Important tips for growing a yucca plant

The yucca plant makes an excellent addition to just about any home and it’s a fantastic gift too. Whether you buy this plant for yourself or you receive it as a gift, it’s important to understand just how to take care of it in order to ensure that it thrives for years. Here are some key care tips to remember.

Sunlight

Your yucca plant loves full sunlight. So, make sure that the plant is placed near a window where most of your other plants generally cannot handle all that sun. If you don’t have a place with direct sunlight, it will still do extremely well if you display it in a spot that receives lots of indirect sun. Low light will stunt the growth of the plant.

Potting soil

When choosing the potting soil for this plant, you should consider its natural environment where it loves dry and sandy deserts. When grown indoors, they do best in well-drained potting mix. It is best to avoid soil that is excessively rich in nutrients since this will do more harm than good. All you really need is a combination of affordable potting mix and course sand. You can also use perlite to improve drainage.

Watering

While it is important to water your yucca plant regularly during the growing season (spring and summer), it is just as important to make sure that the soil does not remain excessively saturated. During the colder months, you should water less frequently and you should never allow the plant to rest in a tray of water.

Humidity and temperatures

Since the yucca plant naturally grows in desert environments, you can be sure that it will do well in dry climates and even in fairly extreme temperatures. Of course, you don’t want to allow the plant to get too cold in the winter.

Fertilizing

Like any other plant, you should only fertilize during the growing season. Liquid fertilizer is great because it is so easy to use. Just make sure that you use it as per the instructions on the label.

Repotting

If the yucca plant is still reasonable in size, you should increase the size of the pot as soon as you notice that the plant is outgrowing its home. You can refresh a larger plant by removing the top two inches of soil and replacing it with fresh potting soil.

Pruning

Keep your yucca plant from growing too tall by pruning on a regular basis. You should only prune when the plant is in its dormant phase to avoid doing any damage.

By keeping these essential yucca plant care tips in mind, you will enjoy watching your plant grow and flourish for years to come. You will also notice, over time, just how easy the plant is to care for. Provided it is set in the right spot, the rest really is so easy to manage. You don’t have to worry about giving it daily attention and you will not need to worry about it if you go away for the weekend.