BCSS - Forum

Picked this up in Homebase today.
Mug for size.

It has two tiny growths coming from lower down.

I'm repotting it so do I take these off. They are tiny. Plant caudex with these above or below compost. And how big a pot dare I use?

Disclaimer - I've never grown it so take my advice with a pinch of salt! If it were mine, I'd leave the side growths on, and give it a pot with a couple of inches to spare all round (it looks very under potted at the moment) and pot at same level. They can grow to the size of a small car, but probably not for a very long time!

These can be quite vigorous, so no need to go for a tiny pot (although the size/ health of the roots will influence this too).

I guess the caudex is about 2 inches across - so at least a 4" pot, I'd say. Plant at about the same depth it is currently.

It's your call about keeping / removing the lower shoots - maybe leave them be for now? If you want to propagate in future, they would probably root easily when a bit bigger. I suspect the plant has been topped to encourage branching - mine is in an 6 inch pot and is still a single stem. It has a certain elegance as is, but maybe a branch or two would also be good.

Thank you both very much. I'll check on roots and leave the tiny growths on for now. Will start with 4 inch pot and see how I get on.

Pedant alert - - genus name should be Beaucarnea.

Hi,

Very nice Beaucarnea... and obviously well grown.

It has the size now to pot it in a much larger pot... maybe the twice the size of the caudex on each side. It obviously loves growing on rocks, so at the base you can have a lot of stone rubble, even in bigger sizes, and finer organic components above. With every repotting keep as much as possible from the caudex above the soil, you can even cut out few roots. It grows larger and faster. If part of the caudex kept in the earth it still grows but slower and can simply smash the pot if frequently watered. Irregular very deep watering during warmer months, a bit of rest in winter. Fertilize 2-3 times a year.

Personally I would not recommend to remove the offsets, it's part of the beauty to grow such a plant - although it happens quite rarely... the stem branches in older plants (or in nurseries they cut it off from a certain height and several new branches come off). Rooted plants do not usually form such a large caudex... and this is the thrill.

I left a much larger plant in the garden when we moved house, it was a bit painful to leave it there but it was too big (and costly) to take it off. I took a smaller one, it was a small seedling in 2003, now has a 45-50 cm wide caudex. Still single stemmed and not too tall.

Cheers,
Eduart

Hi JaneO

Thought you might like to see what can be achieved in a pot with this species. My plant flowered in 2016 which meant the end of that point of growth but as it had several side shoots these are now taking over from what was the main stem. The flowers are very, very tiny and insignificant but it's still a sense of achievement. The age of the plant is approximately 25 years as i can't remember exactly when I got it.

Just keep potting it on.

Suzanne

Hi Susanne,
That's interesting to see , what is the pot size for your plant plz.

Beaucarnea!.......Sorry Paul....it was the iPad!

Thank you Eduart. Really helpful. I thought it was really nice plant too. Sorry you had to leave one behind. Always hard.

Suzanne I'm not sure.....
Could you do as Tina asks and measure pot or put hand against it! I'm guessing it has to be huge. I think you terrified me. Where was this growing? Surely not greenhouse?

Thanks all.

You can put them on the patio for the summer, they like the extra water. I visited a collection once where the chap had these by his pond with the bases of the pots in water, they were growing very well.
they aren't going to grow quick fast but with extra TLC & plenty of water they will speed up a bit.
However if you have only just got yours and its going to have a repot, don't do this .