I have a 30 year old Ponytail Palm that got injured by a large tree branch at the base the hole is about 5 inches deep and 3 inches wide. I am very worried. It seems to be getting deeper. It is in a half wine barrel and about 9 ft high and 40 inches at base. The bark seems to be peeling at the hole going upward. Is there anything I can do for it? or should I just leave it alone? I've have this palm for 30 years.
There is a lot of general information about Beaucarnea on this Dave's Garden page: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/261#b About injury to the base, they say:
Do you have a picture of the damage? Is it in a pot or in the ground? You need to keep the wound dry. I am currently trying to save a ponytail that has numerous wounds to the caudex, they are not deep though. I dry them out and it seems to be making a good recovery. I'm not sure how you can dry it out if the plant is outside, perhaps you can cover it and put dry rice in the hole. The rice will absorb the moisture but you would need it to be in a net or something so you can pull it all out and change it regularly. Once the wound is dry you could fill it with some kind of non toxic silicone.. I have never tried that though?
