Ponytail Palm

Four or five months ago, I bought a ponytail palm -- three weeks after I bought it, I replanted it into an unglazed, terra-cota colored clay pot. I overfilled the pot in an effort at covering the roots of the ponytail palm and instead of repotting it (not wanting to shock the plant any further), I waited to see if the soil would settle and give me a little more room at the rim.

Fast forward to now and the soil really hasn't settled all that much. It made for watering the ponytail difficult but as these guys really thrive on not being watered all that much I didn't think it'd be an issue (I watered it maybe once or twice a month). The plant is directly in front of an eastern window. I finally decided I should repot it, though upon removing it from the pot I discovered the trunk of the ponytail feels soft - it's not terribly squishy but it's definitely soft. The roots were all healthy and fine (no foul odor or discoloration) and the plant has that neon-green tinge of new growth - the soil was bone dry so I can say with near 100% certainty that over watering wasn't the issue. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what the issue /may/ be and if so, how to correct it?

This is only from my own personal experience. I have had 2 ponytail plants for about 9 years. Both in identical pots with NO DRAINAGE. Mine are NOT happy if they are not nearly sitting in water. I had too much dirt in the one pot which made it hard to keep it watered well. I took some of the dirt out so water could stand in it & it seems to be recovering.

ants

When you overfilled the pot to cover the roots, did you maybe pile it up too high against the trunk? That can cause issues with rot even if you're not watering excessively. Or it's possible you weren't watering it enough--if it was hard to get water into the pot because of the soil level you might not have given it enough.

ants--are you sure the ponytail plant you're talking about is the same as the ponytail palm that reverie has? The ponytail palm does not need much water so I can't imagine it being happy with constant wet feet like you're describing--I suspect yours may be a different type of plant.

Actually, I think it IS the same plant. Only I have only covered like the bottom quarter of the base. And not ALL of the time, but A LOT of the time there is about a quarter inch of water over the soil line. There are 'roots'? sticking out of the bulbus part that have worked thier way into the soil. Like 'almost' sitting on top of the soil. I will get a pic tomorrow & post it so you can see for sure if it is the same plant. But I am pretty sure it is. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2312/ Check out what mah00c has to say about it.

ants

Take a look at the amount mah00c said they were using--two little sips of water every day. Not the best way to water a plant IMO, but giving it a tiny bit of water every day isn't at all the same as yours growing in a container with no drainage and being constantly wet. Chances are most of the soil was never very wet in their case since they were never watering the plant thoroughly. I would be very surprised to find that this plant could tolerate as much water as you're describing. Nothing's impossible of course but I would be very surprised.

Here is a pic of the recovering pony tail palm. Forgot I still had the tag that came with it :)

ants

I broke the pot this one is in while trying to take pictures. But this is the healthy plant.

ants

Here is a close up of the base where maybe you can see where the water line was before I broke the pot. And can also see how the base of the plant is just barely under the soil level. Of course I don't just purposely keep it standing in water & is not ALWAYS standing in water, but IS always very wet.

ants

Hmmm...that definitely does look like the ponytail palm. I'm puzzled by why yours does OK with so much water around and it's definitely not something I'd recommend generally, but since it's working for you then keep doing what you're doing!

I find that ponytails do well whether they are watered alot or not - I try to water mine well at least every other week or so, and in the winter, I really don't water it at all. The soft trunk might be a problem, but I don't have any advice for you. If it is from root rot, there probably isn't much you can do, unless someone knows how to restart these plants - I don't.

Hi, I have a pony tail now for about 3 years, I water once a month in the winter and 2 times a month the rest of the year... They are still thriving!
Here is a link on how to care for them....

http://www.plantcare.com/encyclopedia/elephants-foot-1983.aspx

Sorry I haven't replied sooner on this: the "trunk" of the ponytail was mostly above the soil line (maybe 1/4 of the trunk was covered by soil, just enough so that the roots were submerged to anchor the plant down). The trunk has regained some of the firmness since repotting (I've watered it once about two weeks after repotting it) but still has a slight softness to it (the whole trunk and not one particular spot).

I'm curious if the trunk has a tendency to go soft from underwatering or if it's a definite indicator of rot (trunk and/or root). Since it stores water it makes sense to assume that the trunk may shrink/plump accordingly which might then explain the softness issue. And by softness I mean the trunk sinks inward when I squeeze it but there is a general 'firmness' threshold (it doesn't feel squishy like I'm squeezing a sponge).

reverie, we have several ponytails in-ground which do well with only incidental water during our long, hot summers. However, we have one in a pot which has a base about 4' across and if it doesn't get regular water, it visibly shrinks in size but responds well when watered. However, I've never felt it to see if it feels soft and now we act in time that it isn't stressed by the lack of water, so we're not likely to have the experience again.

I don't know if this helps but here's mine...and it too LOVES to sit in water, and it does say not too...but it isnt happy dry...it turns brown when its dry, like a sunburn...