Hello, we have a ponytail palm at work that is over 40 years old, it was given to one of our Doctors when he started practicing! It is about 4 ft tall and the base is 2ft. The previous person neglected the tree and we are trying to get it back. We believe it was not watered for a long period, I have watered it weekly for about 4 weeks. But we also know it does not need a lot of water! You can see she used tap water and it did stain the base of the tree. I have been using distilled since that is what is in our water cooler. It still has a lot of green on it!! But is still turning brown! It does get a good amount of sun! At this point repotting is not an option!!! Thank you so much for your help!!
Doesn't look too bad overall, it's just going to take some time and care. It still has a substantial amount of green leaves. Are you seeing new growth now that its regime has improved?
Thank you so much for your reply, no real new growth yet. It does seem to be perking up a little. I am lost on how often to water it. The office is super dry and it’s straight sun. I read like every 3 weeks, but that seems a little long. This plant means even more than ever now, our physician who’s plant it was past away today! I will not let it die in my watch!! Thanks again!
Monitor the situation and let us know if it takes a turn for the worse. Once its tissues are re-hydrated (and it is probably there now), you can dial back the water. Have a read here about its habitat, and consider that with respect to what the plant needs: Beaucarnea recurvata - Wikipedia -- 8 months without water sometimes, and growing in places with excellent drainage.
