Are these ponytail palms healthy?
I was going to buy one at the store but I’m not sure they are healthy. They both have some white on the stem and on their leaves, some fully brown leaves and some brown tipped leaves, and one had something that looked like a gnat which makes me worry about fungus gnats.
Last watered 1 month ago
3
Those look overly wet to me with white mineral deposits from the water. The leaves don’t look healthy and I highly suspect thrips. I would take a hard pass on them unless they’re a great deal/free and you’re planning on keeping outside. You could treat with your choice of pest control. I like Captains Jacks Insecticidal Super Soap. It’s organic and the Super formula has spinosad which hits thrips as well. Definitely repot right away with cactus succulent mix and throw out the old container and soil in the trash. You don’t want any hitchhikers 🐛 🐜 🦟🪳🪰 I definitely would not introduce the plant inside until you start to see new healthy growth and no sign of pests. Those stripy lines down the leaves definitely look like thrip damage. Once you’ve gotten rid of the thrips they won’t go back to all green so you can cut off any badly damaged leaves. Some of mine were only slightly damaged so I didn’t cut them off. Hope this helps!
@MariansOasis okay thank you, I’m glad I passed on it. It’s getting to be pretty cold here so I think I’ll probably pass on them
@HealthfulGollum Hi Julia- you could always repot them when you got home! This species are in desperate need of saving! Myself, I can’t pass one up in the store that needs my help! I’m a sucker like that for these beautiful succulents! If it were me, I would buy the one that was in the worse shape and take it home and make it healthy and new, but that is just me. I know that Home Depot has them a lot of time if you are looking to just get a new one! The white on the truck is probably from fertilizer with too much salts in it or there wasnt enough water mixed with it. That is fixed by repotting and rinsing the rootball off really good with fresh clean water. The leaves having those sparse light areas is probably the fertilizer as well. The wrong kind was probably used which caused all the damage. Also, being left outside like that keeps them wet, that too could cause the leaves to discolor. I bought several back in June that are now healthy and happy! I will probably sell them to someone whom I trust to keep them healthy. Plants are like pets to me! 🤣 I don’t give them to just anyone! I wish you the very very best of luck on your search for a new pony! 🪴🌺