How to Repot Ponytail Plants
- 1). Repot only healthy ponytail plants. Solve any health problems and let the plant become well established before transferring it to another pot. Repot only a ponytail plant that is root bound and seems just about to burst its pot.
- 2). Wait until the early spring just before new growth begins to repot a ponytail plant. Let the soil become extremely dry. This should not be difficult because the ponytail plant requires very little water, especially during the winter dormant period.
- 3). Lift the ponytail plant out of its current container. You may have to hold it by the trunk and pry the pot off in a downward motion. If the plant is very big, get someone to help you.
- 4). Use a stick or your hands to scrape all the previous potting soil off the root ball. Cut off the larger roots about 3 inches from the plant with sharp pruning shears.
- 5). Place the ponytail plant in a new, empty pot. The pot should have at least one drainage hole. It should be larger than the old pot but leave only 2 or 3 inches between the base of the plant and the sides of the pot. A ponytail plant will grow very slowly, but it will grow to the size of the pot.
- 6). Use sand, perlite, vermiculite or pumice as a potting medium. A mixture with any combination of these is acceptable as well. Pour a few inches of the medium into the bottom of the new pot.
- 7). Set the ponytail plant on the medium. Pour more medium around the base of the ponytail plant. Do not tamp the soil too firmly. Let it remain very loose around the sides of the root ball. Leave the same amount of plant sticking out of the medium that was sticking out in the old pot.
- 8). Avoid watering the ponytail plant for at least a week to give the cut roots time to heal. Otherwise, root rot can set in.
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