Close up photo.

There is a problem with common names. I hope we are talking about the same plant.
If so there is one down the yard, A single plant about 1.5 metres tall "underpotted" in a 60cm pot.
It is un-killable except perhaps with too much kindness.
Too much mixture, too much water etc.
The good thing is that it grows slowly, so you can enjoy it for ages before you decide on just a single growth and yes the stringy bits are roots. Conditions where it is growing. Full sun. Extreme temps Min 2C Max 42.5c
Average Summer 17 -27C Average Winter 7-17C.

Here is a link that might be useful: ponytail plant

Thanks, arthurm. Your big guy sounds fabulous. Mine will live indoors, as we're in Canada -- a far cry from your sunny climes.

Do you know if the roots being on the surface are a problem?

Should I repot it? Yes The bulbous stems are making the plastic pot bulge out near the top, but I think there are air pockets at the bottom since when I press there the plastic indents easily. If/when I repot it, should it be in a shallower pot i.e. how much depth does it need under the bulbous parts? You can repot it so the soil is even with where it is now or slightly shallower. Keep in mind that shallow pots are harder to grow in and demand a soil that drains more freely than deeper pots. If your soil supports 6" of soggy soil at the bottom of the pot, it will support 6" of soggy soil in ANY pot - deep or shallow; so an 8" deep pot filled to the top using a soil that supports 6" of soggy soil will be 75% saturated after a thorough watering. This plant really does love a soil that drains VERY fast and is well-aerated.

Should I divide the bulbous roots? I like the sculptural look of a single, though I'd rather have one bushy plant than 7 skinny/sparse ones (for which I don't have the room anyway). You can divide if you like, it's a personal preference thing. I like a single caudex with 1 ponytail

Should I try to raise the submerged bulbous stem (caudex?). Personal preference ..... Will it suffer from being submerged as it is? No

Are those dry stringy things on the surface of the soil some of the plant's roots? Yes, but nothing to worry about, other than it possibly being symptomatic of the root congestion you described.

I know it needs a very light hand with watering, but when I do water it, how do I do it? The water just flows off the top surface and down the sides. It doesn't really need a light hand when you water. In fact, you should be able to water heavy-handedly when you water. At a minimum, the plant wants a soil you can water to beyond full saturation (so you're flushing the soil when you water) w/o having to worry about the soil staying soggy so long it inhibits root function or causes problems with the roots/caudex.

Al

Thank you VERY much for all this. Super helpful.

What kind of soil would you recommend? A cactus-mix? I'm not adept at amending my own, so I'd like to go with something I can easily buy.

Thanks again!

This post was edited by nischa on Sat, Aug 2, 14 at 19:06

Super advice in the post above. There is very little "soil" in the 60C pot. I mixed it and it probably could be called Cactus Mix. Mostly plant in the pot. Mostly sunny climate with uneven rainfall. When it does rain it can be very heavy and I was aware that the plant must dry quickly.
Enjoy!

I haven't had occasion to use cactus mix before. Guess it's time to try it!

Another question:

If dividing, will the bulbous roots separate easily from one another, or are they fused together? If so, do you cut them apart with a sharp knife, or just pull/snap them apart?

When I repotted mine, I knocked off as much of the loose dirt that I could and then washed off the rest with a garden hose sprayer. All the roots were tangled up, so I just kind of wiggled the plants by their trunks, while slowly pulling them apart. This separated them from each other without harming any of their roots. I still planted them all together in a bigger pot, I just spread them out further to give them more room to grow. I also used the Miracle Gro soil for Cacti & Succulents.

Thanks for your post, ToMMyBoY69. That sounds like a good plan for me, too, so I think I will follow exactly what you did. It's something I'd be comfortable tackling. Plus, that's a soil I can buy here!

It sounds like the finer roots can intertwine, but the big bulbs remain independent (i.e. they don't fuse together). That makes things easier.

This post was edited by nischa on Sat, Aug 2, 14 at 21:29

Because I make this soil bushels at a time, I wouldn't consider using anything else for ponytails.
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It drains completely after you water.

Keep in mind that there is a tremendous amount of hype that goes into marketing horticultural products, including soils; and the product IN the bag isn't necessarily appropriate for the market targeted ON the bag.

Ponytails will TOLERATE a lot of abuse - tight roots, dry conditions for weeks on end, lack of appropriate nutrition, ..... but that doesn't mean they like it. Growers get what a plant will tolerate confused with what it prefers on a regular basis. If you like stasis - you can spent little time/effort on the plant and it will probably survive, as long as it's not over-watered; but, if you want a dynamic plant that shows off its vitality and ability to grow, it needs to be given the same considerations you might give a more temperamental plant.

Al

Yup, I'm aware of the difference between tolerable and optimal conditions, and would obviously prefer to aim for optimal.

I've never seen "soil" like that. Thanks for the pic -- it's helpful to see, and I can easily imagine it drains instantly and completely. Given that I don't have anything like that, what do you think of commercially marketed cactus soil for a ponytail?

