Inherited A 40 Year Old Ponytail Palm....It's Been Neglected For Years

[hotelvoodoo]

Hello all!

After reaching out to some of my local bonsai societies with no responses, I'm hoping that someone here might be able to point me in the right direction.

I inherited my first bonsai about 6 months ago, a 40 year old ponytail palm. My mother kept a large collection of bonsais which she whittled down over the last few years until she just had this one left. She decided that taking care of her plants was "just too much work" so she was going to throw it away, and I told her that I'd be happy to adopt it. After all, the tree is older than I am and my mother had owned it for most of my life. I couldn't think of anything more sad than just tossing it out with the trash. She had not watered it even semi-regularly and I am certain it hasn't been repotted in at least 5-7 years. It's roots are exposed in spots and I'm sure it needs to move into something bigger. I asked my mother to give me a repotting tutorial along with some instructions for basic care, and she said that "we'd talk about it another time." Well, we never did have that husbandry talk. She passed away suddenly just 2 months later.

So here I am, with this lovely old tree and no clue how to take care of it. I've looked up some information about ponytail palms, but they all seem to deal with much younger, smaller trees, and ones in much better shape than mine. So.... where do I start? It's living currently in a pot with an exterior 10"X14" measurement. I figured from the looks of things it could at least move into a 20" pot, but it seems very difficult to find pots of this size, and trying to figure out if that's too big or too small has been pretty confusing. I love plants, maintain some lovely gardens, nurture a good handful of houseplants, but I have 0 experience with bonsais.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I will be happy to do what it takes to get this little tree back in shape and healthy so I can foist it off on to my kids too in another 30 years.

 

[Grimberian]

Try this, I watch a few of Nigel's videos on YouTube and find them quite useful, i'm a beginner too

This is him repotting a ponytail palm.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

They are pretty much indestructible, you only can kill them overwatering, strangely enough they like small pots so that one is perfect for that tree even a lit big, I only would repot it to improve the drainage (pomice and akadama would be nice) also give it all the sun you can and should grow nicely

 

[Colorado]

I was going to suggest similar advice. A standard bonsai soil like akadama, pumice, and lava should work well. I would definitely not put it in a 20” pot.

 

[sorce]

Good thing it ain't Bamboo!

Welcome to Crazy!

I hope your kids got a chance to meet their grandma! Good they get her tree!

Sorce

 

[amcoffeegirl]

Awwh- this is very special. Mine spends summers outside and winters under the lights. The bright color of mine is from being in full sun all summer. It will be darker green by the time it goes outside again.
you want your roots to be white and firm and not brown and mushy. The base or bulb should also be firm.
You could probably get away with lifting the plant to have a look at the roots then repot in late spring or early summer.
if you have any bonsai groups in your area- I am certain that they would be happy to give you some assistance with this.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

Once you lift the plant from this pot you can cut away any brown or circled roots. Comb them out. It will probably fit just fine back in this pot once you have done that.
Try again to reach the bonsai folks in your area.
Where are you located? Someone here may know someone to direct you to.

 

[Michael P]

I've grown these for decades. In my climate they must come inside during the winter even though they are supposed to be hardy down to 25F. Use a very free-draining soil mix. Mine are way too big to use akadama or other expensive soil ingredients. I normally pot them in 2/3 expanded shale and 1/3 coarse compost.

When outside for the summer in full sun, you can water them frequently. But when they come inside with much lower light, I water them maybe once a month. I killed quite a few over the winter before I learned this lesson!