Little Surprises
Around the St. Louis area, there's not a garden plant that seems as reliable, hardy, even indestructible as Yucca filamentosa. Slowly spreading, tolerating some shade, happily growing in our clay soils, never needing extra water, deer, rabbit, and woodchuck tolerant -- these plants always look good.
Except mine doesn't. I noticed this spring that it's been looking a bit tired and yellow. The other day I took a closer look and realized what the problem was.
It's a pest of some kind!
They're everywhere on this plant! These are the little surprises that I do not appreciate.
Not sure what they are either. Are they still nymphs? They must be...
They appear to be drilling holes into the leaves. Grrr.
As you can see, the plant is not looking too happy:
I'm thinking about cutting the entire thing to the ground and letting it all grow back. (I know this yucca will tolerate that because my neighbor's patch got mowed down and now looks great.) I'm not positive that it will eradicate the pests though. What do you think?
I was contemplating mowing the plant down anyway since it's encroaching on the Opuntia beds.
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Ugh, I am sorry. I can't tell you what it is but your idea of just cutting the patch back is a good one. My dad attacked their yuccas with the chainsaw last spring. They look great now.
Neem oil. It does wonders.
Jeanne: have you tried Neem oil on yucca? It's dangerous to use on some plants (dangerous to the plants I mean)
Alcohol. No, not on the pests. Just cut it down, burn or bag and toss the yucca foliage, and pour yourself a nice drink. Everything will seem better even if it isn't.