70 cm long, bluish-green with a whitish border and rare thin curled filaments along the edge.
Pay attention to the photo - the flowers of the blue yucca are very spectacular, the peduncle reaches up to 300 cm in height:
The flower panicle is narrow, with little branching. Flowers are greenish-white or yellowish, up to 7 cm long, drooping, of various shapes, most often bell-shaped.
Yucca elephant, southern and short-leaved (with photo)
Yucca elephants, Yucca elephant – Yucca elephantipes. The tree-like trunk is topped with a crown of long leathery leaves. Yucca elephant in culture is more unpretentious and persistent than Yucca aloifolia. The plant at home reaches a height of two or more meters, has a tendency to branch, and therefore adult specimens need to be pruned. The reasons for the relative persistence of these species are their slow growth. The decorative period lasts all year round.
As shown in the photo above, the elephant yucca has green, bluish leaves 30–75 cm long, 5–8 cm wide, xiphoid, broadly lanceolate, linear, arranged spirally.
Y. australis Trel. (Y. filifera Shabaud) - South southern. Trees up to 8-10 m tall. The trunk of powerful old trees up to 1 m in diameter, strongly branched in the upper part. Leaves densely arranged, dense-skinned, short, 25-30 cm long and 2-3 cm wide, dark green, with filaments at the edges. The inflorescence is branched, multi-flowered, hanging, 1-2 m long. The flowers are creamy. Homeland - Mexico.
Y. brevifolia Engelm. (Y. arborescens (Torr.) Trel.) - Yu short-leaved. Trees 4-9 m tall. The trunk is up to 50 cm in diameter, strongly branched at the top. Leaves densely arranged, hard, short, 15-30 cm long and 0.6-1.5 cm wide in the middle, almost triangular-widened towards the base, grooved, brownish at the apex and prickly pale green along the edges. The peduncle is short; thick panicle. The flowers are pale yellow. Short-leaved yucca grows in dry, open areas in southeastern California and Arizona (USA).
Several garden forms, some of them are highly decorative:
Elegantissima- differs in intensive growth and a larger peduncle;
Y. filamentosa var. bracteata Engelm- leaves (number - 50-100, 45-60 cm long and 2.5-4 cm wide, with many thin filaments along the edges); inflorescence 1.5 m tall; large flowers - 7–8 cm;
Y. filamentosa var. media Garr- leaves broadly lanceolate, thin, ending in a thorn.
Y. glauca var. stricta Trel. (Y. angustifolia stricta Baker) - the leaves are long and wide, up to 1.2 cm long. Inflorescences are long, branched. Grows in Kansas (USA). Highly decorative.
Y. radiosa Trel.- Yu multibeam. The trees are 5–7 m high. Leaves are numerous (more than 100), densely arranged, linear, 45-60 cm long and 0.3-1 cm wide in the middle, tapering towards the base, slightly grooved, with a sharp apex, with white, narrow edges, with a large number of fine filaments ... Inflorescence 1.5–2 m high; panicle 0.8–1.2 m. Grows on sandy, gravel soils in southern Arizona (USA).
Y. recurvifolia Salisb. (Y. recurva Haw., Y. pendula Siebold) - Yu. Folded. The trunk is short, straight or branched. Leaves in a bundle at the top of the trunk, 80-150, drooping, 60-90 cm long, grayish-green, spiny-pointed at the top, flat in the middle, slightly folded, whole-edged or with single teeth, slightly fibrous at the edges. Occurs on sand dunes in Georgia (USA). Widespread in culture. There are several garden forms.
Y. rostrata Engelm.- Yu coracoid. Trees with a short-branched crown. The trunk is up to 3 m high and 15–20 cm in diameter. Leaves are numerous, long, narrow-linear, 1 cm wide, flat or biconvex, thin, leathery, with a sharp spinous apex, in stripes and with yellow forked edges. The peduncle is long; branched panicle. The flowers are white. Homeland - Mexico. A valuable ornamental plant.
