Ponytail palm care

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by mypetgorrilla, Apr 7, 2007.

  1. mypetgorrilla

    mypetgorrilla Member

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    Re: Updated: How to post a message

    I have a ponytail plant that is approx. 2 ft tall counting the pot. It hasn't done very well lately. Cat didn't help either as he knocked it down and ate the top completely out of it. It lives in my house. The top is growing out again but the original growths are dying about half way down. They are about 3 ft long. Can anyone help?
     
  2. markinwestmich

    markinwestmich Active Member

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    Don't worry. It will likely come back, probably better than ever. I had a puppy chew on 3 of my little ponytail palm seedlings. One didn't make it as it was chewed to little bits, but the other two, despite chunks and bits out of them, survived.

    That was over 20 years ago. One, affectionately known as "Cousin It" is 5 ft tall and nearly 3 ft wide. The other, I kept a more manageable 2 ft x 2ft, by keeping it rootbound. The thick caudexes have since filled out and there are no signs of the trauma they experienced so many years ago.

    Ponytail palms, in my experience, are nearly indestructable and can take an enormous amount of abuse and neglect. Yes, they will protest from time to time by loosing some of the lower foliage, but it seems there is always more where that came from.

    Keep them in a sunny location indoors and a partially sunny location outdoors. Give them a quick-draining, loose, granular soil mix in a pot with large drainage holes. Water thoroughly when the soil is completely dry. They don't like their "feet" wet for any more than a day or two. The caudex will get nice and fat if you resist the tempation of giving them a bigger pot every year. They look best if they are a little root-bound, provided they are given a well-draining soil, as described above. Ponytail palms, in the wild, are enormous, fat plants...and if you keep giving them room, they can quickly grow too big to handle.

    By the way, before you post a new question, use the "search" program. There is quite a bit of information regarding this popular plant.
     
  3. RussF

    RussF Member

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    I had a similar situation happen with my ponytail palm and "Busta" my boxer decided to take it upon himself to prune the entire top of it...........after reading the post above.........I guess I really don't have to worry much(mine is actually outside). Should I cut off the top some or just leave it as is?

    Thanks,
    Russell
     
  4. markinwestmich

    markinwestmich Active Member

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    That's up to you. Either way, it will likely do fine. Some have suggested that pruning the main trunk/top growth may stimulate growth in other areas of the plant. I believe there is a thread on this forum that discusses this. Use the "search" function.
     
  5. RussF

    RussF Member

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    Well we have some growth at the top......that is good.......now we have got to keep the dogs away from it.
     

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