Hi Susan,

Welcome aboard here. You might have got a bonsai pot of them, but there's nothing bonsai about these plants - they can get to be very large specimens. You can grow them, of course, as they would normally grow, but it's impossible to grow this plant as a bonsai plant, IMO, and looking healthy-yet-miniature.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bodacious Beaucarnea

Thanks for the welcome. I do not want to use these as bonsai plants...I'm not into bonsai. I just want to be sure I can pot them up and let the grow as they will. I know they are slow growers and I won't achieve a tree in my lifetime. Just would like them as normal size house plants. I didn't know if I should take any special precautions in switching them over to more normal size pots.

Susan

Susan, I am a newbie to the site and to succulents also. I am suffering from the same malady, I keep buying them then wonder what I should do to take care of them. The info here is great.

I also found a 4 inch pot with pony tail palms in it, 12 to be exact. I brought it home and divided them. Not sure what I was doing but wanted to get them in separate pots. It has been 2 weeks, maybe they will survive.

I am interested to see the responses from the experienced members.

Susan, and LI,

It occurred to me that I'm not suggesting to you that these plants of course can be kept smallish and still good-looking by keeping their resources to a minimum. Alternately, you can lavish affection on them and probably get growth on them that would necessitate repotting up each year - it's all dependent on how much care you want to give them. They're forgiving either way, as long as the soil is porous.

cactusmcharris, I have so many of them that I was thinking about trying to keep a couple small, pushing a couple to grow faster. I have given a few away with warning that I may not have divided them correctly. I am so glad Susan asked this question, I hope I didn't kill all of them by dividing them incorrectly.

I've looked at the large ones at the big box stores with the glued rocks on them with envy but after reading posts about how difficult they are to keep alive after purchase I chose to start with these small guys.

"I've looked at the large ones at the big box stores with the glued rocks on them with envy but after reading posts about how difficult they are to keep alive after purchase I chose to start with these small guys."

They're not difficult, you just have to pry the glued rocks off and stick them in reasonable soil. They're really incredibly tolerant of a lot of conditions. Just not being covered in glue and grown in what's probably pure clay. Then again, nothing really is.