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Yucca Palm Care Guide


Yucca Palm Care Guide, Joshua tree in Joshua Tree National Park in California in the USAYucca palms are fantastic installations to include inside or outside your home. Their full foliage is excellent for filling space, and they come in a  variety of shades of green and variegation. Depending on the specific kind you purchase, they will either grow similarly to palms with a central trunk or like a bush growing from a central point.

What is a Yucca Palm?

There are many different kinds of Yucca Palms, including yucca elephantipes. However, they all have a few things in common. They generally have a central trunk and leaves that grow in bunches off the side. The bark of the tree is usually mottled, produced from sawn-off yucca logs that have been rooted. Many of them have sharp, pointed leaves, so take care when you're selecting one for your home.

How to Grow a Yucca Palm

Where is a Yucca Palm Grown?

Yucca palms can be grown either indoors or outdoors, depending on the average weather conditions outdoors. Yucca plants can be found growing naturally in some areas of Mexico and the southwestern United States and Israel.

How Big is the Plant And How Long Would It Take It To Reach That Size.

When initially purchased, the trunk of the yucca palm is generally somewhere between six inches to two feet tall. However, depending on the type of yucca plant you are buying and the location you grow it in, it can grow up to forty feet tall.

Joshua Trees, for example, are a kind of yucca palm. They don't grow in many places in the world, but where they do, they can get quite tall, and are an example of a yucca palm best left outdoors.

Yucca Elephantipes, one of the more common indoor yucca plants, can grow up to around ten feet tall indoors, and thirty feet tall outside.

Best Growing Zones and Weather Conditions (if outdoors).

Joshua tree in Joshua Tree National Park in California in the USA

Most yucca trees will grow well outdoors in zones five through ten. However, this will also depend on the kind of soil you plant it in. Yucca palms don't like damp or consistently wet soil, so even if they are planted in favorable zones, they need to have appropriate care.

Type of Soil

Yucca palms are very susceptible to root rot, which is why extra care needs to be given to the soil you plant them in. If planting your yucca palm inside, make sure to add perlite and sand to the soil to ensure proper drainage. You can plant them in soil meant for palm and cacti, or you can mix the two. So long as the soil won't retain moisture, it will be fine.

If planting a yucca palm outside, plant it with a mixture of sand and perlite. Once it has established itself, it should do fine with the surrounding soil as long as is doesn't get watered too frequently.

Amount of Light/Shade

Yucca Potted Plant isolated on a white background

When indoors, a yucca plant should be given plenty of bright light, though some shade is permissible. They can tolerate receiving lots of direct light, but the leaves may become spotted and slightly wilted. If you want the best foliage, bright, indirect light is best. South or north-facing windows, depending on where you live, will be best.

Yucca palms planted outside can get bright indirect to bright direct light. They can handle some shade, but don't plant them close to a house where it won't receive enough sun to the foliage and to help dry out the soil.

Watering and Fertilization Requirements

Yucca palms planted outdoors should be watered frequently when first planted to help it get established. Once established, or during dry seasons, you shouldn't need to water it often, if at all.

Yucca palms kept indoors may be slightly more finicky when it comes to watering habits. Overwatering is probably the easiest way to kill your yucca plant, as they are vulnerable to root rot, and are more of a desert plant. They are very drought tolerant.

Indoor yucca palms should be watered when the top half of the soil in the pot has dried out, which should help protect your plant from overwatering.

Step-By-Step Guide For Planting

Yucca palms are most frequently found in greenhouses already grown, so unless you order seeds online, you're most likely to be dealing with an actual plant. When moving it from the pot you purchased it in, to the nice pot you have at home, use a well-draining soil mixture, like that used for palms or succulents.

There is much more of this plant above the ground than there is underneath it, so make sure you pack it down nicely to prevent it from falling over. After you've transplanted it, place it in an area where it will get lots of bright, indirect light, and don't forget to water it! Click here to view some large, indoor pots.

If you do purchase seeds, prepare yourself, because they can take months to germinate. Place them about half an inch deep in a mixture of soil and sand, water them, and then cover the container with plastic to keep the humidity in. Place them in an area where they will stay warm, and wait.

Plant Gallery

1. Simplicity

A yucca palm with its stately trunk and beautiful green foliage adds great vertical appeal to any room. This sunny location is a perfect place for it!

2. Levels

Yucca palms with their different sizes and heights can be used to add several different visual levels of appeal to any room.

3. Basic Levels

A very simple plant, yucca palms, can be used to decorate empty spaces and provide a beautiful pop of color in a corner, or on a dresser.

4. Treetop

One of the many varieties of yucca plants is a tree, commonly known as a Joshua Tree. Generally found in the desert of California, the oldest Joshua tree is estimated to be around a thousand years old.

5. Light

Yucca Palms do best if they get at least several hours per day of sun, so placing them near a window can be a good idea. Make sure they don't take too many consecutive hours of direct sunlight, especially if they are indoor plants.

6. In the Corner

Where many corners stand empty, yucca palms can be an excellent option for taking up space in a classy way. If you're looking for a plant to take up vertical space, a yucca palm is a great option.

7. Indoor Trees

While bonsai trees might be a little high maintenance, you can still achieve the appeal of an indoor tree with a yucca palm. They're much easier to maintain than bonsai trees are as well!

8. Shapes and Sizes

With the different varieties of yucca palm, it will be easy for you to find one in the perfect shape and size for you. Whether you're looking for something to fit on a shelf or something around the size of a lamp, the yucca palm is perfect for you.

9. Propagation

Once they start getting too tall for your room, it might be time to trim them down. They will usually grow back, and you can root the tops you cut off. Keep in mind, though, like all plant-related endeavors, there's a chance something could go wrong, and they may not grow back.

10. Pop of Color

You can use plants to introduce color into your room when you are dealing with monochromatic color schemes. A few well-placed plants can bring life to your room!

11. The Great Outdoors

Yucca palms can be planted outside as well. A yucca plant will generally do well outdoors in zones 5-10, so long as it has the right soil.

12. The Tall and the Short

Plants can be a great way to decorate your home, and yucca palms are a great way to add height. Instead of putting a lamp in an empty corner that doesn't need more light, try a yucca palm.

13. Birds of a Feather

What could be better than one yucca palm? Multiple yucca palms! If you want to shake things up, get yucca palms in several different heights to add variety.

14. Minimalism

Minimalism is all about intentional inclusion. What better item to intentionally include than a yucca palm? On its own or with other plants, it makes a great statement!

15. Group Effort

Yucca palms, with their trunk and vertical growth, are great plants to place near your other greenery, specifically plants that take up more of horizontal space. Click here to view more indoor plant ideas.

16. A Room With a View

Yucca palms are great plants to have in your landscape as well as inside your home. They will occasionally flower, as you can see here.

Where To Buy This Plant Online?

You can purchase yucca plant seeds from Amazon by clicking here.