Question
Hi,
牋牋營 just got a plant yesterday, and I need to KNOW what it IS in order to give it the proper care. It has a LARGE bulb at the base, about 3" in diameter, where it comes out of the fine gravel it is IN. The bulb's surface apears ROUGH, kinda like tree bark.
  ?The TOP has been cut off, and there are five shoots coming out of the bulb. Each shoot is about 6-8" high & has long tapered leaves coming from the center, the longest of which is about 7" long. The leaves are a lighter green in the centers, with a darker green on the sides, & thin white streaks mostly between the two greens.
牋牋營t is in a little galvanized tub with 2 holes in the bottom, and a fine gravel rather than soil. There is some kind of moss also in the tub, in the back, & a couple of rocks.
牋牋燞ere's the really WEIRD part: The fine gravel that the plant came in, seems to be GLUED IN! I can't get ANY of it to BUDGE! Won't that KILL the plant?
牋牋 Can you tell me what it IS, & how best to care for it? IS it a young "Pony Tail"/"Elephant Foot"???
牋牋燩lease tell me WHAT it IS & what to DO. Should I take it out of the Gravel/Tub & repot it?
牋牋燭hanks, ?Donna


Answer
Hi Donna,

Beaucarnea recurvata is the botanical name for ponytail palm.

I don't know why anyone would deliberately cut off the top. Perhaps, it was broken off by accident. No matter.

The glued in gravel was done for decorative and ease-of-handling purposes. You are right; that is not very good for the health of the plant. Usually the gravel is used just as a layer to cover the soil underneath. If that is true with yours, then it may be best to use a knife to pry that top layer of gravel off and discard it. Once the soil below is exposed, then air and water will penetrate the soil more readily. In this case, you will not have to repot the plant.

If the glued gravel cannot be removed or the gravel goes all the way to the bottom of the tub, then you should remove all of the gravel, being careful not to danmage the roots, and replace it with a very porous potting mix that contains extra perlite.

You didn't indicate how wide the tub is. However, I can tell you that the width of the tub/pot should be no more than an inch wider than the width of the bulb at its widest point. When properly potted, there should be about a half inch of space between the bulb and the edgee of the pot.

Ponytail palms do best in bright light. The more light they get, the faster they grow. So place it on your sunniest available windowsill.

Allow the soil to become quite dry before watering thoroughly. Usually a wekly watering is about right if the light is good and the pot is the right size and the soil is sufficiently porous.

The ponytail does not need much fertilizer and it thrives in dry air.

If you would like to e-mail me a photo (see address below), I might be able to make some additional recommendations about the repotting after I have seen the plant.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

You can E-mail me directly at: [email protected]

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