Houseplant clinic: has my yucca been overwatered?
What's the problem?
My daughter has a yucca plant on her landing, and while the lower side looks fine, the taller side is struggling. She suspects her partner might have overwatered it. Any advice?
Diagnosis
Yuccas are drought-tolerant and sensitive to overwatering, and yellowing leaves, soft areas on the trunk or drooping stems are all indicators of this. Excess moisture often leads to stress or root rot. This may explain why the taller side, which perhaps has deeper roots so sits in wet soil longer, is suffering more noticeably.
Prescription
Lift the yucca from its pot to inspect the roots (you can do this by laying it on its side if that makes it easier). Healthy roots are firm and pale, while overwatered roots will appear mushy, brown or smelly. Trim away any affected roots using sterilised scissors. Repot your yucca in fresh, well-draining compost mixed with sand or perlite. Ideally, wait until the top few inches of soil feel completely dry before watering again.
Prevention
Ensure adequate drainage holes and water sparingly, especially during winter or in lower-light areas. Before watering, feel the soil with your finger.
Got a plant dilemma? Email saturday@theguardian.com with 'Houseplant clinic' in the subject line
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The smartwatch that fitness fans swear by and call 'better than an Apple watch' is on sale right now - now £30 off with FREE gifts
We're almost halfway through 2025, and if those well-being resolutions you made at the start of the year have gone out the window, the HUAWEI Watch Fit 4 Pro boasts everything you need to get back on track (and you can now snag it for £30 off). A must-have for fitness fanatics or those looking to enter their fitness era, the smartwatch is at the very forefront of the industry when it comes to vital sign monitoring, and also boasts a wide-range of features designed to make your workout easier. HUAWEI Watch Fit 4 Pro In your fitness era? This gold-standard watch will be your new best friend while working out, boasting over a hundred sports modes, including terrain maps tracking, trail running, diving and gold modes. Plus, get more insights into your health than ever before with heart and respiratory rate monitoring, blood pressure risk monitoring, and comprehensive sleep analysis. Ready to buy? Use code AFIT4PRO30OFF for £30 off your purchase, as well as a pair of FREE Huawei Freebuds SE3, and two premium watch straps. Be quick! £219.99 (£30 off) Shop Not only that, but it's incredibly stylish, too, with a lightweight, comfortable design, sleek frame and multiple colourways available. Finally, there's a smart watch you'll actually want to wear, long after your workout is finished. For a limited-time only, shoppers can get their hands on the sought-after watch for an impressive £30 off, as well as two premium straps and a pair of free HUAWEI Freebuds SE3 using code AFIT4PRO30OFF - though be quick, as this deal is only around until the 29th June (and you don't want to miss out). Whether you're looking to get a better insight into your overall health, or you want to take advantage of the myriad of features tailored specifically to fitness enthusiasts, the HUAWEI Watch Fit 4 Pro is a must-have bit of kit to add to your collection - and users say it's 'better than an Apple watch'. 'I'm honestly blown away!', wrote one user. 'It's incredibly light and thin. The screen is so bright and clear, too - it really looks and feels premium. What really sold me was promised 10-day battery life. Coming from an Apple Watch, I didn't think that was even possible - but the HUAWEI Fit 4 Pro actually delivers. No more constant charging!'. 'It's like the ninja of smartwatches. Silent. Invisible. Deadly accurate with fitness tracking,' wrote a second customer. 'Now that the sun has decided to show up again, I'm actually motivated to get outside and move. With the Fit 4 Pro, I might just transform into one of those 'morning jog' people!'. 'The battery life is incredible, I'm on my 2nd day now, still with 85 per cent,' noted a third shopper. 