yucca elephantipes

elephant foot cassava cultivation

One of the species of the Yucca genus is a fantastic choice for all the people who are very busy pine have too much time to take care of their plants. It's about the yucca elephantipes. It is known by the common name of Yucca elephant foot and is considered a plant that requires hardly any care but provides an exotic contribution to improve interior decoration.

If you are one of the people who does not have time to take care of a plant and who decorates your home, stay and read this article because we are going to show you all the characteristics and care of the yucca elephantipes.

Features yucca elephantipes

Yucca elephantipes indoors

This plant comes from regions of Central America, there are more than 50 different varieties. This Elephant Foot Yucca is one of the most popular species of this genus for growing indoors. The reasons are simple. On the one hand, it is a plant that requires hardly any care, so you will not have to be attentive to it. On the other hand, we have a plant that, without taking care of it, adds an exotic touch to our home. Normally the houseplant needs to be moved to be able to capture some sunlight at the end of the day. There are also some humidity and watering levels to take into account for the plant to thrive. However, as we will see, this plant is very easy to care for.

The common name is due to the shape of its trunk. It is elongated and wide so it resembles the leg of an elephant. It has leaves very similar to those of palm trees, being very thin. These leaves have an intense green color and end in a point. The whole aesthetic of the plant looks quite exotic looking like a kind of tropical jungle. This makes it great if it is located in living rooms and entrances since it does not load the spaces and provides great style.

It is a specimen that does not branch out too much and can be found in florists and garden centers as one or two logs. These trunks will have a couple of branches each. If we plant it outdoors we can see that it reaches up to 10 meters in height, but if we grow it indoors, due to environmental conditions, it will only be able to grow about 2 meters in height. However, it is already quite a tall plant for indoors.

Caring for the yucca elephantipes

yucca decoration elephant legs

This plant is extremely resistant so it is able to adapt to numerous environmental conditions. This makes it a plant that requires very little attention. If you have someone who likes indoor plants and wants to keep improving their house, the yucca elephantipes it is the perfect gift. It can also be a good gift for those who are new to the world of plants.

Although we say that it is a plant that hardly requires care, some aspects must be taken into account so that the plant grows as healthy as possible. We are going to analyze one by one the care that this plant requires to keep it in good condition.

Lighting and temperature

yucca elephantipes

First of all is lighting. It requires a fairly high sun exposure. You need it to be able to develop and grow at a good pace. It can be placed somewhere where it receives direct sunlight and It is recommended that you receive it for at least 3 hours of sun a day. It is better to grow indoors than outdoors as it is a plant that does not tolerate frost well. Depending on the climate of the area where we live, it is possible that winters have frosts below temperatures that it cannot bear. Once last winter, we can transfer this plant to the outside.

If you do not have a patio or garden, it is better to locate the yucca elephantipes near a window. It is in this situation where it can receive the maximum possible light. If it doesn't get too much light, the plant won't die. But its growth will stop and its leaves may lose intensity. An indicator that the plant is not getting enough sunlight is that spots appear on its leaves.

Regarding the temperature, it is a fairly resistant plant. It can tolerate quite varied climates with the exception of frost. You can find your maximum stability in temperatures that are between 18 and 38 degrees. It can withstand light frosts, but if we place it indoors these low temperatures are not so harmful. It is best not to risk it and store the plant indoors during winters.

Irrigation and compost

The Elephantfoot Yucca is a true all-rounder and withstands a lack of water quite easily. On the contrary, it does not bear the excesses of it well. We can see that if we forget to water the plant, it will not have any problem in its growth beginning development. It must already be too long a forgetfulness for the earth to completely dry out. However, if we overdo it and water it more than normal, we may cause irreparable damage to the roots. The roots tend to rot quite easily if the watering is too intense.

To eliminate this excess watering, it is best to have a substrate that has good drainage. The drainage is in charge of filtering the irrigation water and not letting it accumulate or flood. If we place it indoors, it is advisable to put a plate under the planter. In this way, the plant can perspire and evacuate excess water. It is able to withstand droughts and can even withstand several days with the substrate completely dry.

So that there are no doubts about irrigation, we are going to guide some guidelines:

  • If you find yourself in summer, it is better to water once every 7 days.
  • If it is the winter time, it is better to water every 20 days.

Although we have given these guidelines, but after the substrate or wet even though the days we have mentioned have passed, it is better not to water it and wait until it is completely dry.

Finally, with the issue of compost we can see that it grows quite fast whenever it receives too much lighting. To give it an extra supply of nutrients we can fertilize it with a compost for green plants. The advice is to use less doses than recommended by the manufacturer of the product.

I hope that with this information you can learn more about the Yucca elephantipes.


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  1.   fernanda serra said

    Hello, my plant is indoors, I live in an apartment but it is very sunny and some tips are burning; what should I do?

    1.    Monica Sanchez said

      Hello Fernanda.

      This plant needs a lot of light when it is inside a house. If the tips of the leaves are burned, it may be because the air currents are affecting them (fan, air conditioning), or because some leaves rub against the wall (of course, if this is the case, you will see that only the leaves that rub are bad) .

      It is important that it is brought into a room with plenty of natural light, and that it is away from any device that generates a draft. In addition, you have to water very few times a week, only when the soil is completely dry.

      Greetings.