Anybody growing Ponytail Palm in zone 8b?

[DAVEinMB]

Well the "can I zone push" wheels are in motion in my brain again and this time it's Ponytail Palm. Been seeing them for sale around here and thought they were way less hardy than what I've been reading online recently.  Wanted to see if anyone has had luck with them in a cold 9a / warm 8b. 

Thanks, Dave

[lrnasd90]

Mine accidentally got left outside in concrete pots this past Feb when it got down to 8 degree here at my house, I live in 9a, 30 miles from Gulf of Mexico.  I thought surely they where toast, the pot even busted apart because it froze, I actually had two.  They both came back and a year later have almost made it back to size they were, even in the busted pot.  I will try to get some pictures.

 

[DAVEinMB]

30 minutes ago, lrnasd90 said:

Mine accidentally got left outside in concrete pots this past Feb when it got down to 8 degree here at my house, I live in 9a, 30 miles from Gulf of Mexico.  I thought surely they where toast, the pot even busted apart because it froze, I actually had two.  They both came back and a year later have almost made it back to size they were, even in the busted pot.  I will try to get some pictures.

 

Damn, that's wild. Yea, would love to see some pics 

[Pee Dee Palms]

This is a topic that I was curious about too. Everywhere I've read makes it sound like MB would be a perfect climate for one. I see many websites say they are 9a-8b (mostly 8b) but, I've never seen any outside here. They are incredibly common to find at Lowe's and Home Depot so you'd think people would have them outside. I think most people see them as a houseplant. 

Edited April 25, 2022 by General Sylvester D. Palm

[8BPalms]

I've had two 2-gallon sizes damp off after multiple light and mid freezes in the 20s last year, but they held on for a good bit and two others survived by the base and regenerated pretty quickly when it warmed up. Btw the survivors were basically unaffected this past winter with a low of 25. There is a 15 gallon size growing in a pot under some heavy oak canopy a bit north of here that has seen temperatures a bit under 20F and it's still surviving pretty well. I think as long as the base/trunk is alright and the roots don't damp off they can regenerate pretty easily if a freeze gets the current shoots. I think the key is to get the base as tough as possible and protect it. I read they can take 19F but I think it would take a pretty big one that's exposed not to be damaged by that temp especially with frost.

Edited April 25, 2022 by 8BPalms

[Merlyn]

I have a couple of large ones, with about a 6' diameter base and 15' tall multi-trunked.  The other is a bit smaller, maybe 4' diameter base and 8-10' tall multi-trunk.  Those took essentially no damage at 24-26F with frost.  A small triple with 1.5' diameter bases in the front yard also took no damage.  But a 5g potted one in the backyard defoliated and the trunks rotted.  I haven't trashed it yet, since it *might* regrow from the caudex. 

They actually work very well indoors, so you could always just grow one inside until it's too big and heavy to move around.  Then move it outside and hope it survives!  I have a pair indoors, and they are relentlessly chewed upon by the cats, and still do just fine.  They don't seem to be susceptible to bugs indoors, except for one that got a mealybug infestation once.

[DAVEinMB]

As always thank you guys for the info, you're awesome 

sounds like one of these stands a reasonable chance here and I just so happened to be passing by a Lowe's today soooooo

[lrnasd90]

The pots are basically 12 inches inside.  Both palms where outside on the driveway just like they are now during Feb 2021 freeze, I got down the 8 degrees at my house.  It stayed below freezing for like 4-5 days straight.  I had so many other plants to try and save I had to pick my battles.   The main stems on both died completely, all the green fell off.  They felt kind of soft, but I left them sitting there and didn't do anything to them.  About 5 months or so after they started to show signs of life.  They seem to be doing okay now despite my abuse.  I do water them now about ever week or so, but the pots pretty much filled with plant, so not much water get to the roots and the busted pot one seems to be doing just fine.  I am in the process of moving, but when I get the my new house I will treat them to some new pots...probably a mistake, haha.  

[DAVEinMB]

@lrnasd90 that is super cool and one tough plant! Thanks for the pics!

[Merlyn]

On 4/25/2022 at 3:10 PM, DAVEinMB said:

As always thank you guys for the info, you're awesome 

sounds like one of these stands a reasonable chance here and I just so happened to be passing by a Lowe's today soooooo

I like the Guatamalensis versions too, I have a couple of smaller ones just like yours.  The red/pink new leaves are neat!

[DAVEinMB]

19 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

I like the Guatamalensis versions too, I have a couple of smaller ones just like yours.  The red/pink new leaves are neat!

I have to say, I am not versed at all in these plants and up until very recently thought they had zero chance in Myrtle; But all of what I'm hearing here is getting me pretty excited to see how one will do. They somewhat look like a wild mutation of cordyline australis, very unique. 

[Graydon]

I live in McAllen, TX, very close to 10a,  which is just south in Rio Bravo.  There are corpses of this plant everywhere.   Yes, some survive our very rare freezes.   Those that do are usually under other trees or up against walls.   

[lrnasd90]

Another thing that might have saved my plants from the 8 degrees is they had about inch or more of frozen sleet/snow/ice on them. I was looking back and videos I took and realized everything was covered. That didn't save most of my plants, but that could have help save those.  And these two particular plants aren't under any cover and are up against a fence.  And maybe mine are a different variety?  It's a plant I got from my grandmother's house that lived north of me. She had it planted in the ground out in front of her house. It died back to the ground every winter and came back.  I got a couple of cuttings off that plant.   It had been in the ground there for 30+ years and never got any bigger than a volley ball. I suspect because it was constantly dying back. But every year it would sprout new "ponytails" so one year I cut a couple off about half the size of a golf ball and got them to root.   That's been 15 years ago or more.  Knowing my grandma it probably came from the local Wal-Mart.  Would have been 45 years ago now. So no telling. 

[jwf1983]

We have a potted ponytail palm and have wondered just how hardy it is.  We recently moved to another house, downtown, in Washington, DC. Other than the coldest nights in January, we’ve kept it out in our back yard, due to the fact that it takes up a good deal of space inside.  Even compared to our sagos, the ponytail seems to handle cold a bit better, so long as it gets enough sunlight.  That said, my wife wants to try and possibly plant it in a couple years along our south acing fence, as she thinks it will survive.  She’s from the south of Brazil, and thinks anything can grow if you care for it, despite me often reminding her just how cold it can get around here.  While I don’t know if we will ever actually plant it, I have noticed that it seems to endure much more cold than I ever expected.  It also appears that abundant sunshine or lack of sunshine has a far more pronounced impact on its overall health. I believe our location is a debatable 8a, so I can totally see how planted specimen would survive in places like Gainesville, FL.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it made it in places like Savannah or Charleston or Myrtle Beach. 

[Rain52]

Few Jacksonville beaches ponytail pics, quite a few old specimens around here.