1. Older Leaves Have Turned Brown: Bottom leaves tend to turn brown over time and it’s up to the plant parent’s choice if they want to snip them off or not. Brown leaves throughout the plant indicate a watering issue.

But, Watch Out For:

1. Weak Stems: You want firm, sturdy stems that are clearly attached to a healthy root system.

2. Black or Red Spots: Indicates a fungal infection.

3. Root-rot: This will require re-potting.

Where do I place my Yucca Tree?

(Lighting, Air Conditioning, Temperature)

Half of plant parenthood is choosing the perfect spot.

Lighting

To keep your Yucca Tree as happy as possible, you need to place it next to a bright window that gets at least 6 hours of sunlight (ideally 8 hours). If your natural sunlight is limited, a plant-specific grow light can work as well.

Air Conditioning

Yucca Trees are built to survive in a wide range of temperatures and humidity levels, so you don't have to worry about your AC harming it!

Temperature

Yucca Trees are native to large temperature fluctuations and will do well anywhere between 7ºC-30ºC — well within the range of most UAE households.

How do I care for my Yucca Tree

(Watering, Dusting, Re-potting)

How to keep your plant alive (and also show your love).

Watering

Let soil dry out completely

Yucca Trees like their soil to dry out completely between waterings and so need to be watered once every 2-3 weeks.

To check if your Yucca Tree is ready to be watered, stick your finger about 2 inches into the soil. If you feel ANY moisture, then wait longer. If it feels completely dry, then it's time to rewater your plant: Slowly water the soil so that it's completely saturated — you'll know it's fully saturated when water drips out the drainage holes at the bottom of the nursery pot.

The more light your plant gets, the more you'll need to water it. Similarly, the less light it gets, the less it will need.

Note: When checking your soil for moisture, make sure to test different parts of the soil, in case you come across a wet pocket.

Dusting

Once a month, gently wipe away any dust on your plant.

Wiping your Yucca Tree free of dust with a damp rag once a month will help it soak in light and breathe through the little pores on its leaves (stomata).

Re-potting

Leave it in its nursery pot

Leave your Yucca Tree in its nursery pot for at least 2 years before re-potting it. It’s perfectly happy in it!

Time to re-pot

When re-potting, transfer your Yucca Tree into a pot that's about 1–2 inches in diameter larger than its current one (or one or two sizes up).

Remember, always go for a pot with drainage holes.

Pro-tip: To keep watering simple and easy, you can simply re-pot your Yucca Tree into a larger nursery pot and place that nursery pot in a larger planter.

If you’re stuck anywhere in the process, reach out to our team at hello@plntd.ae, and we’ll help you out right away.

Frequently asked questions about Yucca Tree

Ask away, grasshopper.

How easy is a Yucca Tree to care for?

Yucca Trees are native to the harsh, arid, climates of Central America. Replicate these conditions as closely as possible and they'll be a breeze:

Native to desert climates, they're tolerant to lower levels of humidity so common in the UAE.
They're also incredibly drought-tolerant, needing to be watered, at most, once every 2-3 weeks.
Native to large fluctuations in temperature, Yucca Trees do well anywhere between 7ºC-30ºC — well within the range of most UAE households.
Their only ask is to receive a lot of bright direct sunlight, ideally 6+ hours a day. There is no such thing as too much light with Yucca Trees — they are happiest when placed beside a bright window.

Like most indoor plants, Yucca Trees are sensitive when it comes to the chlorine and calcium found in UAE tap water. To combat this, make sure to:

Leave tap water out for 24-48 hours before using it. This will allow the chlorine time to evaporate.
When watering, make sure to water all the way through the soil until water is dripping out the bottom of the nursery pot. This will ensure any excess build of calcium (and other minerals) is flushed out from the soil.

Can I use UAE tap water to water my Yucca Tree?

Yes. Yucca Trees can be fed using UAE tap water.

However, like most indoor plants, they are sensitive to the chlorine and calcium found in the water.

To combat this, make sure to:

Leave tap water out for 24-48 hours before using it. This will allow the chlorine time to evaporate.
When watering your Yucca Tree, make sure to water through the soil until it is dripping out the bottom of the nursery pot. This flushes out any excess build-up of calcium (and other minerals) from the soil.

Finally, look out for tell-tale signs of too much chlorine or calcium:

Scorched brown tips at the leaves = too much chlorine.
White crystals on the soil = too much calcium.

Will AC harm my Yucca Tree? What temperature should I set it to?

Yucca Trees are built to survive in a wide range of temperatures and humidity levels, so you don't have to worry about your AC harming it!

Do I have to re-pot my Yucca Tree as soon as I receive it?

In short, no.

Once you receive your plant, place it in the spot you plan to keep it in (whilst still in its nursery pot) and allow it at least 6 months (ideally 12) to acclimate to your home's temperature and light levels.

Once acclimated, you can choose to either re-pot your plant or leave it in its nursery pot.

Some Common Problems

Don't let this list scare you, Yucca Trees are low maintenance.

