Ponytail Palm - DOUBLE ? ?

[The Silent Seed]

This is a first for me - is it just a case of me missing them in the past, or is this a rarity? 

Had to take this cutie pie home! 

[Fusca]

I doubt that it is rare.  The only one I've ever had now has 4 or 5 heads and the base has an elongated shape to it.  It's probably possible to separate them and I considered looking into it, but for now it looks interesting like it is.  Yours looks much more symmetrical!  I've read where they flower and produce seeds - there were several "trees" that were flowering in my old neighborhood in Corpus Christi, but never got to see any seeds.

Jon

[Tracy]

1 hour ago, santoury said:

This is a first for me - is it just a case of me missing them in the past, or is this a rarity? 

Large plants are often multiheaded.  I had one that accidentally got its top lopped off by a falling block when I was replacing a fence with block.  It grew back with a couple multiple heads.  I had another that was getting too tall and I wanted it to remain shorter in the space, so I lopped its top off to allow it to restart and then picked the heads I wanted to retain.  These things are bulletproof!  I planted from 8" 1/2 gallon pots in my first garden in about 1989.  The person who bought the house said she was going to remove them, so I dug them in 1996 and moved them to the house we moved to next.  I have about 5 of them still growing in that garden and all have flowered over the years, but only two of them remain single headed.

The one below was a single head growing up over the wall, and I wanted it to remain below the Clinostigma to fill the area below the wall.  You can see it had about 3 heads when this photo was taken last year.

[Tracy]

The other one that lost its head about 10 years ago is now back up over the wall to the left and behind the Pritchardia.  Sorry no photos of the bases on these guys.

[The Silent Seed]

Gotta love these guys! I was aware they could branch or develop heads up higher on the trunk, but I've never seen two "bases" together. (I can't quite tell if it was originally two seedlings that grew / fused together, or what.) 

I have an old one that I was gifted about 10 years ago - it's only about 2 feet tall, but about 1 1/2 feet wide at the base. I love how each one has its own personality! 

[Umbrae]

One of my first horticultural trophies 

[The Silent Seed]

Holy cow! Look at that thing! How old is it, do you know? I think that one wins the gold! 

[jimmyt]

Umbrae,

 

     Wowee!   Your ponytail palm should have its own zip code!    Ginormous!

[5150cycad]

13 hours ago, santoury said:

Gotta love these guys! I was aware they could branch or develop heads up higher on the trunk, but I've never seen two "bases" together. (I can't quite tell if it was originally two seedlings that grew / fused together, or what.) 

I have an old one that I was gifted about 10 years ago - it's only about 2 feet tall, but about 1 1/2 feet wide at the base. I love how each one has its own personality! 

Here are pictures of two of my Beaucarnea Stricta, which is a close relative to the Beaucarnea Recurvata (ponytail palm). It is pretty common to have bases fused together which I think is a really cool look. Mine are not fused at the base but they do tend to throw out new shoots all over the bulb as well as all the way up the stem/trunk. Usually when they flower they will start producing multi heads or growing points. The last picture shows what happens after flowering. 

[Silas_Sancona]

^ ..Big for sure,

v.. Really big.. The Huntington, 4/28/2013

[Umbrae]

Some other big ones at the nursery 

[The Silent Seed]

Those look familiar - that's not in Miami is it? If they are - I think I have been there! 

[Umbrae]

No nowhere near Miami