Hello and I hope someone out there can help.. I have been given an overwatered and it received low light pony tail palm stump... it seems firm to the touch and it is without any leaves.. they apparently turned brown and fell off.. the soil is wet and there is "rot" on one part of the base near the soil line.. IS there ANY hope? should I remove it from the 'soil' and let it dry off and then replant with a rooting hormone and some sulfa?? or what?? the owner would like to have it survive if possible so I am lookng for advice.. I am new to the forum so I am not sure but I will try to attach a photo or two if it lets me.. any help would be appreciated..
i would unpot it and take a REALLY good look at the caudex to see how far the rot has gone through it. also look at the conditions of the roots. if the rot is not too extensive, you could try cutting it off. also remove any roots that are bad (anything that is brown/black and/or mushy). repot in a well draining soil (cactus soil mixed with some regular soil and some perlite) and make sure it's repotted into a container that has drainage holes! if you do end up cutting back part of the caudex, allow it to callous over before putting it soil again - 3-5 days should be enough and you might want to sprinkle some powdered cinnamon (just cinnamon, no sugar) over the cut area to help avoid bacteria/fungus from taking hold. after it's repotted, allow it to sit in the dry soil for about a week - to let the roots recuperate a bit - and then do a thorough watering. allow the soil to dry out a bit before watering again. if most of the caudex is firm and without rot and the roots are also in good shape, it may rebound (even if you have to take part of the caudex off).
Thanks I will do that and see how it responds.. I did not know that cinnamon would help.. nice tip.. appreciate the help and I will let you know what happens..
if most of the caudex is in good shape, it should recover; even if you have to take off the roots and a part of the caudex. they're pretty hardy plants! i have a friend who got one from a store on discount last year due to the stalk had split - and it was just starting to go down into the caudex...she worked with it and wrapped it and it's just now blooming and the cracked area has healed over completely... another friend, who i will send a pm to since you don't have the ability to do that yet, will have much better advice than i with regard to caudex plants and how to deal with this one. he's an expert AND he's not afraid of doing some seriously severe trimming of these plants (and ends up with the most phenomenal results!). he'll have some good advise for you, i'm sure.
Thanks I will be very interested to hear what he has to say.. I took your advice to de-pot and found that the base if very sturdy and not as badly damaged as I expected it to be .. so I sprinked it with cinniamon - smells good - and left it to dry.. cleaned out its original bonsi planter and it is drying too.. I am glad to hear they are sturdy plants.. I did not cut any thing off of the plant but when I removed the rocks that had been glued to the pot and the tree some of its 'bark' came off to not a lot about the size of a dime.. so it is also spiced and drying out.. I got some cactus soil and will plant as you direct unless your friend has other first aid for it.. apreciate the help.. the soil was extreemely wet... I bet it's feet and there are a few roots are happy to be drying.. I will keep in touch and let you know how it does.. thanks again.
