Hello everyone i am new to this site. I need advice to help this poor little Bonsai flourish. I have had this plant for many years and i just dont know what to do. The tips of the stands turn yellow alot so i just have been clipping them. I dont know how much water or light it needs or fertilizer. Should it be re-potted? If so how do i go about doing that because it has some sort hard gravel on the top. I would so appreciate any help i can get to make this plant beautiful, before i loose it. Thank you very much!
This sad bonsai needs some help,,,please
- Thread starter brenb
- Start date
TN_Jim
Omono
I have had one of those as a house plant for forever. The secret is, water about once every two months...neglect = success.
Repot into extremely well draining soil, pot that drains...cut off any rotten roots...and...ignore
Water is this plants enemy
Repot into extremely well draining soil, pot that drains...cut off any rotten roots...and...ignore
Water is this plants enemy
TN_Jim
Omono
...ok...2 months may be extreme, but maybe not..I water my cacti more than this one
It looks like a pony tail palm, they don't really make true bonsai since, like other palms, they don't form branches... they make very lovely elegant houseplants though. They like to be very dry, the fat trunk stores water.
If the gravel on top is glued in place, you need to pry it off. That glue layer is probably trapping water at the roots and preventing air from getting to them. You can repot it if the soil looks very dense or stays wet but they are not picky trees as long as their roots are not constantly wet.
I wouldn't worry about just the tips of the fronds yellowing a little. Mine does this as well and it's healthy. I've read that the chlorine in tap water can cause the yellow tips, you might have better luck letting the water sit in the watering can for a day before you water. Mostly, you just don't want to overwater. They are desert trees. I water mine once every week or two but it's in a very small pot for its size, yours is in a larger pot so it should be able to go much longer.
If the gravel on top is glued in place, you need to pry it off. That glue layer is probably trapping water at the roots and preventing air from getting to them. You can repot it if the soil looks very dense or stays wet but they are not picky trees as long as their roots are not constantly wet.
I wouldn't worry about just the tips of the fronds yellowing a little. Mine does this as well and it's healthy. I've read that the chlorine in tap water can cause the yellow tips, you might have better luck letting the water sit in the watering can for a day before you water. Mostly, you just don't want to overwater. They are desert trees. I water mine once every week or two but it's in a very small pot for its size, yours is in a larger pot so it should be able to go much longer.
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sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Welcome to Crazy!
I worked with one of the shittiest human beings ever once.
This human consumed only gas station hotdogs and .55cent energy drinks.
The Smell that came off this human was exactly what you would imagine the smell to be, if this person had a constant ass gas leak, which they did. The Smell was that bad and constant.
This shitty human also would cut their fingernails, in a manner that would have shards flying over the cubicle wall, landing into your workplace, and whatever present, a snack, coffee...etc.
That legit shittiest person I have ever met in my life kept one of these alive!
So the fact that you are killing this is only a sign that you are a much better human than that! Bravo! Let it die!
Also...because Karma Cares!
Same fuck would bring his Audi and make any excuse to leave it in the lot to show off...
Until a water main broke and froze that piece of shit car to the parking lot with water up to the pedals!
Sorce
I worked with one of the shittiest human beings ever once.
This human consumed only gas station hotdogs and .55cent energy drinks.
The Smell that came off this human was exactly what you would imagine the smell to be, if this person had a constant ass gas leak, which they did. The Smell was that bad and constant.
This shitty human also would cut their fingernails, in a manner that would have shards flying over the cubicle wall, landing into your workplace, and whatever present, a snack, coffee...etc.
That legit shittiest person I have ever met in my life kept one of these alive!
So the fact that you are killing this is only a sign that you are a much better human than that! Bravo! Let it die!
Also...because Karma Cares!
Same fuck would bring his Audi and make any excuse to leave it in the lot to show off...
Until a water main broke and froze that piece of shit car to the parking lot with water up to the pedals!
Sorce
GGB
Masterpiece
I feel like that should be saved as a reference, filed under "Ponytail palm care"
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
GrimLore
Bonsai Nut alumnus... we miss you
We have one 3 years or so now, up potted it a bit last year, grows like a weed but looks very good... IMHO nice plant potted, easy low care, ours is still in a Nursery pot but is going into a Bonsai training pot because it just looks nice...
