Question
I have a Ponytail Palm, she is about 5' tall, bulb is about as large as container ( 2 gallon black greenhouse container). The plant has outgrown the container and caused the container to start breaking apart. She has 2 babes growing on the top of bulb.
I need to transplant into another container but, I do not know how to do this without killing the plant. She was a gift to me, but not knowing the soil and size container or what type container, I am afraid to start. In the broken open ares of container, I can see small roots, along with what appear to be rock. Do you have any idea how I should handle transplanting? Soil type and container. Thank You

Answer
Nancy,

You need to measure the diameter of the current pot and find a new pot with a diameter no more than 4 inches larger than the old one. The pot must have a large drain hole and a drain tray under it. This plant grows very slowly and stops growing indoors during the winter unless you have a lot of sunlight on it. If you put it in too large a pot it will stay too moist and the roots will rot.

You should use a very sandy cactus soil. If you cant find that buy potting soil and a bag of perlite and a bag of play sand. You can find these at Lowes, Home Depot or Menards. mix 2 parts of potting soil with 1 part perlite and 1 1/2 parts sand. If you have problems with getting the plant out of the old pot you can cut it open down the side. Put some of your new soil mix in the bottom of the pot then set the Ponytail Palm on top of the soil mound and fill in around it. Then tip up the pot to see what it weighs. Then water it. Tip it up a bit again to see the difference in weight. Empty any excess water out of the drain tray. You can use a turkey baster to do this. NEVER leave this plant sitting in a drain tray full of water or it will rot the roots. Allow the plant to dry out well before watering it again, until it is as light as it was right after repotting it.

Normally I do not recommend repotting a plant this time of year. The best time to repot is from April 1st to July 30th when the days are getting longer. Now the days are getting shorter and shorter and all house plants are going semi dormant. Their roots stop growing. The only reason I am agreeing to repotting now is because the pot is broken. If you have more questions feel free to write again. Good luck.

Darlene