Blue-leaved Yucca rostrata – planting and care instructions

The ideal location for the blue-leaved Yucca rostrata is bright and sunny to full sun. Even in its homeland, it can be found mainly in very sunny locations. But a light penumbra is also tolerated at certain hours of the day, but must not become a permanent fixture for the plant. In addition, the blue-leaved Yucca rostrata needs temperatures of 12° to 28° Celsius, which means that it must be brought to a reasonably sheltered and warm indoor location in winter. However, you should also note the following:

• in summer when the temperatures are warm, the plant is welcome to move to the bright balcony or terrace
• Above all, the fresh air also promotes growth
• pay attention to a bright location even in winter
• if this is not the case, for example on a south-facing window, then help with special lamps
• these special plant lamps are available in specialist shops
• can also be placed in the living room or office next to a heater
• the dry heating air does not bother the blue-leaved Yucca rostrata as a desert plant
• the plant also likes to be placed in an unheated, bright conservatory

Substrat & Boden

The blue-leaved Yucca rostrata thrives in well-drained soil. For this purpose, normal garden soil can be mixed with sand and compost as well as perlite. However, it is easier if you use ready-made cactus soil from the trade. Because this feels the soil of the desert, the original origin of the plant, very well.

watering &, fertilizing

When watering the blue-leaved Yucca rostrata, care must be taken to ensure that the plant is neither too little nor too much water. Because it tolerates an oversupply just as little as a longer drought. Therefore, watering should only be carried out when the substrate has already dried on the surface. If the plant is in an unheated conservatory in winter, watering can sometimes be omitted for a long time. Waterlogging can also affect the blue-leaved Yucca rostrata. Therefore, create a drainage in the bucket before planting. Fertilizing is also only done monthly and the procedure is as follows:

• Use complete fertilizer from the trade
• Add liquid fertilizer with the irrigation water
• or fertilizer sticks and replace them regularly
• in winter in a warm place, for example in a place in the living room, it is fertilized throughout
• Stop fertilizing over the winter months in a colder location, such as an unheated conservatory

To cut

The blue-leaved Yucca rostrata does not require pruning in the traditional sense. But in spring it has to be beautified. Because when the new leaves form again from the middle of the plant in spring, the older, outer leaves die off. For a nicer picture, these dead leaves should be cut off. Since the plant develops several crowns in adulthood, one or more of these crowns can be removed under certain circumstances due to the large growth. To do this, proceed as follows:

• use a sharp knife or scissors
• disinfect before cutting
• Cut straight at the junction
• be careful not to fray the trunk at the cutting point
• seal with commercially available wound protection products
• so no harmful fungi can penetrate

multiply

If too many individual crowns have grown on an existing blue-leaved Yucca rostrata so that the plant has become too large, they can be cut individually and used for propagation. This is easy and succeeds in most cases. To do this, proceed as follows:

• use the cut stem and crown
• put it in a glass of water to root
• after a short time small roots are visible
• then transfer the new plant to its pot
• alternatively put the trunk directly into a bucket with soil
• ideally use cactus soil for this
• water only moderately here so that the lower end of the trunk does not rot in the moist soil
• if rooting was successful, new leaves will form in the crown
• place in a warm, bright, sunny location, also for rooting

sowing

Even sowing the blue-leaved Yucca rostrata is not a difficult task for the hobby gardener. Seeds for this are commercially available. Again, care must be taken not to use too much water. This is how the sowing is done:

•  cactus soil is best suited for desert plants
• this best recreates the desert floor
• lightly press the seeds into the prepared soil
• then lightly moisten the soil evenly
• put in a warm, bright place
• a window sill of a south-facing window is ideal for this
• a corner in the warm conservatory is also ideal for this
• if neither is possible, a greenhouse can help
• Never cover seeds with foil
• small seedlings appear, prick them out and put them directly into prepared, small pots
• so the small plants can develop well in a warm, bright location
• blue-leaved yucca rostrata is a very slow-growing plant, so patience is required

plant

Ideally, the blue-leaved Yucca rostrata is cultivated in a bucket, so the location can vary between summer and winter. Many hobby gardeners use the plant entirely as a houseplant, but on warm and sunny days a location in a full sun spot outdoors is good for further development of the blue-leaved Yucca rostrata. Proceed as follows for planting in the tub.

• Repot purchased plants immediately
• use deep and high tubs in which the plant has plenty of space
• always use a bucket with a drainage hole
• lay gravel, potsherds or smaller stones over this hole
• lay plant fleece over it so that soil cannot clog the drain
• Partially fill in the prepared soil or commercially available soil, about 5 cm high
• Insert the blue-leaved Yucca rostrata in the middle
• fill in the rest of the soil
• make sure that you don’t fill in too high, otherwise irrigation water mixed with soil will spill over later
• water well
• Drain excess water from the saucer after a while

repot

Repotting is only necessary after a few years, because the blue-leaved Yucca rostrata grows very slowly. If you don’t want your plant to get too big, leave it longer in its pot and it will grow even more slowly. Otherwise, the blue-leaved Yucca rostrata should be repotted every two to three years, because this way it also gets fresh substrate at the same time. But only ever choose a bucket that is slightly larger than the previous one.

hibernate

The blue-leaved Yucca rostrata is not hardy. Although it could survive a day or two with sub-zero temperatures, the hobby gardener should not rely on that. Therefore, the plant should always be cultivated in a bucket that can be moved. Because if the blue-leaved Yucca rostrata finds its ideal place in the blazing sun on a terrace or balcony in summer, you should bring it inside in winter. Because when you spend the winter outdoors, the following problem arises:

• the plant does not tolerate any moisture
• wrapping it in foil to protect it from low temperatures could damage it
• Moisture forms under the foil
• this makes the plant the perfect victim for a fungal attack
• unprotected, it would be exposed to moisture from the air and possibly snow and rain
• this moisture settles between the solid leaves and does damage as well

The best place for the blue-leaved Yucca rostrata in autumn and winter is therefore still the heated apartment with little humidity or, ideally, an unheated, bright conservatory. So it can overwinter in the dry and does not take moisture damage.

Care mistakes, diseases or pests

The blue-leaved Yucca rostrata does not know any pests due to its firm and prickly leaves. But moisture and waterlogging can certainly be fatal to it:

• if the plant is exposed to moisture from the air for a long time, fungal infestation can occur
• so never leave it out in the rain
• a covered location on a terrace or balcony is better
• during longer periods of rain due to the humidity hanging in the air
• If waterlogging forms or if too much water is poured, this can damage the plant
• brown leaves form when the soil and root ball are too moist
• remedy immediately by transplanting into fresh soil and allowing the root balls to dry briefly in the air beforehand

Conclusion
The blue-leaved Yucca rostrata is therefore suitable for every household that does not want to invest a lot of time in caring for its indoor plants. Because the plant is easy to care for and needs little to thrive anyway. The only mistake the home gardener can make with their plant is exposing it to too much moisture.