Question

pic #1   My brother found this plant discarded on the curb and knows that I love plants, my question is... what is this? I need to know so I will know what type of material to root it in and the watering needs.
Thanks in advance for your time.

Answer
Kevin,
It looks like an Elephant foot plant (also called "ponytail" plant)...
Go to a local garden center and buy a good indoor planting mix...Place it in an 8-10" pot...Put some of the potting mix into the pot and then place your plant in it...Poor more of the mix around the roots and lightly firm the soil so the plant stays upright...Bury it to the bottom of the foot covering all the roots with soil...You may have to stake it to make it stay straight...
They can grow large quite quickly. In the ground outside in FL I have seen some 20+ feet tall. It is not advisable to repot them too frequently. The pot size will control how fast/large they grow.
Also you want to make sure they go dry between waterings. They do rot out quickly if kept too wet. Water your plant based on how much it weighs when thoroughly watered VS when it is ready to be watered again. Plants die from too frequent waterings, not from how much water you give them at one time. Pick the pot up and feel how heavy it is after watering it thoroughly. Don't water it again until it feels considerably lighter and the top of the soil is light in color. Depending on plant types, sunlight exposure and pot size plants will need water at many different rates from once a day to once a month or more.
Hope this helps. Let me know what you think...

Good luck,
Rick in southern NJ