Blooming Ponytail palm

Hope someone can help clear things up.

I have a friend who's ponytail palms are blooming for the first time. HOW EXCITING!!!!

We went to a garden center today and shared the news with the shop owner. Thay told us to cut the bloom off the pland before it takes all the life from the plant and kill it.................Hummmmmmmmm

Not such good news. My friend, not wanting to have his plants die, feels he should listen to the "professional" and cut the masterpiece of beauty preforming in the back yard.

Please tell me if it is necessary to cut the bloom in order to make it live?

My feelings are to leave well enough along, let the plant flower and seed, the plant will likely branch off at this point and give him several blossom heads next season.

Thank you
STEVE

As far as I know, beaucarnea recurvata is not monocarpic.. I don't think you have to worry about cutting off the flowers. Not sure why you were told that.

Thank you for the information.

I guess I am too late is the flower stalks are now removed.

Is this going to hurt the plant at this point?
Should I expect the plant to now branch out?

Thanks
STEVE

Perhaps it will branch at the site of the cutting, but not always. I find that cutting off the blooms does tend to keep a healthier looking head of leaves, though.

The longer the bloom stalk stays up the less attractive the head will look as a general rule. If there is possibility of seed though I nearly always leave the flower plumes alone. I have several B. recurvatas that have copper-red seed plumes some years. These are very attractive. I remove the male flowers unless females are blooming in sync.

Nolina Nelsonni has such a beautiful and spectacular gigantic flower plume, that I will never remove them. The branch head may take several years to look full and healthy after it blooms, but it is worth the price.


bob
:>)