Propagating ponytail palm

Question

My ponytail palm, now at 11 feet, is too tall to bring inside for winter. It has produced a leafy shoot about halfway up and I would like to cut the trunk just above that shoot, leaving half the trunk, all new growth and the foot with all its roots to continue. Is there a good chance that if I coat the cut end of the upper part of the trunk with ferti-lome rooting powder and repot that end, that it would take root? The upper part of the plant also has abundant leaves. Objective being to have a more or less matched pair of manageable five-foot ponytail palms instead of the one which has become almost unmanageable. Any advice for me?

Kitty Corbett, Aiken, SC

Answer 1

Yes, this sounds like a good plan. Here’s more information on separating “pups” that grow on ponytail palms:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/ponytail-palm/propagating-ponytail-palm-pups.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/palms-trees/propagate-palm-pups.htm