The yucca or palm lily is one of the most popular houseplants. The easy-care plant can be easily recognized by its typical trunk and sword-shaped, tapering leaves. These are leathery and coarse and are covered with a waxy layer to protect them from drying out. The yucca comes from the dry areas of the USA and Mexico and is therefore used to a rather dry climate. Black or brown leaf tips can therefore have various causes.
What are the causes of black tips on a yucca palm?
Black or brown tips on yucca palms can be caused by: dryness, heat damage (due to accumulated heat or proximity to heating), lack of light, waterlogging, dryness of the ball, over-fertilization or a plant pot that is too small. The affected leaves should be removed and the cause corrected.
Causes of dark leaf tips
For most houseplants, dark and dry leaf tips are an indication that the air in the room is too dry. Yuccas, however, are generally quite insensitive to drought, which is why other causes for the leaf tips drying out can also come into question. For a better diagnosis, we have put together the most common reasons for you here.
Dry air
When the leaves turn brown at the tips and edges, maybe even curl up ordry out completely, then the plant usually suffers from insufficient humidity. As a rule, species native to tropical rainforests in particular show these signs, which can be remedied by increasing the humidity (for example by spraying more frequently). Yuccas, however, are used to drought, which is why this cause is rarely an issue.
Heat Damage
More often, drying leaf tips on Yuccas indicate heat damage, especially if the plant generally leaves a rather limp overall impression. The cause is accumulated heat, which can become a problem, especially in winter: Many yuccas then stand above or next to a heater, whereby the heat cannot escape and instead damages the plant. Instead, yuccas require a vegetation break in the winter months, during which they are cultivated in a bright location at around 5 to 10 °C. However, when overwintering in a warm living room, many Yuccas develop diseases.
Other possible causes
If the two causes mentioned above for the dry leaf tips are not an issue, then one of the following reasons could possibly be behind it:
- Lack of light (yuccas like it bright)
- Waterlogging due to incorrect watering behavior
- Ball dryness (very rare, the opposite is usually the case)
- Overfertilization
- a plant pot that is too small (yuccas should be repotted every two years!)
Leaf tips that are already black will not turn green again. If the sight bothers you too much, only the scissors will help. However, it can happen that the interface turns black again. The only real remedy is to eliminate the cause.
Tip
Don't just cut off the dry leaf tip, but the entire affected leaf. The yucca will sprout again.
