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Experienced flower growers know how to decorate their green kingdom so that some flowering plants are replaced by others. And even in autumn, their garden and flower beds play with colors and smell fragrant. One of the pearls of plant landscapes is considered to be yucca. From our article you will learn about autumn flower care, as well as how to properly cover a yucca for the winter.
Varieties
Yucca is native to the northeastern United States. The plant feels great on the warm coast of the Black Sea and in Central Asia. There are more than 30 varieties of this evergreen shrub of the Agave family. The flower attracts attention not only with delicate white or yellowish bell inflorescences, but also with glossy lanceolate leaves.
In the conditions of the middle lane, in particular in the Moscow region, filamentous (garden) yucca and gray are grown. You can also find another, Latin, name for filamentous – filamentosis. Some botanists distinguish the blue yucca as a separate species, while others consider it a variety of garden.
The gray yucca has leaves about a meter long and a short trunk. The inflorescences are branched and small, with yellowish or greenish-white flowers. It tolerates frost and drought, but dies when waterlogged.
The filamentous variety has xiphoid leaves more than half a meter long and a huge, about 2 m, peduncle with drooping pale beige or white bells. The leaves on the sides are framed by protruding threads, thanks to which the plant got its name. In care, the flower is unpretentious and quite frost-resistant.
Video “Preparing yucca for wintering”
From this video you will learn how to prepare a yucca for the winter period.
Rules for a successful winter
The key to a successful wintering of a flower is adequate autumn care and preparation of the flower for the cold. Recommendations on how to prepare a garden yucca for winter are simple and even a novice grower can do. They insulate and choose the type of shelter for the flower, depending on the climatic conditions and the characteristics of the cold period in the region.
Prepare yucca for winter as follows:
- remove dried inflorescences and leaves, damaged parts of the plant;
- feed the plant with mineral fertilizers;
- cover the flower with a dense cover that will allow you to maintain the optimum temperature for the plant, do not miss the cold and the formation of dampness.
The main thing to remember is that garden yucca normally tolerates frost down to -20 ° C. Therefore, if the winter in the region is much warmer, you should not be especially zealous – the plant can rot and rot under cover. Also, you do not need to fill in the yucca and make a large amount of top dressing. The flower is drought-resistant and does not need large doses of fertilizers. You need to think about future wintering even when landing and choose a sunny, but protected from winds and drafts place.
Shelter
It is important to know not only how to insulate a yucca for the winter, but also how. Even before the onset of the first hard frosts in dry weather, it is recommended to tie the bulk of the leaves into a bundle around the trunk. The resulting bundle is wrapped tightly so that it does not bloom. The lower tier of leaves is left on the ground to serve as protection for the root system. Additionally, the leaves can be covered with dry foliage, pressing it with something. You can tie all the leaves, and cover the roots with an additional layer of soil and mulch. For a mild continental winter, this shelter will be enough. Young immature plants can be covered with plastic containers, which should be well pressed into the ground.
In severe winters, both young and old plants are recommended to be covered with an additional frame method. In this case, wooden square or cone-like frames are built, which are wrapped with agrofibre or spunbond. In Siberia, yucca is covered with wooden boxes, which are insulated with special material, and on top with an additional layer of snow. After removing the shelter in the spring, you should not immediately cut off the yellowed and frostbite leaves – the plant needs a period of adaptation. Only when the yucca begins to throw out young leaves, you can proceed to sanitary pruning.
Suitable temperature and humidity
Yucca normally tolerates drought, but excessive frequent watering can be detrimental to her. Even in summer, the plant is watered infrequently, and in autumn the number of waterings is reduced to a minimum. For the winter, the root zone is well moistened and mulched to retain moisture for the entire period of shelter. Normal for a flower is a gradual decrease in temperature. For the dormant period of the plant, the temperature in the shelter should be a few degrees above the street temperature and not rise above 10 ° C, otherwise the yucca will swell. Therefore, at the established minimum positive temperature, the shelter must be removed.
Additional fertilizing
Yucca does not need frequent fertilizer. Usually the flower is fed twice a year before and after flowering. Nitrogen-containing fertilizers are generally not recommended. For top dressing, mineral fertilizers for succulents, compost or humus diluted with water are optimal. Top dressing can be foliar. To do this, spray the leaves of the flower with fertilizer.
Despite its southern origin, yucca tolerates winter well.
The main thing is to provide the flower with adequate care and take care of the shelter. And then she will delight not only with beautiful flowers, but also with a pleasant aroma.