I have had this ponytail for about 15 years. I have never cut anything off of it. I have only removed brown leaves. I was wondering if I was able to cut where the leaves are growing from back to the trunk. I have new growth coming out of the top but the leaves just hang and it is not very full. Any help would be appreciated.
You can remove the growing tip as new growth will emerge from the nodes below the cut. However the new leaves may not be much different if the current growth is weak and spindly. The plant already has three growing tips. Perhaps you'll get firmer, fuller foliage by giving the tree more light. Do you fertilize regularly? Ponytail Palm, Beaucarnea recurvata – Master Gardener Program
I have it in a room that gets full sun all day. It has been in that room for probably 13 of the 15 years that I have had it. I do fertilize. As far as cutting it back, can I cut all three of the the growing tips back to the trunk or do I leave a little bit of it? I just want to make sure because I wouldn’t want to kill it.
I would consider other factors which may result in less than satisfactory growth but you can cut back either way if that is your choice. According to the previously linked article: If removal of all three stems is your choice, you may want to make a 90 degree cut of the main trunk below them; I think it would look better that way. However since your tree already has multiple heads, you may end up with even more if you were to remove only their tops.
There are a number of threads in the Caudiciforms and Pachycaul Trees forum which may provide you with more information. For example: How to grow multiple trunks on a Ponytail Palm?. Use the search function to locate ones that are of interest to you.
Thank you very much! Not sure what I am going to do yet. I will look up some more information on it and then make a decision.