Black Spots

Cause: Fungus

Suggestion: Try neem oil to combat the fungus and consider re-potting.

Brown Leaves

Cause 1: Natural life cycle

Brown leaves at the bottom of a Yucca Tree tend to turn brown over time. Normally they need them for protection in the wild and will fall off eventually, but if they’re mostly indoor houseplants, these can be trimmed and discarded without worry.

Cause 2: Underwatering

Suggestion: Maintain the same amount of water but increase your frequency of watering.

Brown Spots

Cause: Too much sunlight

Suggestion: Move your plant to a place with less direct sunlight.

Browning Spots or Leaf Edges

Cause: Dry environment, low humidity

Suggestion: Try moving your plant away from any nearby AC vents, giving your plant a shower, misting regularly, or the pebble-tray method to increase humidity.

Drooping Leaves

Cause: Not enough light

Suggestion: Move your plant to a place with more sunlight, but not outdoors or under direct sunlight.

Fungus

Cause: Cold, wet environment

Suggestion: Try neem oil to combat the fungus and consider re-potting then adjusting its watering, temperature and humidity levels.

Leaves Falling Off

Cause: Not enough light

Suggestion: Move your plant to a place with more sunlight, but not outdoors or under direct sunlight.

Red Spots

Cause: Fungus

Suggestion: Try neem oil to combat the fungus and consider re-potting.

Root-rot

Cause: A combination of overwatering, low sunlight, and low evaporation that resulted in your Yucca Tree’s roots sitting in water for too long.

Suggestion: Time to re-pot!

White Spots

Cause: Too much sunlight

Suggestion: Move your plant to a place with less direct sunlight.

Wilting Leaves

Older leaves tend to bend and wilt and turn brown. If younger leaves don’t show the same signs, then you don't need to worry.

Cause 1: Watering issue

Suggestion: Both over- and underwatering can be the cause. Identify your issue and adjust your watering schedule accordingly.

Cause 2: Stress from re-potting or a new location

Suggestion: Give your plant time to acclimate to its new environment. Place your plant in the spot you plan to keep it in and leave it there, in its nursery pot, for at least 6 months (ideally 12), allowing it to acclimate to its new environment.

Yellow Leaves

Cause 1: Overwatering

Suggestion: Allow soil time to dry out completely (sometimes this can take 2-4 weeks), then slowly re-water

Cause 2: Not enough light

Suggestion: Move your plant to a place with more sunlight, but not outdoors or under direct sunlight.

Cause 3: Pests

Suggestion: There are a few methods for getting rid of pests. Showering your plant everyday for 4-6 weeks and/or a neem oil soak are recommended. If the situation is out of control, then use insecticidal soap, or pesticides as a last resort. Then, increase humidity around your plant using the pebble-tray method or a humidifier.

Yellow Rings on Leaves

Cause: Overwatering

Suggestion: Allow soil time to dry out completely (sometimes this can take 2-4 weeks), then slowly re-water,

Yellow Spots

Cause: Too much sunlight

Suggestion: Move your plant to a place with less direct sunlight.

Buying Yucca Trees Online

When shopping for a plant online, look out for the following:

Height

If you're looking for a table-top plant, then go for one that's 40cm tall. A 60cm tall plant would work well on a low side-table. Plants about 1 meter or taller would work well as statement floor plants.

Note: Stated heights will always include the height of the plant AND planter.

Pot style

This is all about the vibe you're looking for, and you'll typically have a choice amongst different colors and shapes.

If you're looking for subtlety, we suggest a circular pot in white. To make more of a statement, look for contrasting shapes and colors!

Delivery

It goes without saying that your plant supplier should meticulously package all plants.

When you personally buy a plant from a store, you're able to rush it home, ensuring it stays outside for as little time as possible. But when you order online, your plant will ride-share with a lot of other plants all on their way to their new homes.

Depending on where you live, weather can play a big part in your plant's health along the way.

If possible, ask your plant shop what precautions they take to ensure your plants stay as safe as possible en route to you.

Reviews

Reading customer reviews is a good way to get an idea of the customer experience provided by the seller (here's ours, by the way), but you need to practice caution there.

Don't expect to be able to tell a fake review right away, some reviewers can be great con artists, and some negative reviews can be fake to harm the seller.

Your best bet is to zoom out and look at multiple comments from multiple categories to get a good overview of whether you can trust this company and/or their review section.

For example, look at how recent the reviews are, and how spread apart. Was there a sudden spike of comments in a short amount of time? Do they sound like they're all written by someone rehashing the same template? Do they all sound too positive to be real?

Yes, going all detective on reviews can be a chore, but Future You will thank you for it.

Returns and refund policies

Things can go wrong.

Sometimes it's no one's fault, and sometimes there's nothing anyone can do.

So the best practice is to offer (and honor) a no-questions asked return/refund policy. Check out the seller's policy before you make a purchase, so you know you're insured in case things don't work out.

You can check out our return/refund policy here.