I have a 25 year old ponytail palm that froze about 6 months ago. The palm has not recovered and has looked sickly all year. New growth has been very slow. Should I cut the palm back?
Well, you say the new growth is slow. My thought is "new growth" is still growth. Is there growth near the base? If so, then cutting it back could certainly be an option. Otherwise I'd be tempted to leave it be for now. Richard
It can be difficult to determine how much damage has been done. Was the soil frozen solid too? If the roots were frozen, it would be difficult to imagine that there is any viable root left, in which case, what you see growing at the top is doing so at the expense of what's left of water and nutrient reserves in the plant. One would be tempted to prune the top off ("cut the plant back"). In my opinion, that might be a mistake. The cane with the green growth at the top may be the only surviving part of the plant. Therefore, do not discard it, whatever you do. In addition, it will need what little it has left of green foliage to photosynthesis and provide energy for regeneration. On balance, therefore, I would leave it completely alone and see if other new growths emerge. Just don't over water it.
It is likely that I have over watered the plant when it stopped growing. I am in San Antonio Texas and this year we had a late and hard freeze. Cold enough to freeze and burst exposed steel water pipe. It has a few other green spots that are very small and very slow growing. I have submitted a better picture. Notice a few of the branches appear dead. I am tempted to cut those.
