Ponytail Palm Plant Care
Common Name: Ponytail Palm
Scientific Name: Beaucarnea Recurvata
Lighting: Bright Light
Watering: Moderate to Low
Ponytail palms get their name from their ponytail like appearance. The Ponytail palm is one of my top 10 easy to grow houseplants. It requires very little attention. The only downfall to the Ponytail palm is that it is an extremely slow grower, so don't expect great growth spurts from year to year.
The Ponytail palm should be watered thoroughly once every 7 - 14 days. The Ponytail palm is native to desert areas therefore, it has a root system similar to cactus in that the roots go deep in order to store water for long dry spells. Be sure to let the soil become dry to touch 1" to 1-1/2" deep before watering again. If you notice the lower foliage is starting to turn a yellow or brown color you may be under watering the plant. The Ponytail palm requires bright light so be sure to place it near a window where full sun is received.
Bugs and mites usually are not a problem with the palm, however if they do appear, simply spray the houseplant down with a soapy water mix twice a day until they are gone.
Labels: easy to grow houseplants, palms
posted by drayas @ 1:46 PM
61 Comments:
I inherited an old plant, about 2+ft tall and about a foot wide base. It has three arms and all on all of them the foilage keeps turning brown. There is barely any "green" on them anymore. I want to change the soil. Cactus mix is recommended? Can I cut anything back to spur growth?
The ponytail palm is also an extremely slow grower, so you won’t see much results from year to year. A sandy cactus soil mix will work best for your Ponytail palm.
How often are you watering the palm? Usually brown foliage is a sign of under watering. If the whole leaf is brown you can remove it completely however if the tips are just brown, I would not trim the brown tips off. My experience is when you trim the brown tips off; you only get more brown tips.
Please let me know how you palm does.
Thanks,
drayas
My Poytail Palm is supposedly quite old and almost 8 feet tall. It grew up out west and was left with me here in the east coast. It sufered a "bump on the head" when moved a couple years ago and has never fully recovered its crown. I have had some success with removing side shoots. I decided to give it a some extra attention and have moved it outside on a small patch of covered side porch for the summer. I am concerned about fully exposing it to the elements. I have no idea when it was last repotted. I am wondering how to actually go about the process of repotting it. Maybe rolling the pot on the ground? Also, I am having a hard time finding a big enough clay pot. They are so heavy, too, considering the stairs, etc.. Are the double wall plastic ones OK?
asquared,
Well, this is a challenge for me. My ponytail palm, as you can see is small. Yours should be fine outside as long as it stays above 55. Ponytail palms like bright light so a partially sunny spot outside should work fine.
In terms of large pots and how to move it, that one I'm not sure. I know our local Home Depot has large pots outside in their garden center right now, because I just had to repot my 6 foot tall Yucca.
In terms of repotting, your best bet is to have a couple of people help out. Rolling on the ground to get the plant out will probably be the easiest way.
Please do let me know how things work out. I am very intrigued and would love to see a picture of this large ponytail palm.
Thank you,
Drayas
i have a ponytail palm about 6feet tall in the garden its base is about 2feet wide can it be moved successfully without killing it
Well, this is new to me. I strictly have ponytails as houseplants because I live in Wisconsin and thus limits my tropical outdoors. (I really don't like winter).
So I did some research and found a couple of forum posts talking about transplanting their ponytail palms and it seems you should be fine. But do read up on these forums, because like I said, I don't have any experience with palms outdoors.
Transplanting a Ponytail Palm
Ponytail Palm Root Systems
Please let me know how things turn out.
Thanks,
drayas
I live in Alabama. I inherited a ponytail palm that lived outside through hurricane Ivan (2004), had a tree fall on it and skinned the bark a little bit, so when I found it I brought it home and repotted it. It's done wonderfully on my porch in the summers and indoors in winter. My question is, this plant is now about 9' tall and has a shoot growing out of the trunk. Can I start another plant from the shoot and how is that done? How close to the mother plant should I remove it? This palm is very dear to me and I sure don't want to do anything to harm it. It's been through enough. Thanks.
alabob,
Well I honestly can say I'm not familiar with seperating ponytail palms. I found a few websites that say you can do it, but no specific instructions. I will do some more research.
