Hi I need some advice ! I am new to plants and I currently have a ponytail palm , and I've had it for about a month now. It was doing great and growing new leaves and all the sudden the last few days the leaves or stems have started drooping really bad and the bottom of the stems near the trunk are mooshy and starting to rot and a lot of the leaves are turning brown. It is in a well lit room and it is in a large pot, maybe too big of a pot and we repotted it with regular miracle grow potting mix. The soil has been pretty damp for days now. What can I do to save it??? I'm already attached to it
Thanks for responding! Yes it does have drainage holes . But the pot is HUGE and I deff think it's too big for the plant. Could this have anything to do with the spontaneous rotting and brown leaves ? ?
No, I don't think the size of the container is the reason. I think that the soil you use could be not suitable for the plant, though, probably too moisture retentive. Here is a good advice on how to care for the ponytail palm: http://houseplants.about.com/od/palm1/p/PonytailPalm.htm
The soil in an over-sized container will tend to stay moist much longer than desirable with a greater chance of root rot. This may be the case here. It may be too late if the stems are already mushy. I suggest transplanting the tree to a proper size container if it looks like it is salvageable.
