The attributes that account for most of the ponytail's popularity are its ability to tolerate neglect and its ability to survive inadequacies much better than excesses. In the face of too little water, not enough nutrition, and cramped quarters for its roots, it remains stoic and ready to rebound when conditions improve. It doesn't tolerate excesses of water or fertilizers well, and responds to small pots by a growth rate that decreases as root congestion increases, as has already been noted, but tolerates tight roots much better than most other plants. Growing it tight (keeping it root bound) restricts growth and vitality, but also reduces the probability of negative effects associated with over-potting - a plus for those using water-retentive soils. Fastest growth and best vitality can be had by siting in full sun and potting in a pot large enough for roots to have plenty of room to run, but that requires a soil that doesn't have a tendency to remain soggy to avoid that 'over-potting thing'. If I wanted to grow this plant as close to its potential as possible, I'd grow it in a very large pot and a very fast (draining) soil. Al

Just a thought...what if you were to take it out of the pot and check the roots? See if they're healthy. Then, we'll officially know. Have you looked for any insects that may have infested the plant? I would think you would have said so though. Any powdery look to any of the leaves etc. (might be rusty, black or white)? I'm just trying to throw out more ideas. Seems like when a plant is in such decline you're limited by the clock. If the roots are unhealthy: 1) Cut a section of the stem out. 2) Get a small, sterilized pot (can sterilize by soaking pot w/90% water and 10% bleach for 30 minutes) 3) Put fresh soil mixture in pot (you kinda want something fine, but w/decent drainage - peat is OK in it for now) and mist soil moist throughout 4) Set stem cutting sideways (will root at each node where the soil is touching & will have offsets above the soil) and make sure the soil doesn't dry out, but isn't too wet. 5) Set it in bright light, but not direct. It might take a few weeks, but it will regenerate and you'll have a new plant at each node. When they're big enough you can cut them apart and plant them in the mix w/out peat if you want. Peat, for now, will help concentrate the moisture where it's much-needed. You may also take each of the larger, healthy remaining leaves and set them on top of the soil, wounded side to the soil & they'll also root and create new plants.

I have a horrible time with Echeveria with the heat and humidity and rain during the summer. Mine are quite prone to mealies, too. So here's my experience with PvN. Before I knew about gritty mix -this was in c&s soil mixed with perlite. Your roots look better than mine, but these are still white and firm. Those black spots were hard, not soft or squishy at all. This is 2 of 6 plants that I had. I cut the one on the left first. Edit - oops, the other left. LOL right? Oh yeah - that was rot! I ended up decapitating and rooting what heads I could salvage after cutting down to healthy tissue. I nursed them in gritty mix and they did rebound. Before cutting anything - unless you really think it is rot - I would try potting it up in a really gritty mix - about 20% Turface with perlite and grit. See if it rebounds. I'd keep it in bright shade while in ICU. BTW - those little leaves on the inflorescence propagate better than the leaves from the plant for some reason. So you may want to try propagating some of those! Good luck! Managing Florida summers can be a challenge! Another edit - agree with Rina on using only grit and perlite. Turface can come later.

It's of little informational value when you determine the top of the grow medium is dry unless you're growing in bonsai or other very shallow pots. To wit, your 6-7" deep pot can easily have 3-4" of grow medium 100% saturated with water. What's most important is how moist the soil is at the bottom of the pot. Below, I'll leave you something I wrote about using a 'tell' to 'tell' you when it's time to water. It's much more accurate than trying to use a finger or "moisture meter". Also, how many drain holes there are in a pot has no bearing on how well a pot drains and no meaningful bearing on how fast it drains. 100 holes in a pots bottom or 1 hole, when the raining is done there will still be the same volume of water in the pot. Your choice of grow medium, and more precisely the size of the particles from which the medium is made, have the greatest impact on moisture retention and aeration. Over-watering causes the same wilting/drought response in plants as under-watering. Too much water in the medium = too little air = roots inability to function normally = plants' inability to maintain enough internal water pressure (turgor) = wilt. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue.