Hello - My son has a 2-yr old ponytail palm that is about 14"tall. 3 months ago, the 2 healthy sprouts at the top started drying out and falling off; a garden associate at a local home improvement store suggested that it was rootbound, and that we re-pot it. 2 months ago, we moved it to a larger pot (1 1/2 times larger than former), gave it new miracle-gro potting soil (drainage rocks at the bottom of pot), and put it back in front of the kitchen window. Since then, both sprouts have turned brown, and here appears to be no new growth -- it looks really sad. The trunk is solid, and does not appear to be rotting; no bugs or mites are present. We're watering every 7-10 days, only when top dirt is dry. Can anyone help?? Thanks in advance.
Hi, Sounds like something is not right and it's got to be one of the ususal suspects. Either under or over-watering? Ponytails have a huge root that acts as a reservoir for them and adding more water than they need will rot the roots as with anything else. Always waiting til the soil is dry before watering again? Light is next, right? Too much or too little? What do the experts say it needs that way? I have had a pony tail that started as a wee seedling in a 4" pot over 30 yrs ago now and it is a tough survivor. It has never had a great deal of light, living off to the side, in the wings as it were, now due to its large size - about 4' tall. Temperature seems ok as you have it inside. I do put mine out in summer as it is easier to water. Soil mix? If you are using a regular sort of soil mix it ought to be ok. pot size? ROFL ! Well, now you've got me there! In all of the 3o+yrs I have re-potted the dear palm only about 3 x's ! Yes! Really! She is a single stemmed plant and has been root-bound for years for how tall do they get? How big is my house? Maybe it's been 4x but honestly I cannot recall the last time I did it. She's in a 2 gal pot size now for many,many years. I keep it in the smaller sizes as long as possible. They lose some bottom leaves every year, like an annual shedding which seems how they grow their long stems. She has a bump on her long stem about 2/3 of the way up so I think she is pregnant and going to sprout a side shoot soon.........it's been months, I wonder how long it takes for them to come to term? Good Luck with your Ponytail but perhaps try another specimen. Maybe this one is a sicko to begin with? D
hi if you research it on the internet it says that over watering can cause root rot because of the plant not needing much because of the storage of water in it's bulb. hope this helps.