This post was edited by nischa on Sat, Aug 2, 14 at 22:14

Do you know if you have access to pine bark that looks like one of the products at 3, 6, or 9 o'clock in the first pic?
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If you do, you can easily make a soil much more likely to be suitable for your PT than something you can find on a shelf. It would be made with bark, peat, perlite, and lime, and look something like this:
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The key is making sure your soil is primarily made from coarse material. Water retention is directly related to particle size, so soils based on peat, compost, composted forest products, coir, sand, ..... are all sure to be excessively water retentive. A good grower can make almost anything work reasonably well, but that doesn't mean the reasonably well part doesn't also come with a set of problems that would simply go away if an appropriate soil is adopted.

Al

Again, super helpful! This insight into growing media is fascinating. Your pics really drive it home, particularly wrt particle size, and it's excellent that you include small familiar objects for scale.

I live downtown in a big city, so I don't have anything like this on hand, not easily anyway. Though I can look/ask around (it's good to have a quest). I can see needing to buy a large bag of each (bark, peat, perlite, lime) to make just 3 cups of soil for one plant. Though if you ever find yourself coming to Toronto, I'd be happy to buy some of your nifty mix from you!

My Ponytails do more than just tolerate the MG Cacti & Succulent soil, they thrive in it. The smaller pot with five plants in it, I've already had to transplant every single year. Because they keep outgrowing the pot that I've had them in. They're currently in a pot one size larger than the one in this photo.

I grow them outside for most of the year and water them roughly every other day. Even when I have them indoors during the colder months, their soil dries out pretty fast.

One thing I'd like to point out is, when growing them indoors, don't get any water in the central crown of the plant(s). This can quickly lead to rot. Growing mine outdoors, I don't worry about this one bit. I'm always spraying mine down with the garden hose sprayer. But when I bring them back indoors, I never get the leaves wet. I just wanted to give you a heads up, if ya didn't already know. I had to learn this lesson the hard way many years ago when I didn't know any better.

If only we'd had this discussion a week ago. My nephew is a master glass blower and just finished a fellowship at the Toronto Institute of Art. He JUST this week packed up after a visit home and in preparation for his relocating to Vancouver Island. He met a young woman from Toronto while studying in New Zealand, fell in love, and is moving to the island where she teaches. While in New Zealand, he blew all the glass steins, bowls, flasks that were used as props and backdrops in the Hobbit movie that came out last year or year before.

I'm going to link you to a thread that discusses soil/water relationships and the impact that relationship has on plant vitality and your ability to help your plant realize its genetic potential. If you do spend some time at that thread, please ask the others if they know where a suitable bark product can be found in Toronto.

This link will take you there.

The fastest way to a green thumb isn't so dependent on how long you've been at it, as it is on how much you know.

Al

Here is a link that might be useful: This one should be helpful, too.

Thanks for the photo, ToMMyBoY69! Your larger Pony in particular looks fantastic. I love its wonderful silhouette, so much nicer than my chaotic jumble (I guess that's what you get with a rescue plant). I'm going to keep mine 7 stems all together for now, but hopefully if they grow well then one day I'll pot them up separately and they may approach the look of yours. It's an inspiration!

Thanks also for the confirmation that the cactus soil works well for you. Realistically speaking, that's probably the way I'm going to go since that's what I can get here. The watering tip? Good to know. I had read that for some other plants, but it's good to have it explicitly stated for the this one, too.

Such a near miss! Timing is everything. I will check out that link, when I have a bit more time, probably next week. What an exciting story your nephew has!

One other thing, during the Winter months, I keep my Ponytails more on the dry side, letting them dry out considerably before watering them again. This helps to slow down their growth rate somewhat. Because if they don't get bright light, any new leaves will tend to droop and sag. Then, when Spring rolls around, they'll begin to send out new growth. When it warms up enough, I move them outside to give them direct sunlight and increase their watering. Ponytails need bright light for their leaves to grow perky and erect with that graceful curvature that gives them their beauty.

How interesting! And very helpful to know. I'm curious, will drooping/sagging leaves perk up if the plant later gets more sun?

I have an east-facing balcony that gets strong sun in the mornings and good (if more diffuse) light the rest of the day. It was my understanding that they don't like blistering sun, so I haven't put it out there. What do you think? (It is sitting in an east facing window, but the blinds only go up after the super-strong sun has moved away.)

Oh, and just so you know, your Ponytails look happy and healthy for their young age. As you can see with my smaller pot of Ponytails, they're not at all that spectacular looking either. That's pretty much how they look until they grow bigger. Then they start to look more like a palm.

Another word of advise, sometimes the tips of the leaves will naturally turn brown. Don't trim them. If you do, the trimmed ends will just do the same. It's not that big of a deal at such a young age, but in the future, when they're older, I would just leave the tips alone. I learned that lesson the hard way too, lol.

If the leaves grow in all limp, they'll pretty much stay that way. But any newer growth in brighter light will come in stronger. I grow mine in full, direct sunlight the entire time it stays outdoors. It doesn't phase them one bit. Just keep them watered pretty good, if/when growing them outdoors.

Thanks again. We're amassing an excellent little guidebook here! I might put my guy on the balcony for a while, and no more trimming of brown tips. All good stuff to know. I really appreciate your taking the time to answer all these questions, share your own (obviously successful!) experience and provide all these tips.