'The launch offer is really good at the moment, and when you compare it to the price of other watches, there's no comparison! Forget Apple, forget Samsung, forget Fitbit…buy this awesome watch'. The stylish watch boasts a feather-light weight of only 27 grams, so you'd be forgiven for forgetting you're wearing it. Crafted from premium materials such as sapphire glass and an aviation-grade aluminum body, its been made with durability in mind - no matter how messy your workout gets. Ideal for easy management of everyday life, the 347ppi AMOLED screen brings visuals to life with clarity and detail - so you'll actually want to check your notifications when wearing it. For those who have wanted to invest in a smartwatch for some time but never liked the look of them, the HUAWEI Watch Fit 4 Pro is available in multiple colourways depending on your personal style. Plus, you can personalise your watch home screen, too, so that picture of your smiling pet or that first day of school photo will never be far away. Perhaps the most impressive element of the watch, however, is its industry-leading health and fitness tracking. At the lift of a finger, users will be able to access insights such as heart rate, blood oxygen, respiratory rate, body temperature changes, stress, blood pressure risk and sleep breathing awareness. A recent Mindshare report showed that 66 per cent of the global population is paying more attention to their overall health, and this savvy smartwatch provides a comprehensive look into your wellbeing - meaning you can take actionable steps to improve certain factors, if necessary. The Watch Fit 4 Pro also provides advanced menstrual cycle management features for women, allowing for easy tracking of current, previous and upcoming cycles, as well as symptom monitoring that is seamlessly logged with the HUAWEI Health App for collaborative health management. As well as an impressive seven day battery life in as little as 60 minutes per charge, the waterproof design also boasts impressive GPS accuracy, terrain map tracking and multiple golf modes with access to over 15,000 golf course maps worldwide, showing detailed 3D layouts of each. With over a hundred sports modes to choose from, it's no wonder that hundreds of fitness fanatics are raving about the watch. And now's your chance to get yours for £30 off with code AFIT4PRO30OFF, PLUS two premium bonus straps and FREE HUAWEI Freebuds SE3 (worth £39.99). What are you waiting for? Your journey to better health awaits.
The Independent
33 minutes ago
- The Independent
More than 1,000 doctors urge MPs to vote down ‘deeply flawed' assisted dying bill
More than 1,000 doctors have urged MPs to vote against the assisted dying bill when it returns to the Commons, claiming it is a 'real threat to both patients and the medical workforce'. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would allow terminally ill patients with six months left to live to end their lives, is due to be voted on for a final time on 20 June. Ahead of the vote, in a letter to MPs, doctors from the NHS expressed 'serious concerns', arguing that 'this bill is not the answer". While they acknowledged that there must be a debate on end of life care, they argued too little evidence has been heard from doctors, people with disabilities and other marginalised groups. "This bill will widen inequalities, it provides inadequate safeguards and, in our collective view, is simply not safe,' they wrote, saying the bill is 'deeply flawed'. The letter has been signed by geneticist Sir John Burn, Sir Shakeel Qureshi, who received a knighthood for his work in paediatric cardiology, Professor Aileen Keel, the former deputy chief medical officer for Scotland, and Baroness Finlay, a professor of palliative medicine and member of the House of Lords. In its current form the bill, which applies only to England and Wales, would mean terminally ill adults with only six months left to live could apply for assistance to end their lives, with approval needed from two doctors and the expert panel. Last month, MPs approved a change in the bill to ensure no medics would be obliged to take part in assisted dying. Doctors already had an opt-out, but the new clause extends that to anyone, including pharmacists and social care workers. The letter, seen by Sky News, goes on to say: "Vulnerable patients are at risk of coercion with women, victims of domestic abuse, and the elderly at particular risk. People who struggle to pay for heating or care or wish to preserve their assets for their children are at high risk of choosing to die if the option is available and the alternative is more difficult." Meanwhile, Professor Colin Rees, a member of the Royal College of Physicians working group on assisted dying, said the legislation will 'have very profound consequences for the future and many doctors are really concerned that members of parliament are not hearing the views of the medical profession". "We don't think it's a bill that is safe, that protects patients, protects families, and protects the medical workforce,' he added. But Kim Leadbeater, the bill's sponsor, said assisted dying must be legalised to avoid terminally ill people acting out of desperation or making 'traumatic' trips to Switzerland. Last month, she told the Commons she has heard 'hundreds of stories from