advice with my new Ponytail Palm

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by Jigger, Dec 25, 2014.

  1. Jigger

    Jigger New Member

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    Hello,

    I am new here and this is my first post.

    I just got a Ponytail Palm from my mother for Christmas. Last night I read how to care for these plants, from many different sites. Some advice varied, but I think I got the jest of how to grow this cool looking house plant.
    IMG_20141225_151446.jpg

    The palm is roughly 16 inches tall. It will be a lifetime house plant because I live in Michigan. Being the beginning of winter here, I understand that I will not be watering it much.
    , but here is my problem. The pot that it is in has no drain hole. How am I to water it, without drowning it? I understand that I shouldn't repot it until spring. I also understand that I may not need to water it, at all, during the winter months. If I do have to water it, how shall I go about it?

    Please help, Jigger

    Merry Christmas
     
  2. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    It would be best to repot it into a container with drainage holes. Why take the chance? It looks like it could use a larger one anyway. You may also consider removing the decorative pebbles as they serve no useful purpose.
     
  3. Jigger

    Jigger New Member

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    Junglekeeper, Thank you very much, for the quick reply and advice!

    I have a couple of other questions, if you could be so kind.

    One-Do you recommend a specific medium(soil) to plant the Ponytail in? Sandy? Pete moss mixture? With the short root-base, it seems I would need something that would help anchor the plant down.

    Second-I have three cats and I have caught two of them chewing on the leaves already. When I brought the plant home, they were wide-eyed with excitement at the sight of my new plant. I have bought them cat grass to keep them off other plants in the past, but they have no interest in cat grass. They seem to want to chew on my plants. If I keep my plant in a proper location, they can get at it. Any suggestions?

    Thanks so much,

    Jigger
     
    Last edited: Dec 25, 2014
  4. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    I use a commercial mix of peat, perlite, and sand with mine. It has worked for me but I'm careful not to over-water. I'm not sure what would constitute an ideal mix but I suspect it is something that is on the porous side. There are many past posts on this plant so you'll likely find the answer by searching in these forums. You may want to use the plant's botanical name, Beaucarnea recurvata, in doing so.

    The plant will develop a large, bulbous base over time; it should not require any type of support. It doesn't appear to be overly top heavy so it may not be a problem even now. The small container does restrict the roots, not allowing them to spread out to provide support. Moving to a bigger, wider container will help.

    • Discussion regarding cats and this plant: [thread=45128]Cat VS. Ponytail Palm (Picture included)[/thread]
    • Factsheet: Beaucarnea recurvata
     
  5. Jigger

    Jigger New Member

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    Junglekeeper

    Thanks again for the quick reply and links to help me along!

    Happy Holidays
     

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