Ponytail Palm Pointers

14 years ago

Hello all, I have been reading through these forums for the past few months (mostly regarding Jades), and they have been a lot of help.

I've gone through quite a few postings regarding what I believe is a "Ponytail palm". I have one that I have had for about 5 years, and am looking for how to best care for it.

It is planted in a "cacti/succlent mix" that I have used for all of my jades and Cacti and had very good results. The dead leaves have never dropped off, and my wife cut them short a few years back. This year it was put out on the deck and all of the leaves have sunburned.

I'd like to "start over" with this plant but want to know if this will work. The root part (caudex I believe you call it) above the soil is pretty wrinkly and small. It was larger at one point but it shrunk. Also there is a fair amount of damage to it.

Can I just chop off all of the growth?

Thanks in advance for all of your pointers!

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Featured Answer

penfold2

14 years ago

1) I think this is the most important thing you can do for most succulents. I immediately repot all of my succulents when I get them home. The peat based soils that most plants come in leave me constantly worrying about rot. I feel much better once they're in my own soil.

2) Are you saying the new leaves peel off as they grow? If so, that is not normal. The new leaves growing taller than the old ones is due to a change in growing conditions, probably a reduction in light. The new leaves may be reaching for more light. You should grow this plant in full sun if possible.

3) Most plants have very similar nutrient requirements and I don't believe Beaucarnea is any exception. I use Foliage Pro 9-3-6 on all my plants because it has all the necessary nutrients (including the usually absent calcium, magnesium, and sulfur) in a ratio that matches the uptake ratio of most plants. I just wish it were easier to find. I have to order mine online. Here is an excellent thread if you really want to know more about fertilizing:

Fertilizer Program for Containerized Plants

4) Your pot should be deep enough. Many people prefer shallow pots because they show off the plant better. If roots are filling the bottom, then you can trim them when repotting. This will stimulate new root growth which benefits the plant because old roots are not as efficient as young ones. When repotting, I usually straighten the roots and then cut them off so that they are no deeper than the pot. This can mean cutting off over half of the root mass, but most succulents tolerate it quite well.

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Comments (7)

penfold2
14 years ago
I think the single most important thing you can do for that plant is to get it in a more porous soil. The caudex most likely shrank because of root rot which prevented it from taking up water. Peat based soils can work if they dry out fast enough, but oftentimes that is not the case, especially with succulents.

I use a soil similar to this one:

Succulent Soil Mix

Another mix with ingredients that are a bit easier to find:

Tapla's 5-1-1 Container Mix

As for chopping the trunk, that's frequently done to promote multiple shoots for a fuller plant. I prefer a single trunk because it looks more natural to me, so I would let it be and just trim the dead leaves away. But that is up to you.
desertbreeze
14 years ago
5 years ago, I had one in a one gallon pot, and when I moved here, I put it in the ground. It was fine till last year, then all the leaves died, and I was sad. It is in South Facing full sun. AND it gets hot here! Well, a miracle happened. It is full of green leaves again, and looking very strong. This year I may spray it with that Cloud Cover, Plant protector to help it with sunburn issues.

