Pony tail palm needs help!

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tlhawaii Honolulu, HI Apr 14, 2016

Can someone please tell me what's wrong with this pony tail palm? I raised it from a small 3" plant to what is now 10 times that big, but it has begun every once in awhile getting really white in the center instead of its usual green. I thought maybe it needed nutrients so I fed it with a commercial plant food and I water it once a week. It is in full sun in the morning, but by noonish, the sun goes around the building so it has all the light it needs, but not the heat too much. Any suggestions?

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DaisyPlantLady Reno, NV(Zone 6b) Apr 15, 2016

You are over-watering it. Once a week is way too much. I water mine every 1 to 2 months. Stop watering until you see signs of improvement - hopefully, it's not too late.

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tlhawaii Honolulu, HI Apr 20, 2016

OMG, thank you. I thought because it was so hot out there, that I might not be watering enough! How do you tell? The soil appears bone dry when I do water it.

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Lodewijkp Zwolle, Netherlands(Zone 7a) Apr 21, 2016

At my previous employer in their facility on the second floor it is very hot throughout most of the year and the large window area was situated on the south. they watered their ponytail palm only once every 2 or 3 weeks in summer and once every month or two in other seasons. If you are in doubt do not water it for a few more days or just water it sparingly ( just enough water to survive ) this way the top 3 inches of the soil dries quickly and preventing overwatering the plant. Avoid wetting the middle and bottom area of the pot.

if it is overwatered severely just get it out of the out and let the rootball dry on a ventilated place. sometimes i do this for 3 or 4 days with plants.

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tlhawaii Honolulu, HI Apr 25, 2016

Great, guys, I will try. Nothing to lose at this point. Since I raised this beautiful plant from a small keiki, I do not want to lose it. This week it is not so white in the middle, but it's still not "standing up" in the middle like it used to be. It's more green but the leaves are still flopped down somewhat.

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