It is OK to enjoy all types of plants and I encourage all to do so...
Back to the OP, they require very little care and grow nicely when they can be outside in dappled sun. Indoors they will grow just not as fast while remaining healthy and requiring very little care. Like a Desert Rose I water it once a month outside or inside. Fertilize once a year in Spring when they go outside...
After repot in a few weeks I will post a picture outdoors - just a nice plant to have about mixed in with others all year
There is NOTHING wrong with adding plants including Flora to your plant collection and it adds interest.
Grimmy
It is OK to enjoy all types of plants and I encourage all to do so...
Back to the OP, they require very little care and grow nicely when they can be outside in dappled sun. Indoors they will grow just not as fast while remaining healthy and requiring very little care. Like a Desert Rose I water it once a month outside or inside. Fertilize once a year in Spring when they go outside...
After repot in a few weeks I will post a picture outdoors - just a nice plant to have about mixed in with others all year
There is NOTHING wrong with adding plants including Flora to your plant collection and it adds interest.
Grimmy
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
I love these trees!
F them not being nice "bonsai".
Great taper....and there isn't a better palm representation.
They are very very very simple bonsai....
That's all.
Still plenty joyful!
Sorce
F them not being nice "bonsai".
Great taper....and there isn't a better palm representation.
They are very very very simple bonsai....
That's all.
Still plenty joyful!
Sorce
Silentrunning
Chumono
I had one when I lived in Florida. It died so I threw it in the compost. A couple of months later I found it had 2 new sprouts coming out of the trunk.
M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
Pretty much the definition of a stick in a pot. But with the right tree and time a stick in a pot can become a real live bonsai. With branches and twigs.
These will always only be a houseplants. Not even up to a stick in a pot standards.
You can put any plant into a bonsai pot. It doesn't mean it is a bonsai.
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Truth. I really dig ponytail palms...as houseplants. Beyond growing one in a bonsai pot, common techniques won’t work to train one into a bonsai in the traditional sense.
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
Pony-tail palms are not closely related to true palms. They are, actually, much more closely related to Yuccas. They are desert plants originally from Eastern Mexico. As people have said, they thrive on neglect. They are slow-growing and do not like to be transplanted, but once established are quite difficult to kill. Quite difficult in this case means that you can take an axe to them, cut them off at ground level, and they will still regrow. You can cut them with a saw at 6" and they will usually throw multiple new leaders - but they are not "branching" plants and the new leader will only grow vertically without branching (similar to Yuccas). They are quite long-lived and the Internet says there are registered examples exceeding 350 years of age.
I have a few in my landscape. I do nothing to them - no water, no fertilizer - and they look awesome. Like cacti and yuccas water is their nemesis. You will kill them by over-watering much more quickly than by under-watering. Allow soil to become BONE DRY between waterings, then water thoroughly in a free-draining mix with almost no organic material (think "desert gravel"). Do not allow the roots to sit in mucky/damp soil or rot will get into the roots and the fibrous stem of the plant.
I have a few in my landscape. I do nothing to them - no water, no fertilizer - and they look awesome. Like cacti and yuccas water is their nemesis. You will kill them by over-watering much more quickly than by under-watering. Allow soil to become BONE DRY between waterings, then water thoroughly in a free-draining mix with almost no organic material (think "desert gravel"). Do not allow the roots to sit in mucky/damp soil or rot will get into the roots and the fibrous stem of the plant.
It's Kev
Omono
My mom had one of these in a plastic pot that had a crack all the way down to the bottom, so when you water, it all just spilled out the crack. It stayed like that for years.
So, care for it with semi-neglect and abuse, pretty much like a rosemary.
So, care for it with semi-neglect and abuse, pretty much like a rosemary.
TN_Jim
Omono
Potawatomi13
Imperial Masterpiece
Actually could use best lighted window if not allowed outdoors in nice weather
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GayGardenGuy
Seedling
I’ve had an experience or two with the ponytail palm. I have a plant that was my grandmother and it was quite old. About four feet tall from trunk base to growing tip. After my house burned down it froze and died which is a shame. They bulbous base stores water and if you water too often it will rot and die.
