IS ponytail palm best grown in a pot or ground, full sun or shade?
They can be planted in the ground in areas where it does not get colder than 20F. If you live in an area like this, you can plant it in the ground. If it gets colder than 20F, it is best to keep it in a container that you can bring in for the winter.
It likes full sun.
I live in Houston, Texas and own a lot of palms and banana trees. I just recently bought a ponytail palm to go outside. I am not very familiar with this palm, although I found out it is in the lily family. I have tried looking online to find out about the survival rate of planting it in the ground instead of a pot indoors. I can't find anything on this matter. Also, when I bought this palm it had 5 small babies in the same pot. They all had sufficient roots, so I separated them and planted them in the ground too. I would like to know if this is okay. So, my questions are: 1. Can the ponytail palm live outside year round and cover it when it does get cold? 2. Will the babies that I pulled off survive? 3. How fast does this ponytail palm grow?
the ponytail palm is a slow grower, this will explain how to propagate the babies, which are called pups:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/palms-trees/propagate-palm-pups.htm
What is the best way to root the prunings of a ponytail palm?
OK, so I don't really know how to answer this - most people don't prune ponytail palms, and I've never tried to root a piece. But if I had a piece of trunk, or one of the side shoots that sometimes come up, I would put it in wet perlite with a plastic bag over it as a mini-greenhouse, and be very patient. But I do know that this is the only part that could root; the leaves will not. Let me know how your experiment works out.
My ponytail palm has bloomed twice in the last couple of years or so. It's quite beautiful, This year it had 3 flower stalks bloom. This plant is growing like crazy, there must be a good 20 new growths on the stalk. Is that okay or is there something I need to be doing? I've tried pinching them off, but I tell you as soon as I do there'll be three more popping out the next day. I've replanted it and to be honest I have no idea what else to do. Do you have any suggestions?
That is ok. They are just pups and are how the plant propagates itself. This article will help you with removing them and starting them, if you would like. You can always share them with friends. :)
http://www.walterreeves.com/gardening-q-and-a/ponytail-palm-propagating/
My 30 yr old palm bloomed for the first time this year. After blooms were gone the tree looks terrible. How can I get it to come back to life??
When my now 38 year old ponytail bloomed, it was about 13 feet tall and single stemmed. Living in zone 6, the plant was too large to bring back inside, so I cut it back to let it send out multiple stems. Four years later, it is prettier than ever with 8 stems and lots of foliage. Hope this helps.
Have been told ponytail palms are male or female, and can tell the difference of each palm by the different shape flower.
My oldest ponytail, 45-50 years old, has been a member of the family 39 years. It bloomed once, about 7 years ago. Since the bloom spike was 15 feet in the air, and each bloom was so tiny, we didn't see any differences. No seed were produced. Sorry for not having a more definate answer to your question.
It's at least 4-5 feet across and about 15 foot high.
Assuming you want to relocate the plant, here is what I'd do. Dig 18-20 inches out from the caudex, (bulb/bottom) to a depth of 18-20 inches below the caudex. With a plant this large, you will have to have equipment to lift and move. My largest ponytail is about half the size of yours, and we lay it down and roll it, but it is in a container. Since most succulents don't have a huge root system, they usually aren't traumatized as dramatically when moved as leafy/tropical plants. Water the plant in, then keep new location barely moist until re-established. Kept too wet, the plant might not live...remember that caudex is like a sponge full of water.