Acclimating pony palm with shade cloth?

[nshine]

Hi everyone, I just found this forum and I'm very excited to be able to talk to fellow palm enthusiasts! I recently purchased a beautiful pony palm and the nursery suggested that I could acclimate it to the California sun by putting on several layers of shade cloth and removing one every week. I went to several local nurseries but did not find any shade cloth. When I looked online, there were all sorts of YouTube videos about the different kinds of shade cloth so now I'm not sure which type I should buy or what I should do with it. Does anyone have any suggestions for where to buy the best type of shade cloth (and what kind I should get) or any tips for how to use it? Thank you for your help!

[idontknowhatnametuse]

People in my city plant those in full sun and they get no damage, unless the plant was grown in shade.

 

PD; pony palms are not actually palms

[The Gerg]

Welcome to PalmTalk. Are you talking about a ponytail palm as in Beaucarnea recurvata? As stated, much like a “sago palm”, it is not a palm. However, it is a perfectly welcomed question that pertains to protecting palms. Btw, if you look under the forums tab and scroll down to off topic forums there is a forum of tropical looking plants. 

As for your question, I’m personally not sure. I didn’t realize they needed much acclimating. I’m sure others will chime in.

[96720]

I don’t know where you are located but I’m in Phoenix and have never worried about acclimating them, with age that base can get huge so give it room!

[Kim]

Be sure to plant in an appropriate location.

[Looking Glass]

I got a little Ponytail a couple years back, from the indoor office plant section of Lowes.  Immediately potted it up and put it in full sun….  No damage.   

(the little guy on the far left)…

After a few months I cut the ponytail off at the base in hopes of making it an octopus.  All that was left was the ball.   

After a month it started to grow 12 new growth points, then just turned into a big grass-ball for 2 years.   I thought about pitching it and was worried about the giant roots it must produce as it gets bigger.   Then I learned on here recently, it has almost no roots under the ball.  

I gave it a major hair cut last week.   Only 4.5 growth points remain now.  But it will be an interesting shape as it gets bigger.  

If you stare deeply into it’s bung-hole you can see the scar of the original single growing point…

 

I should have been trimming leaves along the way.  I think the 4 most dominant growth points shaded out the rest.  

In hot, sunny aresas you can hack off growth points to create branching.  
 

5 minutes ago, Kim said:

Be sure to plant in an appropriate location.

Thats big!  I wonder how old?  It’s bigger than some of the whoppers around here.   At my growth rate here it would probably be 50-70 years.  

[96720]

Look up native ones and they are enormous 

[ZPalms]

1 hour ago, Looking Glass said:

Off topic because I couldn't resist but your pool is gorgeous, love the pool umbrella 

[Xenon]

You can start with an hour or two of early morning sun (assuming the plant was grown indoors or deep shade) and increase the duration of exposure over a week or two. Shade cloth isn't necessary if you just need to acclimate a few plants 

[Bazza]

They are almost as indestructible as a Cycas revoluta.  You know - except for the asiatic scale.

[Merlyn]

As others have mentioned, they are pretty tough.  I have a couple of potted ones inside, and they grow ok without any actual direct sun.  I take them out into full sun every few months, just to get them some actual sunlight.  I haven't noticed any leaf burn. 

• If you wanted to acclimate it to full sun without shade cloth you could put it in a place with AM sun/PM shade, then over a period of two or so weeks move it out to where it gets more mid-afternoon sun. 
• If you want to put it in place now and in full blazing sun, you could make a "tent" with 1 or 2 layers of generic fiberglass window screen from a HD/Lowes.  Standard screen is around 70% light transmission, or 30% shade.  2 layers would give you (more or less) 50% shade cloth, so you could hammer a couple of small PVC pipes or wooden stakes into the ground and drape it over the top.  Then take 1 layer off after ~2 weeks and then full sun in ~4 weeks.