Growing a yucca from seed is a project of patience — but it is also the most rewarding way to obtain vigorous, well-rooted plants perfectly acclimatised to your garden. A Yucca rostrata raised from seed, grown from germination in your climate and your soil, will always be more robust and better established than an imported specimen whose… Continue reading Growing Yuccas from Seed: From Germination to Planting Out
Author: Jean-Michel
Cycas in Pots: Complete Care Guide, Watering, Winter Protection and Tropical Cycads You Can Grow
Cycas revoluta in a pot is probably the most common exotic-looking plant on patios and windowsills worldwide — and one of the most frequently mistreated. It is sold everywhere: garden centres, supermarkets, hotel lobbies, restaurant terraces. And everywhere, the same mistakes: too much water, too little light, a moisture-retentive compost that slowly rots the base. The… Continue reading Cycas in Pots: Complete Care Guide, Watering, Winter Protection and Tropical Cycads You Can Grow
Yucca rostrata in Containers: How to Succeed with Pot Culture
Yucca rostrata is arguably the most coveted yucca among exotic plant enthusiasts — and for good reason. Its perfect sphere of blue-grey leaves, its felted trunk, its architectural silhouette: it is a plant that transforms any patio or terrace into a desert garden. And container growing is often the only option for gardeners in regions where… Continue reading Yucca rostrata in Containers: How to Succeed with Pot Culture
Spider Mites on Yuccas: Why They Spread and How to Save Your Plant
Spider mites are one of the most dangerous pests on yuccas — and one of the most underestimated. Unlike mealybugs, which weaken a plant slowly over months, spider mites can strip a yucca of its entire foliage in days. A beautiful Yucca rostrata, with its perfect sphere of blue-grey leaves, can be reduced to a bare… Continue reading Spider Mites on Yuccas: Why They Spread and How to Save Your Plant
My yucca is rotting : why and how to save it
Your yucca has a soft trunk, leaves yellowing all at once, a strange smell coming from the base? It is almost certainly rotting — and the instinctive reaction of many owners is to water more, assuming the plant is thirsty. That is the worst thing you can do. In the vast majority of cases, a… Continue reading My yucca is rotting : why and how to save it
Mealybugs on yuccas
Mealybugs and scale insects are the most common pests on indoor yuccas — and among the most frustrating. They arrive silently, multiply out of sight, and by the time most owners notice them, the infestation is well established. On a typical indoor Yucca gigantea, it is not unusual to find hundreds of scale insects during a… Continue reading Mealybugs on yuccas
How to Care for Yuccas: Indoor and Outdoor Growing Guide
Yuccas are among the most forgiving plants you can grow — and among the most misunderstood. They thrive on neglect, tolerate drought, heat, poor soil and freezing cold with an ease that makes most garden plants look fragile by comparison. A mature Yucca rostrata dusted with snow, its blue rosette untouched, is one of the most striking… Continue reading How to Care for Yuccas: Indoor and Outdoor Growing Guide
How to Grow Cycads from Seed: Germination, Seedling Care and Propagation Setup
Growing cycads from seed is the most rewarding experience these plants can offer — and the slowest. From the moment a thick, fleshy seed cracks open to reveal its first root to the day that seedling produces a visible trunk, a decade or more will pass. It is gardening measured in geological time, and it… Continue reading How to Grow Cycads from Seed: Germination, Seedling Care and Propagation Setup
Cycad Care: The Complete Guide to Growing Cycads Indoors, in Containers and in the Ground
Cycads are among the most striking plants you can grow — and among the most misunderstood. Their palm-like silhouette, prehistoric pedigree and reputation for toughness make them irresistible to gardeners and collectors alike. But the care advice that circulates online is often dangerously oversimplified. “Treat it like a palm” is wrong. “It’s basically a succulent”… Continue reading Cycad Care: The Complete Guide to Growing Cycads Indoors, in Containers and in the Ground
Cold Hardy Succulents: The Complete Guide to Frost-Resistant Species for Outdoor Growing
The idea that succulents are tender, frost-shy plants suited only to windowsills and heated conservatories is one of the most persistent misconceptions in gardening. In reality, dozens of succulent species survive not just mild frost but severe, prolonged cold — some enduring temperatures that would kill a rose bush or a box hedge. From alpine… Continue reading Cold Hardy Succulents: The Complete Guide to Frost-Resistant Species for Outdoor Growing