Poorly Yucca

[DavidM]

I have a Yucca plant indoors - I believe it is called a spineless yucca. It is about four years old and receives plenty of sunshine. Recently it has started to look unwell with the bottom leaves drooping. I suspect that it is pot bound but I am reluctant to repot it at this time of year - with winter approaching - will it be okay or shold I repot it now? Closer inspection has also revealed that the plant is damaged at the top of the 'trunk' (please excuse my ignorance if I do not use the correct terms!) where the plant splits into two large branches from which the leave come out of. One of these branches has split and is only partially connected to the trunk. I dont know if this is split under the weight of the leaves or if somebody has knocked it (as usual nobody knows anything about it!). My questions are - will this harm the plant and how can I put it right? Would I be better cutting the damaged branch off completely or supporting the branch and hoping that the break will heal. This is the first house plant that I purchased and I am fond of it so any help and advice would be much appreciated. Thanks for your time. David

[AB Editor]

omblod wrote this answer to your question:

"Your yucca probably isn't potbound as they seem to flourish in apparently tiny pots. The bottom leaves will naturally droop and brown anyway (so don't be overly concerned) but it'll happen more frequently if the yucca is in a cold or draughty area no matter how much sunshine it's getting. You can just cut the dead leaves off if they're starting to look unsightly. As for the broken branch, I'd suggest cutting it off cleanly and repotting it. This won't harm the original plant and the newly repotted branch should take well. You'll also have the added advantage of getting an extra yucca plant for free!"