Y. schottii Engelm. (Y. macrocarpa Engelm.) - Y. Schott. The trunk is 3-4 m high, straight, sometimes weakly branched. Leaves are linear, 20-50 cm long and 2-4 cm wide, bluish, hard, smooth, straight, slightly tapering at the base, with thin filaments along the edges. Branches and peduncle are bent. Inflorescence is a loose-flowered panicle. Grows on sandy gravel soils in Southern Arizona.
Y. tpeculeana Carr.- Yu Trekulya. The trunk is 5–7 m high and 30–60 cm in diameter, highly branched. Leaves densely arranged, elongate-lanceolate, xiphoid, 60-120 cm long, 7-9 cm wide in the middle and up to 2.5 cm wide at the base, dark green, leathery, rough on both sides, prickly at the top, brown along the edges -red with a pale border, thin-fingered at the base (old leaves have rare filaments). The peduncle is short; panicle dense, 0.6–1.2 m long, branched. The flowers are white. Grows on sand dunes in Texas (USA) and Mexico.
Flower yucca (lat.Yucca) belongs to the genus of evergreen tree-like plants of the Agave family, although not so long ago it was included in the subfamily Liliaceae. Sometimes the plant is called "yucca palm", although it has nothing to do with palm trees. In floriculture, trees such as yucca and dracaena are called false palms. The homeland of yucca is the arid regions of Mexico and Central America. All 30 plant species are divided into two groups: stemless and tree-like. In nature, the tree-like yucca plant can grow up to 12 meters in height, the home yucca grows no higher than 2 m.This is a beautiful, unpretentious tree to care for, which can serve worthy decoration large room or office. Sometimes yucca flowers are called "denim tree" because the first denim was made from their fibers.
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Planting and caring for a yucca (in short)
- Bloom: ornamental deciduous plant, does not bloom at home.
- Lighting: bright sunlight (near the south window). Daylight hours should be at least 16 hours, so additional artificial lighting will be needed in winter.
- Temperature: in summer - usual for residential premises, in winter - at least 10 ˚C.
- Watering: abundant, after the soil has dried to a depth of 5-7 cm.
- Air humidity: any, but dry air is easier to carry.
- Top dressing: from April to August, once every 2-3 weeks, yucca leaves are sprayed on the underside with a very weak (two times weaker than the manufacturers recommend) solution of complex mineral fertilizer.
- Rest period: from October to February.
- Transfer: in spring, once every 2-4 years.
- Reproduction: seeds, apical cuttings, parts of the trunk.
- Pests: scabbards, spider mites, aphids, thrips.
- Diseases: stem and root rot, bacteriosis, gray and brown spots, fire blight.
Read more about growing yucca below.
Yucca flower - cultivation features
Caring for a yucca palm tree will not require big sacrifices from you. The only one a prerequisite for yucca in home floriculture, good lighting is essential. The homeland of the yucca plant is desert and semi-desert areas where it grows under the sultry sun, so it is best to place it in the immediate vicinity of the south window, but if the west or east window is well lit, you can put the yucca near them.
Second distinctive feature plants is that yucca does not bloom in the home, although in nature it blooms with large white bell-shaped flowers, collected in panicles. If you arrange her for the winter in an insulated loggia, you may well have a chance to see the flowering of yucca: the budding of flower buds occurs only during a long stay in the cold.
If you are impatient, buy right away adult plant as yucca grows very slowly. However, keep in mind that yucca is popular, so it will not come cheap.
The daylight hours of the yucca should last at least 16 hours, which means that in winter time it will be necessary to create artificial lighting for it.
In all other respects, caring for the yucca plant is simple, you can even forget about it for a while, and it will not wither from this.
Yucca- beautiful evergreen with a tree-like stem from the Agave family. The family includes a little more than fifty species of these palm-shaped plants, but the varieties popular with our flower growers include 5-6 decorative indoor options and several garden ones. Despite the fact that homemade yucca is very reminiscent of a miniature palm tree, it nevertheless does not belong to palm trees (as well as dracaena Marginata, which looks very similar to yucca). Lovers of indoor plants appreciate the yucca for its graceful trunk, on the top of which beautiful long leaves of a bluish or dark green color grow.
