Ponytail in flower - again!

[Richard Sherratt]

In January this year I asked a question about a ponytail in a big pot
in Melbourne that had produced a flower stalk. After a few months the
flowers died/dropped off and eventually the stalk seemed to die. We
didn't know what to do, so we cut the thing off close to the base. The
stump of the flower stalk dried off completely and was easy to remove.
We've been a bit perturbed that no more fronds have developed from the
crown. However ...

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that we now have two flower stalks
developing from the side of the old crown. Each one is surrounded by
new green fronds and seems to be the start of a new crown.

We've had the ponytail since about 1990 or 1991. It was a gift from
friends in Noosa.

Is this normal? What happens next? Maybe we should have tried to
collect seeds from the old, dried flower stalk.

Regards,
Richard.

[M. Tiefert]

In article >, wrote:

> A couple of weeks ago I noticed that we now have two flower stalks
> developing from the side of the old crown. Each one is surrounded by
> new green fronds and seems to be the start of a new crown.

> Is this normal? What happens next? Maybe we should have tried to
> collect seeds from the old, dried flower stalk.

Hi Richard,

I don't know about flower stalks, but old pony tails (you mean
Beaucarnea recurvata, right?) can put up multiple 'heads'. There are
several growing outdoors in San Diego, California, that are almost a
meter across at the base and have 3-4 stalks with crowns of leaves.

cheers,

Marj

* * *
Marj Tiefert: http://www.mindspring.com/~mtiefert/
Mediterranean Garden Shop: http://stores.tiefert.com/garden/
In Sunset zone 14-mild

[Richard Sherratt]

On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 20:26:57 GMT, (M. Tiefert)
wrote:

>In article >, wrote:
>
>> A couple of weeks ago I noticed that we now have two flower stalks
>> developing from the side of the old crown. Each one is surrounded by
>> new green fronds and seems to be the start of a new crown.
>
>> Is this normal? What happens next? Maybe we should have tried to
>> collect seeds from the old, dried flower stalk.

>I don't know about flower stalks, but old pony tails (you mean
>Beaucarnea recurvata, right?)

I think that's what we have. The flower stalks come up from the middle
of each crown. They're light green, about 2cm diameter with a broken
surface. They get to about a metre high, gradually turning a lighter
green/almost white as the broken surface splits open to reveal lots of
mini-stalks about 4cm long growing from a central stem. The ends of
the mini-stalks are covered in light green/white flowers. Hmmmm. One
of these days I'll get a digital camera.

> can put up multiple 'heads'. There are
>several growing outdoors in San Diego, California, that are almost a
>meter across at the base and have 3-4 stalks with crowns of leaves.

Good-o. Ours is about 30cm across at the base. Looks like we're doing
the right thing - whatever that is. I wasn't quite sure because we're
about 2,000 Km south of Noosa (where this thing came from) and that
makes a difference in climate. They're steamy tropical (pineapples,
bananas and sugar cane) whereas we're dryer and seasonal (lemons,
figs, nectarines) with some hot summer days (>40C) and a light frost
in the winter every few years.

Regards,
Richard.

[Richard Sherratt]

On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 20:26:57 GMT, (M. Tiefert)
wrote:

>In article >, wrote:
>
>> A couple of weeks ago I noticed that we now have two flower stalks
>> developing from the side of the old crown. Each one is surrounded by
>> new green fronds and seems to be the start of a new crown.
>
>> Is this normal? What happens next? Maybe we should have tried to
>> collect seeds from the old, dried flower stalk.

>I don't know about flower stalks, but old pony tails (you mean
>Beaucarnea recurvata, right?)

I think that's what we have.

The flower stalks come up from the middle of each crown. They're light
green, about 2cm diameter with a broken surface. They get to about a
metre high, gradually turning a lighter green/almost white as the
broken surface splits open to reveal lots of mini-stalks about 4cm
long growing from a central stem. The ends of the mini-stalks are
covered in light green/white flowers. Hmmmm. One of these days I'll
get a digital camera.

> can put up multiple 'heads'. There are
>several growing outdoors in San Diego, California, that are almost a
>meter across at the base and have 3-4 stalks with crowns of leaves.

Good-o. Thanks for the info. Ours is about 30cm across at the base.

Looks like we're doing the right thing - whatever that is. I wasn't
quite sure because we're about 2,000 Km south of Noosa (where this
thing came from) and that makes a difference in climate. They're
steamy tropical (pineapples, bananas and sugar cane) whereas we're
dryer and seasonal (lemons, figs, nectarines) with some hot summer
days (>40C) and a light frost in the winter every few years.

Regards,
Richard.