I have a large ponytail palm growing outside. It has out grown it's home the previous house owners were unaware of how large these plants can get. What size can the root ball grow to in comparison with the bulb? Are the roots spreading or do they grow close or under the bulb. The palm is over 8 feet tall and has started to send roots out from above ground level, at the base it would measure 2 - 3 feet. I would like to move it to an area it can grow without ripping up my veranda. It is planted in an awkward place and impossible to remove with machinery and I think I may have to use a small garden spade to dig it out. Any advice is welcome.
A plant of that size will have a fairly substantial root system unless it's surrounded by concrete or hard clays that may not have allowed it to grow properly. The best way to remove it is probably just to cut off a lot of the root ball whilst still in the ground and leave those roots to rot away naturally. Leave some roots on the plant as it will still need to support itself and the less disturbance to the plant is best.
Thank you gardentastic22 I'll give it a try it seems to be undermining the concrete i just didn't want to believe it. I've tried to attach pictures it was a trial so hopefully they work. Regards
Wow, A picture is worth a million words. Thanks for posting pictures. :) and welcome to the fourm. :)