Depending on the type of "miniature tree", narrow leaves can be either drooping or erect, and the tree-like stem can have several points of growth and branch beautifully. The shape of the trunk and the degree of branching can be adjusted by pruning the shoots annually. Caring for an unpretentious yucca at home does not cause difficulties even for novice flower growers, but it is important to strictly follow those few rules for growing this indoor plant, which we will discuss below. Photos of popular home types of yucca will help you choose the right option for decorating a room or office space. Interior designers often choose yucca to create a composition with such popular flowers as the phalaenopsis orchid, home violets (Saintpaulias), gloxinia with bell flowers, decorative potted rose, European or Persian cyclamen.
Blooming yucca- a rather rare occurrence among similar indoor plants. Even if you organize the cultivation of this miniature tree at home according to all the rules, you will not be able to see yucca flowers very soon - usually flowering occurs no earlier than 5-7 years after planting the plant in the summer. Experienced growers stimulate the establishment of flower buds by organizing a cold dormant period in winter (12-14 ° C), when the plant reaches the required age. Yucca flowers are collected in panicle inflorescences and look like small white bells.
With unpretentious in home care elephant yucca (Yucca elephantipes) or with aloe leaf yucca (Yucca aloifolia), some dry-resistant indoor plants (for example, flowering Kalanchoe or home geranium pelargonium) get along well in one container, which can be used to form interesting composition in the phytodesign of living quarters.
- photo of types of homemade yucca -
In addition to the above-mentioned elephant and aloe-leafy domestic yucca species, in our country, the cultivation of such varieties as Yucca whipplei with a crown of grayish-green leaves in the form of a thorny ball, Yucca glauca with drooping long leaves on a short stem is practiced , as well as Yucca southern (Yucca australis) with densely spaced dark green leaves and a branched trunk. Outdoors (in the garden or in the backyard), you can grow filamentous yucca (Yucca filamentosa) with dark green leaves that form a rosette with lateral suckers.
♦ WHAT IS IMPORTANT!
Location and lighting.
It is advisable to put the yucca pot on sunny place well lit during the day. The most favorable location for this home plant is window sills or floor stands near a window on the east or west side of the room. If the yucca is placed next to the south window, then be sure to shade the glass in summer and on sunny spring days so that diffused light falls on the plant. During the autumn and winter period, yucca may lack natural light. Therefore, it is advisable to place fluorescent lamps next to the plant (at a distance of 50-60 cm) as additional lighting. If possible, place the pot with the plant on the balcony or next to the house in the summer, slightly shading from direct sunlight.
Temperature conditions.
The optimum temperature in autumn and winter is 10-14 ° C. Problems can begin with the onset heating season- at temperatures above 16 ° C (especially in low or insufficient lighting), the leaves stretch out, become thinner, and the turgor weakens. If possible, place the plant pot on glazed balcony or install an air conditioner close to the plant and ventilate the area more often. Comfortable temperature for homemade yucca in summer is 18-25 ° C.
Air humidity.
The best option is a moderate indoor humidity level (40-50%). But dry air will not harm the plant if you regularly spray the yucca with settled, boiled and warm water from a spray bottle. In the summer, you can wash the leaves of the plant under the shower several times so that water does not get into the substrate. In the heat, you can put a pot with a plant on a pallet with wet river sand or expanded clay, and place a wide container with water next to it to increase the humidity level.
Watering.
In summer, the yucca is watered abundantly after the topsoil (4-5 cm) is completely dry. It is important not to allow water to stagnate at the level of the earthen clod - immediately pour all excess water out of the pan. In the autumn-winter period, water the plant very rarely (once every 10-15 days). Yucca tolerates drought quite easily, but overflow can cause rotting of the root system, as well as damage to the plant by diseases and pests. Some budding growers use a special moisture indicator to determine the degree of drying of soil layers.