If any of the readers have had any experience with splitting ponytail palms, please share them.
Here's the one site I found that said you can do it.
Houston Gardening
Thanks,
drayas
Hi!
I just got a PT yesterday and it is around 60cm tall. My question is about the side roots. Should I remove them?
I read in a book that the side shoots should be trimmed off to maintain health but what I see is just roots coming out of the top of the "ball" and going deep into the soil. Are these new shoots (to be removed) or external roots?!
Thanks
Hello,
I wouldn't trim the roots off if they are going back into the soil. I have not experienced this with my palm. If any of my readers can give us a hand it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
drayas
I have a number of Ponytail palms and put them outside in April or so, here in the Midwest and bring them in before the first frost. They overwinter in my kitchen and get the brown tips from the dryer inside air. They like to be pot-bound. I guess I have 10 in different sizes, the largest is about 3' tall and I've had it for around 25+ years.
I am responding to the person that was concerned about repotting and rolling the plant around. I also have a ponytail that is 7 to 8 ft tall and I repotted mine. I had to roll it around and it didn't mind at all. My problem is I have it in the biggest pot I could find and it has busted out of the pot. The pot was plastic, so now I am looking for a bigger pot that is ceramic. So take note, don't put your plant in a plastic pot, it will break out of it. Mine stays outside on the patio all summer long, so it doesn't mind the elements at all.
I have an old Pony Tailthat has grown from about 14" to a current 48". Over the years it had thrived on bottom watering. It was recovering from last year's neglect when our house sitter
forgot to water it for almost 4 weeks. This year the house sitter overwatered it and the crown completely died and also a pool of fetid, brown water with some kind of fungus developed in the saucer. Before I toss it, I would like to know if anyone has had any kind of regeneration after amputating the crown or if there is any chance that it will heal itself.
Thanks
poppop,
I can't help you out. I wouldn't toss it yet, but I can't promise anything. I've never had this happen.
Can any of my readers help us out??
Thanks,
drayas
I have two very large plants growing in my backyard. Both are over ten feet tall. Last year the female flowered and we harvested the seeds. It was the first time we got seeds. We have hundreds of thousands of them. We have let them dry and are now trying to get new starts going. I have them in small clay pots with plastic wrap over them. How wet should I keep the soil?
Hello,
I recently purchased a ponytail palm from Wal Mart, and the pot that it came in is very, very small, and it is in some sort of rocks, rather than dirt... when should I try to report this tree?.. the tree is a little over a foot tall, and the base takes up nearly the entire pot... it just seems as though it needs to be repotted. Or, do ponytail palms like small growth areas?
Today I bought a ponytail palm from a lady that is moving. I don't know anything about plants, but when I saw this plant I had to get it because its so pretty; I almost thought it was fake! The tags say, 10" palms in clay. clay? Again, I don't know anything about plants, but I would like to repot it into something that is bigger. How do I go about doing that? Would it even be a good idea? The plant is surrounded by pebbles that seem to be glued/stuck together. I don't even know where to start. Any response would be greatly appreciated. Thx!
Hello
I have a ponytail plant and my cat loves it!! every morning she jumps up and its like she is sucking on it. some of the tips a turning brown but oter her than that the plant is very healthy. Can you please tell me way mt cat is so crazy over it. is it normal or is my cat crazy?? : )
Thanks
Hello,
We'll your cat isn't the first cat that loves houseplants. I'm not really familar with how to keep your cat away from it besides moving it. I have big dogs so they tend to stick to their dog food.
Any readers have cats that could help us out??
