Hi all

I lost my sister last year and now have a yucca of hers

The plant did very well in her place but by the time i got it, the growth
off the main stumps had gone very leggy and curved down very much

I tried to use "splints" to straighten it
but to no avail.

When she had it, the growth off the main stumps
was bushy and short, now they are bushy at the end of
three foot long bare branches, as they get longer the
leaves die off.

Is this just the plant aging or is there something wrong
I dont know if this is normal,
Can I straighten it?

If I cut back the shoots (like a pruning)
Will it grow back?

What the best soil mix, i may re-pot it as well

As you can imagine, it is v. importatnt to me that this plant does well

any tips welcome

Regards

niall

On Mon, 23 May 2005 16:35:15 +0100, "Niall Smyth"
wrote:

Hi all

I lost my sister last year and now have a yucca of hers

The plant did very well in her place but by the time i got it, the growth
off the main stumps had gone very leggy and curved down very much

I tried to use "splints" to straighten it
but to no avail.

When she had it, the growth off the main stumps
was bushy and short, now they are bushy at the end of
three foot long bare branches, as they get longer the
leaves die off.

Is this just the plant aging or is there something wrong
I dont know if this is normal,
Can I straighten it?

If I cut back the shoots (like a pruning)
Will it grow back?

What the best soil mix, i may re-pot it as well

As you can imagine, it is v. importatnt to me that this plant does well

any tips welcome

Regards

niall

Yuccas come from dry, arid, sunny parts of the world. There are
several types, some hardy enough to be grown outdoors in many parts of
the UK. I assume yours is an indoor variety, but that doesn't mean you
can grow it in a dark corner. Is it getting enough light? They are
quite capable of taking full sun so put it outside into the sunshine
for the summer. But if it's been in shade for some time, the leaves
may 'burn' if you immediately put it into strong continuous sunshine.
Expose it for an hour or two per day, gradually increasing the time
over about a fortnight to allow it to get acclimatised.

Most yuccas are pretty tough and will tolerate quite drastic treatment
(I've got one in my garden that was a rootless side-shoot on a larger
trunk found washed up on our local beach!). You could cut the stem
back to a suitable height, and it will send out shoots from the top of
the stump. If you let the cut surface of the top section dry off for a
few days, you could pot it up in some very gritty compost (cactus
compost would do, as sold in garden centres) and it will root. You
could even cut the stem into several lengths, dry them all off and pot
them up and you'd have several new plants (remember which end of the
cutting is up and which is down).

As to re-potting the original, if you do, use a gritty compost as
already described, or John Innes No.2 with extra grit added. Don't
over-water either the original plant or the new cuttings. They are
adapted to not getting much water. Watering about one per fortnight
will probably be quite adequate.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

Hi Chris

Thanks for that

I have done a much reading as I could find googling
But the general yucca advice does not cover
whats happened to my plant.

the plant in question is a spineless cane version (the common one)

I heard mixed opinions on whether
I could cut back the oversize "offshoot"

This would solve the problems and i could train the new growth properly
and care for the plant properly after its new growth

Just to clarify:
Do I cut the actual barked tree stump or the shoot that comes off it

Many thanks for you help

Niall



"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 23 May 2005 16:35:15 +0100, "Niall Smyth"
wrote:

Hi all

I lost my sister last year and now have a yucca of hers

The plant did very well in her place but by the time i got it, the growth
off the main stumps had gone very leggy and curved down very much

I tried to use "splints" to straighten it
but to no avail.

When she had it, the growth off the main stumps
was bushy and short, now they are bushy at the end of
three foot long bare branches, as they get longer the
leaves die off.

Is this just the plant aging or is there something wrong
I dont know if this is normal,
Can I straighten it?

If I cut back the shoots (like a pruning)
Will it grow back?

What the best soil mix, i may re-pot it as well

As you can imagine, it is v. importatnt to me that this plant does well

any tips welcome

Regards

niall

Yuccas come from dry, arid, sunny parts of the world. There are
several types, some hardy enough to be grown outdoors in many parts of
the UK. I assume yours is an indoor variety, but that doesn't mean you
can grow it in a dark corner. Is it getting enough light? They are
quite capable of taking full sun so put it outside into the sunshine
for the summer. But if it's been in shade for some time, the leaves
may 'burn' if you immediately put it into strong continuous sunshine.
Expose it for an hour or two per day, gradually increasing the time
over about a fortnight to allow it to get acclimatised.

Most yuccas are pretty tough and will tolerate quite drastic treatment
(I've got one in my garden that was a rootless side-shoot on a larger
trunk found washed up on our local beach!). You could cut the stem
back to a suitable height, and it will send out shoots from the top of
the stump. If you let the cut surface of the top section dry off for a
few days, you could pot it up in some very gritty compost (cactus
compost would do, as sold in garden centres) and it will root. You
could even cut the stem into several lengths, dry them all off and pot
them up and you'd have several new plants (remember which end of the
cutting is up and which is down).

As to re-potting the original, if you do, use a gritty compost as
already described, or John Innes No.2 with extra grit added. Don't
over-water either the original plant or the new cuttings. They are
adapted to not getting much water. Watering about one per fortnight
will probably be quite adequate.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

On Wed, 25 May 2005 10:31:12 +0100, "Niall Smyth"
wrote:

Hi Chris

Thanks for that

I have done a much reading as I could find googling
But the general yucca advice does not cover
whats happened to my plant.

the plant in question is a spineless cane version (the common one)

I heard mixed opinions on whether
I could cut back the oversize "offshoot"

This would solve the problems and i could train the new growth properly
and care for the plant properly after its new growth

Just to clarify:
Do I cut the actual barked tree stump or the shoot that comes off it

It probably doesn't matter too much which you cut. After all, the
stump itself sprouted the shoot you refer to. Personally, I'd cut the
shoot, as the wood will be younger and more likely to sprout new
shoots. But do root the upper part as well, to give you double
indemnity, as it were.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net