Yuccas are actually easy to care for and very tough, which is best shown by their resilience. Although the agave plants (contrary to popular belief, they are not tropical palms!) come from the dry deserts and semi-deserts of Central America, where they are used to plenty of sun and extremely little water, they can still cope with comparatively little light and lower temperatures. Only an excess of moisture causes the leaves to droop - and then turn yellow and die.
If the yucca is too wet, the leaves will droop
Yucca is probably too damp
If the yucca is drooping its leaves, you most likely have watered it too much and/or kept it too moist (and sprayed it a bit too often to wet the leaves). By now the roots have probably become rotten, so that the affected leaves can no longer be properly cared for. The trunk may even be affected: take a look to see if it is already soft or feels otherwise changed.
Saving a dying yucca - Here's how
If incorrect watering behavior and rotting roots are the causes of the hanging leaves, you can still save the healthy parts of the yucca with a bit of luck:
- Repot the yucca and remove all soil.
- Inspect the roots and cut away any rotten parts.
- Also prune the yucca above ground: remove all diseased parts of the plant.
- Repot the yucca in fresh substrate.
- And water significantly less from now on!
- In severe cases, cut off the healthy parts of the plant
- and root them as stem or tufted cuttings in a pot with soil.
- Do not place the cuttings in a glass of water for rooting
- and do not put a plastic bag or a cut-off PET bottle over it.
- This only encourages rot.
Water the yucca properly
Watering a yucca once or even twice a week is far too frequent. Leave the plant to dry between the individual waterings - it's only time for fresh water again when the substrate is also dry deep inside (finger test!). Since the yucca is also succulent and has the ability to evaporate little water during high heat, it usually does not need to be watered more often during hot summer days.
tips
Underfloor heating that is too hot can also cause the hanging leaves - many yuccas do not like this intense heat from below. Otherwise, the repotting that has just taken place and any associated damage to the roots could be the cause.