Question
Hi - I recently received a ponytail palm as a gift about 1 month ago. The plant is potted in a clay pot about 8 inches in diameter. The plant is about 8 - 10 inches tall, had one main sprout, and two side sprouts. When I first received the plant I was told it sat in a delivery truck on a very cold day for most of the day outside. We were hoping that it didn't freeze when outside. However, since I've had the plant, it has basically lost all of its leaves. They started dying, and for awhile I just left it alone. Continuing to water it (soaking it, and allowing to dry inbetween waterings). The plant sits in southern exposure and gets good light. I don't fertilize or anything like that. I have lots of other small house plants (dracinia, rubber tree, aphelandra, panda plant, lots of catci and succulents, and a bunch of others)that are all doing well in the same location. I did make the mistake of beginning to pull off the dead leaves. I had read in one gardening book that this was the thing to do. The plant had begun to sprout some new green leaves (the only ones on the plant) from the main sprout. Unfortunately when i was pulling off some dead leaves, the new green ones came off too! My question is basically- is my plant dead now? Does it stand a chance of coming back? I haven't given up hope yet because I love my plants and don't want to lose this one! Please help!

Answer
Michael,

If the bulb is not soft and mushy there is every chance it will come back. Just treat it like a cactus. Lots of sun, warm temps and little water. That bulbous base makes it the same as a cactus. Be patient. Do not water it until it has been dry for several days. It should be in a pot that is only slightly bigger than it's base is. It likes to be root bound. It likes sandy soil. Don't pull the dead leaves off untill they have been dead a long time. You can clip them close to the trunk. Good luck.

Darlene