people who have lost loved ones in deeply difficult and traumatic circumstances', adding: 'If we do not vote to change the law, we are essentially saying that the status quo is acceptable.' The warning from the doctors came after TV medic Hilary Jones warned that medicine will go 'back to the Dark Ages' if the proposed legislation is voted down. The GP, often seen on ITV's Good Morning Britain and the Lorraine show, said he would help a terminally ill patient to end their life if the law was changed, describing the practice as 'kind and compassionate'. Dr Jones said medics are currently 'looking over their shoulders because of the legal repercussions of the law' as it stands. Encouraging or assisting suicide is currently against the law in England and Wales, with a maximum jail sentence of 14 years. Asked about the potential significance if the law changes, Dr Jones said: 'It will relieve healthcare professionals who deal with terminal illness. 'There are wonderful people who are caring and compassionate, who just live in fear of their actions being misinterpreted, of being accused of wrongdoing, and because of that fear, people at the end of life are often undertreated. 'People are looking over their shoulder because of the medications they're using or the doses they're using, it means that patients aren't getting the best palliative care that they could have.'
The Independent
34 minutes ago
- The Independent
Cambridge professor accused of faking poor IQ test to boost £1m brain injury compensation claim
A Cambridge University professor has been accused of deliberately flunking IQ and memory tests in a bid to boost a £1m brain damage compensation claim over botched treatment for a stroke. Orthopaedic surgeon and Cambridge school of medicine lecturer Dr Mohamed Atef Hakmi, 64, was left with permanent disabilities and had to give up surgery after suffering a stroke at home in November 2016. Claiming a failure to promptly diagnose his stroke meant he missed the chance of vital treatment, resulting in brain damage and physical disabilities, he is now suing the NHS in London's High Court for more than £1million damages. But after scoring only a "very bad" 84 on a pre-trial IQ test as part of the case - putting him well below the UK average, despite continuing to teach at one of the world's most prestigious universities - Dr Hakmi has been forced to deny deliberately throwing the tests to boost his claim. Dr Hakmi is a Hertfordshire-based orthopaedic surgeon and medical educator, who specialises in foot and ankle surgery, as well as lecturing in the UK and abroad. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and an affiliated assistant professor at Cambridge University, where he performs a teaching role, the court heard. He first suffered a stroke in September 2016, but was given clot-busting thrombolysis treatment and made a very good recovery, returning to the operating theatre within weeks. But his barrister, Robert Kellar KC, told Judge David Pittaway KC that the surgeon had suffered a second stroke in November 2016, first spotting the symptoms while he worked late at night on paperwork. Warning signs of a stroke What are some early warning signs to look out for? When the symptoms returned again in the early hours, he went to Lister Hospital, in Stevenage, calling ahead and telling staff that he was having a stroke, said the barrister. However, he was not given the same treatment as before after being examined by an A&E doctor and then having spoken to a stroke specialist on the phone in line with the NHS' remote stroke treatment system. He says he was told he would not be offered thrombolysis because he was "not having a stroke," with the remote doctor suggesting it could be simply a migraine or epilepsy. It was not until 9am that day that his stroke was diagnosed at the hospital, at which point it was too late to be treated with the same drugs as before. Dr Hakmi accuses the NHS of "cumulative and inter-related" failings, including a "cursory and sub-standard examination" in A&E and the fact that he was only able to speak to the remote stroke specialist on the phone due to the NHS' Telemedicine system malfunctioning. Mr Kellar said Dr Hakmi had been left permanently disabled by the stroke, but that the worst of the injuries could have been avoided if not for the negligence of staff at Lister and on the remote stroke line. As well as a limp and reduced sensation in his fingers and toes, he suffers from fatigue in his right arm, hand and grip, preventing him performing complex tasks for long periods. He was also left with a brain injury, which has resulted in short-term memory impairment, impaired concentration, reduced processing speed and "executive