Good luck to you!
Suzi
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I'd say you're doing fine, particularly if they show signs of growth - they wouldn't if they were rotting, IMO. Your Beaucarnea recurvata are, if I remember, a little spongy when young - as they get older and larger, they harden up. Treat these as semi-tropical-to-tropical plants when it's warm and sunny and water freely (providing they're in the excellent drainage medium that they are).
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In my experience, pony tail palms are really sensitive to too much water and/or having too much mulch near their trunks. Have you mulched them recently? Have they gotten more rain than they need? That might leave them vulnerable to bugs/slugs. I had one in a pot for several years and put it out into the yard about a year ago. One of the three stems went great guns. It's four-feet high now, from six inches. The other two did not like their conditions and I think both have died. I do think they're really sensitive to getting too wet or having mulch too close to their trunks/being planted too deep.
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HU, I also have an older (~30 years) ponytail palm that is getting too tall for my house, and has never had 'pups'. After reading through the comments, these are my (uneducated) thoughts. The pups/branches/heads seem to form at injury points or due to stress, maybe? When I'm ready to 'prune' mine, I'm going to try to make 4 small cuts evenly spaced around the 'stem' about 3' above the top of the soil, to see if I can get growth there, while keeping the top of the plant intact at least for a while. On second thought, I think I will start by making just one cut on the stem. Then, if that one is successful, make more cuts later, with the goal of eventually lopping off the top.
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Fabulous now that we can see Cher in all her glory! Oh my, Maria, you took the leaf of faith, Cher looks great! I bet with the trim and repot, her elegant ballerina like figure (caudex ) will plump up a bit. She looks very elegant with her long slender look! I love that we can now see her in full :) You must be so happy to have accomplished this! I found the same with Harry when I repotted him, most roots where on the outside. Having only chopped Harry's heads off once... Here was my thinking: Cut them off in fall, allow him to sit in a low light area and water once a month at most. Let him gather strength for spring. Come March he had new sprouts starting. At first they were little bumps, then fully fledged sprouts and then by summer, he was on his way to his new stout look. I think late fall may be best as you will want to stop watering her due to her having no leaves, plus this will give her time to re-establish her roots between now and then. Harry did fine with watering him once a month in winter. I only started watering him once a few of his sprouts were about an inch long and green. If you look at the photo above of him with his heads cut off and the one before it, you will notice that his caudex is plump in the one with his heads and then it is more wrinkly in the one with the new sprouts. We do this same routine each winter. He looks dehydrated early spring from the lack of water in the winter but by spring he's re-hydrated and plumped up. Have you thought about how much you want to cut off? I look forward to the next update on Cher!
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desertbreeze
14 years ago
5 years ago, I had one in a one gallon pot, and when I moved here, I put it in the ground. It was fine till last year, then all the leaves died, and I was sad. It is in South Facing full sun. AND it gets hot here! Well, a miracle happened. It is full of green leaves again, and looking very strong. This year I may spray it with that Cloud Cover, Plant protector to help it with sunburn issues.

Good luck to you!
Suzi
bunnygurl
14 years ago
Mine doesn't seem to be growing at all...it's just kinda chillin'. Are they really that slow of growers?
lathyrus_odoratus
14 years ago
I bought one of these a year of so ago. I couldn't resist the Dr Seuss foliage. It came in a ceramic pot, about 9" across and 5" deep. It has three growing spikes out of the caudex - each has been growing new leaves since I go it. They are like spikes about another foot above the majority of the leaves and they peel off as they grow.

The pot may be a bit too wide; I am wondering if it's deep enough. As noted, it's 9" wide and the caudex is only about 4.5", leaving about 3" from the caudex to the sides of the pot. The depth appears to be all consumed by roots, however.

I haven't a clue as to the potting mix. It had a layer of rocks glued together on the top that I bashed out with a hammer - I couldn't even tell if it had too much water! The caudex seems firm to the touch and the plant always is allowed to dry out between waterings to at least 2-3" depth. I can't feel any deeper than that because it appears to be all roots.

Why am I writing? If anyone knows the following, please let me know.

1. Should I replant it to change the potting mix to something more gritty?

2. Is what I explained above seem healthy and normal?

3. Is there any research regarding the type of fertilizer preferred by these?

4. Is this pot deep enough? I searched and searched for specific potting and repotting directions to find very little of help. One site said that you should have 2-3" between the caudex and the pot edge. I have 3". Given that this is correct, that's good, but what about depth?

TIA
lathyrus_odoratus
14 years ago
Wonderful detailed answer. Thank you.

I have Foliage Pro (and have used it on this already), so that's easy. I will make up a gritty mix for it. I spend a bit of time in the container forum, too, so have read the thread you linked.

Per the way the leaves "peel" off, it was that way when I got it and has never changed. It was actually one of the reasons I chose this plant - it totally looks like a Dr Seuss thing. It gets quite a bit of sun - a southern exposure that is usually not filtered by blinds.

I thought about putting it out on the balcony during the summer, but had some concerns about rain and excess water. With a good gritty mix it might work.

Ponytail Palm Pointers

penfold2

Comments (7)

penfold2

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