dying yucca

Hello everyone,
I'm new to this and I'm immediately in desperate need of advice ( I admit, my main reason for joining at this precise moment in time ).
Inheritad a yucca plant that's dying from the bottom up, if I can't resurrect it via water and tlc can one take the tops off and get them to grow ( make two out of one into the bargain ), if yes how do I go about it, please - HELP!
In anticipation, Blume

P.S.: I hate throwing anything away as long as there is the teensiest, weensiest spark of life left in it....

 

Yucca leaves do die off at the base,just pull them off with a gentle downward tug,and watch out you don't get speared. My plants are sending up shoots everywhere since they were pruned a few weeks ago :eek:

 

Thanks for the quick reply, but perhaps I should explain better: the yucca is approx. 1.20m tall and is already 'bald' up to a third up, if I remove the dead leaves it will be 2 thirds bald and only the tops will have leaves. I wouldn't know where to prune as from the one trunk at the base there are only two branches, one shorter than the other and absolutely nothing else. Apart from that it will look really weird having 90cm of stalk and then a few leaves....
A very worried Blume

P.S.: Not sure that I shouldn't have gone to the general discussion site first to say hello there, should I?

 

sonds like its shedding from the shock of being moved. I dont know if you can take the top off or not. Keep it somewhere warm and light and dont water too much and it will either adapt or not. sorry cant be much more help.

 

found my plant book and it says for cane cuttings, which if theres no offshoots to do it this way.

A number of important houseplants which produce thick and erect stems are propogated by means of cane cuttings. The best time to do this is when one or more stems have lost their lower leaves and are no longer attractive. The bare trunk is cut into several pieces, and each piece is inserted into seed and cutting compost. The cane cuttings can be placed horizontally, or upright. If planted upright, make sure you bury the end which was the lower part of the stem.
If burying then the cutting should be 2-3 inches long and bearing at least one node.Leaf buds must point up and bury it half in the compost.

that was taken from the house plant expert.

hope some of that helped, but its a back up plan if the plant just wont recover. At least this way you can get lots of baby plants!

 

Well, I must say,that makes me feel better,having plan 'B' organized! Thanks a lot for that one. If it comes to that - and I think it will sooner rather than later - I might just stick the tops into something as well, you never know.... I may end up with a yucca jungle!
Thanks to both of you for your help, I'll keep you posted as to the progress either way.
From the Blume

 

I presume this is a houseplant type yucca.
If so then its either been over watered or possibly its not getting enough light.
Are the stems with the leaves on top thin and flexible?

 

Dear pete2255, sorry not having got here quicker, family keeps hogging the computer. yes it's the houseplant yucca and yes they are thin and flexible. Does this mean we are doomed, we are both doomed, the plant and I????
Blume

 

No, not doomed but it sounds like not enough light, they like strong light to do well, and not to be wet all the time, let it dry out between waterings.
If you go down the cuttings road, then its pretty simple to get them to root, although that thin flexible stuff isn't good for cuttings.
Personally I'd cut it down to the sort of height you want and move to a sunny spot, water only when dry and see what happens, if it shoots all over the place you can reduce the shoots to as may as you like.
Pete

 

Thanks a lot,I think I'll pluck up courage and doctor it tomorrow, the poor thing. I'll keep you posted how it's doing but I guess that may a while.
Blume

 

No chance of a pic is there?

just that many people get confused over yuccas and dracaenas as indoor plants

http://www.plant-a-seed.co.uk/dracaena.html

 

Well, you're slaving over a hot computer till the small wee hours.
Thanks for the link - no, it's most definitely a yucca.
I'm afraid I've only recently mastered the basics of the computer, so taking and posting photos - well you may as well ask me to garble away in martian speak ( should there be such a thing ), sorry. But I will learn ( I hope....)
Thanks again, Blume