So, I've worked in the same office building for roughly 7 years now. I have multiple plants in my little space (they get indirect sunlight and sit right by a large window facing NE on the 6th floor of a 10 story office building). My Ivy and pantheos thrives, I have a few succulents that are doing great, a wandering jew that gets a bit crazy with growth (I can't remember the real name for this plant so my apologies), a bonsai plant that I've had from the beginning and I recently inherited a very sad looking, what I believe to be, pony tail palm. My boss got this nice pony tail palm from his son in a beautiful green ceramic planter with a nice size drainage basin. His son told him to only water the plant from the basin (i.e. fill the basin with water so the roots soak up the moisture). While this sounded odd, I went with it as I had no other instructions. It just looked so sad as the months went on. Honestly, I felt like the poor thing needed actual water in the soil...it just wasn't right. All the leaves turned brown and began falling off. My boss then gave me the dying palm in hopes I could somehow revive it. All that's left of the poor plant is the trunk, which feels a bit too soft for my liking and has a small amount of green tint to the base, which concerns me. Since I was given the plant, I started watering the soil. I only water when the soil is dry - I put my finger in to make sure the soil is dry at least 1 inch down before watering again. I constantly drain any excess water from the basin as I'm concerned that water sitting in the basin will cause more harm to the plant. There are no more leaves on it - is this thing just totally dead? Is there any reviving it? Can new sprouts develop from the base of the trunk? Will new leaves come in? What can I do to promote new growth?? - HELP Please!! On a side note, I THINK this is a pony tail palm, but the initial watering instructions gave me pause to consider it might be something different?? Here are pics. I will take any advise I can get right now . It's quite sad so we bought a dancing groot to sit next to him My mom has the greenest thumb I know so if all else fails, I will bring her the plant to see if she can rehabilitate it back to life, but I would love to be able to try myself first!! Thanks to anyone who can reply! I appreciate it.
It looks like a Ponytail palm but then I have just seen them in photos. But I would think that the main problem is it is planted in the wrong medium and may have succumbed to root rot. It needs to be in sandy-mix instead of potting soil. The dish it is in may be too shallow too, they need to be in a pot deep enough to prevent the roots from sitting on the bottom. That's where the water settles and even though the top inch of soil feels dry, the bottom where the roots are sitting is still moist, if not soggy, and they can't handle that much water. I would take it out of the pot and check the condition of the roots. If they look sturdy, re-pot and water it a bit less. The soil should be pretty dry all the way to the bottom before watering. It also needs more sun than a north window. In their native environment they live outside in part to full sun.
Thank you for the response! Yes, I was concerned about root rot, but was also hesitant about re-potting it. I didn't know if I should disrupt it any further, but it sounds like I should. I will take a look at the roots as you suggested and let you know what I find. I have been sticking my finger down a good way to make sure the soil is completely dry before watering though so I will be curious to see if the roots are soggy looking! I can see the Chicago skyline from my window so technically I am at a North East window with pure morning sun. All of my other plants seem to thrive with the sun I get. If I moved my plants to the south west side of the office, they would not do as well. Should I be concerned about the soft(ish) trunk or the green on it? Have you ever seen new leaves grow from a bare pony tail palm? Is there something I can do to the shoots to encourage new growth (i.e. trim back the browning parts around the shoot)? Since I am definitely not in their native climate and the first frost is fast approaching, I cannot place it outside. Maybe I will try to keep it alive until the spring and bring it home with me so it can spend the summer outside. Thanks again for your response! I will keep you updated once I check out the roots.
I hate to be the one to say this but I have a feeling the pony palm may already be dead. Soggy trunks mean that they have been waterlogged for some time and the trunk hasn't had a chance to dry out enough to stay alive. The green you see at the bottom of the plant may be a fungal growth. I'd follow Toni's advice and keep your fingers tightly crossed that the pony tail may just be able to be saved. I have my doubts thoughI'm afraid.
I agree with Eileen--I believe that it may well be too late for your Beaucarnea. The softness of the "bulb" most certainly could be due to over-watering. I say this because the function of the bulb is indeed to store water, and it seems likely that it has had too much watering in the past. The greatest enemy of this plant is to over-water. Normally one gives the plant a good plons of water and then waits until the compost that it is sitting in dries out almost completely before giving water again. You may want to think about re-potting it this spring, if it makes it through the winter...and then into an ordinary plastic or stone pot with a drainage hole in the bottom. I am thinking that the green on the side of the bulb base is algae from the over-watering. Yep, I have a dark brown suspicion that it is curtains for your plant; however, I am not one to give up...so I would remain optimistic until the end. Perhaps you should take your plant home and try to revive it there. Maybe the air in your living room is dryer than office air. Good luck with your salvage operation.
Ponytail palm has a papery outer layer. Is that what you are calling spongy or does it feel deeper than the outer part ? I would go ahead and repot it with a layer of gravel at the bottom then a good sandy mix and the palm only in the top third of soil !! Light water every two to three weeks depending on how the soil feels to you . Barely moist is best. Then as much sun as you can give it. Put it outside during the middle of the day, since it has no leaves even a frost should not hurt the remainder of the plant. Bring it in at night. Then cross your fingers and say a prayer. Keep checking for any new growth. Of course if the roots are mushy,, no point in doing anything.