Dredge and top dressing.
You can make your own yucca soil mix yourself. If the plant is young (up to 4 years old), then mix turf soil, leafy soil, coarse sand and humus in a ratio of 2: 2: 2: 1. Mix for planting an adult plant: turf land, leafy land, river sand in a ratio of 3: 2: 2.
For feeding, you can use diluted mineral fertilizers or prepared yourself (for example, an infusion of horse or cow manure with leaf humus). You can additionally spray the leaf plates from the underside with diluted mineral fertilizers. In spring and summer, top dressing is applied once every few weeks. It is not recommended to fertilize the soil in winter and autumn.
Transfer.
Homemade yucca is transplanted as needed (given that the plant grows very slowly) in the spring about once every two years, except in emergency cases, if the roots begin to rot badly. It is advisable to use the transfer method when transplanting into a ceramic pot in order to keep the earthen ball intact. Look closely at the root system of the yucca and remove any rotten roots if necessary.
Pruning.
With the help of pruning, you can significantly improve the appearance of the yucca, make a "lush palm" out of it, using the rudiments of new shoots for the growth of additional tops. It is desirable that the height of the plant is 60-70 cm, and the diameter is about 6 cm. The procedure is performed in March-April, watering abundantly a few days before. use only sterile pruning tools, thoroughly disinfect the sharp knife with alcohol. We choose the place of the cut, stepping back 7-8 cm from the lower leaves. We grab the leaves with our hand and sharply cut off the trunk in one motion. Then the place of the cut is sprinkled with chopped activated carbon... After a few weeks or earlier, apical buds (from 2 to 5 pieces) will appear in the upper part of the trimmed trunk. If the thickness of the trunk is less than 5 cm, then we leave 2 buds, and cut off the rest. And if the thickness is 6-8 cm, then we leave 4 buds, from which the tops with new leaves will grow.
Reproduction.
Yucca is propagated by seeds, stem segments and apical cuttings.
Cuttings. Usually done during pruning (to improve the decorative qualities of the plant). Cut off the top with a sharp knife and sprinkle the cut with crushed activated carbon. Within a few hours, the cut site will dry out and you can plant the cutting in clean, wet sand. After 2-3 weeks, the roots will appear and you can transplant the sprout into the prepared substrate.
Trunk sections. In the summer, cut (or saw off) several pieces (20-30 cm) from the trunk. Sprinkle the cuts with chopped charcoal, and cover the places of the cuts on the parent plant with garden pitch. Pour a mixture of peat and pure river sand into the container, moisten and plant parts of the trunk in the mixture (with the cut point in the substrate). Cover the container with foil and support temperature regime- 20-25 ° C. The substrate must be regularly moistened. After a month or more, roots will appear.
Seeds. We sow into a mixture of leafy earth, sod land and sand in equal parts. Cover with a glass container. The soil mixture must be regularly moistened and aired daily. After about a month, sprouts will appear. A few months after the emergence of sprouts, we dive the seedlings into pots with prepared soil mixture.
♦ ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS OF BEGINNERS FLOWER GROWERS:
Question: What to do if the leaves curl and become too soft, lose their tone?
Answer: Usually this problem appears due to too low temperature. In this case, you can put the yucca pot away from the cold window.
Question: Why do the lower yucca leaves turn yellow and fall off?
Answer: This is normal during the growing season (spring-summer). In rare cases, the cause may be damage to the plant by pests (information on pests and diseases of yucca is given below).
Question: Why on outside leaves began to appear spots Brown color, and the leaves themselves dry?
Answer: This often happens in the summer, if the air is too dry, the room is not often ventilated and watering is rather rare.
Question: What to do if light spots appear on the outside of the yucca leaves?
Answer: Most likely, the leaf plates received sunburn... It is necessary to slightly shade the glass of the window and rearrange the pot a little further from the window (especially if the southern windows).
♦ COMMON DISEASES AND PESTS:
