Question
I have a pony tail that has developed a brown rusty color ring on the edge of the plant where it meets the soil. It looks great otherwise. There is also white fuzzy mold (I think) on the soil. The plant is about 5 feet tall and in a 17 inch diameter self-watering pot. The pot is 1 inch wider than the plant bulb. I would estimate it weighs around 40 pounds, my husband has to move it for me. I have had the plant for about 15 years now. We moved a year ago to an apartment that only gets light from the north. The plant is about 15 feet from the sliding glass door in the living room. I have only been watering it maybe twice a month and leaving water in the bottom thinking it would use it as needed.

Is the brown color ring part of the mold and how do I get rid of them? Should I change the watering? Is lighting a problem? At what point does it need repotted?

Answer
Marilyn,

A self watering pot is not good for a beaucarnea recurvata or ponytail palm. It keeps the plant too wet. This is a desert plant. That water in the base keeps the lower part of the soil and the roots constantly moist. This is a desert type plant from the plains of Africa and South America where it only rains once a month. It stores water in that bulbous base.

The fuzzy mold indicates the soil is too wet.  It is also not getting enough sun, it needs to be next to that sliding glass door so it gets as much sun as possible, or better yet, during the summer months it would be very happy outdoors in full sun.

You need to immediately empty all the water out of that resevoir in the bottom of the pot and forget that it is there. Then you need to insert a long bamboo skewer into the soil all the way. Two weeks later you should pull the skewer out and see if it is moist. If it is do not water it and put the skewer b ack in the soil. Wait another 3-4 days and check it again. Do not water it until it is dry, then water it from the top of the pot and after that do not water again until the skewer is dry again. Good luck.

Darlene