deficits." "His confidence is low, and he is experiencing significant depressive symptoms due to physical, cognitive, speech, and language issues resulting from his second stroke, which are negatively affecting important aspects of his life," he said. "Thus, Dr Hakmi presents with cognitive deterioration, including intellectual functioning, memory, the speed at which he is processing information and executive functioning. "At the time of the index incident, he was undertaking full-time NHS employment and had a busy private practice. "He no longer has any private practice. He has returned to his NHS employment but is undertaking restricted duties because of the issues arising from his second stroke. "He no longer does any surgery. But for the breach of duty, the claimant is likely to have made a good recovery. He would have been able to return to all types of surgery that did not require a high degree of manual dexterity." But NHS barrister John de Bono KC denied that Dr Hakmi is due any damages payout at all and accused him of hamming up his symptoms while being assessed by experts before the trial. As well as the "very bad" IQ score, he had scored at the very bottom of the range in memory tests, the barrister told the court. He said that Dr Hakmi had scored only 84 on an IQ test, putting him below 86% of the general population, adding: "That's very bad - it suggests it would be hard to function as a surgeon or as an educator at that level." He had also been assessed by two neuropsychologists, who had performed memory tests, with "very surprising" and sometimes "astonishing" results which he said raised a "serious concern about whether he was putting forward his best effort" in the tests. Dr Hakmi was unable to recall more than four single digit numbers in a row during one examination and scored so low in the tests that in some respects he was below 99% of the population, despite continuing to work as an "educator" at undergraduate level. "You scored astonishingly badly for someone operating at the level you are describing this morning," he said, referencing the fact Dr Hakmi had spoken with pride in the witness box of his work with Cambridge University. "I understand you feel very strongly that you have suffered greatly as a result of this second stroke," he continued. "I understand that you feel the reason you have suffered as badly as you have is because of mistakes or negligence. I understand it must make you angry." He went on to suggest that Dr Hakmi's "sense of injustice" may have led to a desire to make sure that "people fully understand the impact this has had on you." "Is it possible when you went to be tested that you performed worse than you should have done because you were trying to demonstrate to them just how big the impact had been? "One possibility which I put to you is that you were deliberately underperforming." But Dr Hakmi denied playing up for the medics who assessed him pre-trial, telling the court he had found the tests "exhausting." He denied being dishonest with the doctors, telling the judge, "it was an exhausting environment when the tests were done in a lengthy and not organised manner. "Anybody can fail a test but they must be given the best chance," he continued. "I definitely have a memory problem, slow effort. I have done everything to mitigate my losses. I know definitely I'm not as before I had the stroke." Mr de Bono pressed on, referring to a "memory and malingering" test which had resulted in a score "very nearly at chance level," telling Mr Hakmi: "Someone giving random answers would nearly have scored as badly as you." Accusing him of "not being straightforward" with those who assessed him pre-trial, he said: "There is a pattern emerging. In any given situation, you will try and say whatever you think is going to help you most to achieve whatever your aim is." But Dr Hakmi hit back: "I have been straightforward in everything in my life. I have aimed to be a surgeon again, but I have failed." The damages claim is against the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, which runs the Lister Hospital, and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, where the remote stroke doctor who spoke to Dr Hakmi was based. The trusts both deny blame, saying he was "at all times treated with reasonable care and skill by highly competent clinicians." He was assessed as being unsuitable for thrombolysis treatment because his symptoms were not serious enough and it was too late after the onset of his symptoms. Such treatment can also be risky, carrying a significant risk of brain haemorrhage and death, said the NHS barrister, and even if he had been given it the outcome would probably have been the same. The trial continues.
