How to Care for Ponytail Palm Sprouts
- 1). Plant the ponytail palm in a pot with well-drained soil. The pot should be just 3 to 4 inches larger than the widest part of the caudex. Ponytail palms do well in a mixture of two parts potting soil and one part sand. The biggest problem this easy-to-care-for plant is over-watering, which means providing a well-drained soil is crucial. Be careful to bury only the roots of the main plant and not the offsets or sprouts.
- 2). Place the plant in a bright sunny location where temperatures are 65 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Ponytail palms can tolerate light humidity but full sun and warm temperatures are a must. The sprouts are offsets born on the sides of the plant. Care must be taken to keep them in bright but indirect light so they don't burn.
- 3). Water a ponytail palm deeply in spring and summer but then allow it to fully dry out before irrigation again. The plant only needs to be watered once or sometimes not at all in winter. Watch the leaves for wilt or yellowing and then apply water. The sprouts will gather what moisture they need from the parent plant.
- 4). Separate the sprouts from the parent plant to start new plants. Use a clean sharp knife and cut them off the main stem. Dip the ends into a rooting hormone. Plant them in individual pots filled with peat moss and mist the moss until it is evenly moist.
- 5). Make a sphagnum moss poultice as an alternative to cutting the sprouts off the main plant. This is called air layering. Moisten the moss and press it in around the base of the offset or sprout. Allow the moss to dry out and then mist it. Dot this repeatedly over several weeks until you see roots begin to form. Cut the sprout off and plant it in potting soil and sand.
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