Thanks,
drayas
Hi,
I just bought three ponytail palms that look like they join beneath the soil. The "trunk" of each one is about 1 inch tall. I'm quite an impatient person, so could anyone tell me about how much do they grow eg. per year? I would also like some care tips because it came out of the garden centre quite mangled and I would like to nurse it back to health. And if they are three separate plants, have they done that because they expect the other two to die before they grow up?
Please help!
Hello,
Well, you purchased one of the slowest growing houseplants there are. I've had mine for over 5 years and let's just say it looks the same as it did 5 years ago.
Read the tips above on how to care for your ponytail palms. They group them together, like mine has 2, because they are slow growers. None of mine have died.
Thanks,
drayas
I have a ponytail palm that is 21 years old. It was a baby when I got it. This past winter we had an unexpected freeze and it killed the crown. The stem and bulb still seem to be alive, will it sprout again?
Hello,
I'm assuming your ponytail palm was outside? I really have no experience with palms outdoors. Can any of my readers give us a hand??
Thanks,
drayas
I recently got a ponytail palm. When I brought it home, my cats were intrigued. They kept trying to get on the high shelf where I put it. So I brought it down to the floor to let them check it out, hoping they would leave it alone after that. One cat started biting the leaf tips and pulling them rather roughly.
I have heard that pepper will deter cats from houseplants. So I sprayed the plant with a water mist and sprinkled Black Pepper all over the leaves. It didn't work. So I went one up and did the same thing with Cayenne Pepper. That seems to be keeping the cats away.
If you do this, I would try to avoid getting much pepper in the soil; because I don't know if it would be harmful to the plant or not.
If I would decide to put the ponytial palm on the patio, with
direct sunlight 3/4 of the day, would it survive?
Hello,
It depends where you live, temperature high and lows, etc. I really have no experience with tropical plants outdoors. If you provide us with some more specifics on where you live, some of my readers may be able to help you out.
Thanks,
drayas
I recently purchased a Ponytail Palm at a garage sale. It was 6 feet tall until the wind blew it over on my deck. The top 4 inches broke off. My question...can I replant the top portion with some root compound and have it live? It is placed in a glass of water right now. Also will the rest of my Palm live without its top? Thanks, Moninne
I live in the Central Florida area. In 2004 my ponytail was about4' tall. It was planted outside. when the hurricanes came through Sanford, the top was knocked off. I stuck the top in the ground just to see what would happen. Nothing. some time went buy and the one still in the front yard, with part shade, grew three limbs. Now 4 years later there is a hole where the one broke off, but about 10 plants coming off one of the limbs. The plant is about 3' tall now. The other two limbs tops were looking bad and I cut those off in hopes they would grow more limbs also. It is very much a slow grower but cool to see all the changes. I agree with the thought of too much water and not enough sun. I just keep moving it if it looks different. It is in a very large hard plastic pot. When I move, my plants move...
I have 10 outdoor Ponytails here in Phoenix. After a frost one of the crowns died. I completely clipped off the top & sealed it with wax. It has now developed four offshoots near the top, but it has taken two years. Don't throw them out if the top dies, clip the top and wait....and wait...and wait. they are slow growers !
I am currently house sitting for a lady who keeps 6 pony tail palms in her bath tub. They were looking a bit worse for ware so I just took them out and tidied them up a bit. This included cutting all the brown tips off before reading on this forum that you shouldn't do that. Will they be ok?
Also some of the leaves have black spots on them, what are they?
I've just moved them outside too as the climate here in Malta is hot, this is recommended yes?
Plus any secret tips for keeping panytail palms?
Thank you!
Can we leave it under a house light??
I have had a ponytial palm for 5 years and bought it as a baby. I don't know what you mean by slow grower, as unfortunately it has outgrown it's sunny window home now at over 3 feet tall. What is the best lighting to use indoors? It has thrived through several repottings and I so want to keep it healthy.
Thanks in advance
moninne,
You can try getting the top portion to re-root. Also, cleanly cut where it snapped off and it may sprout new growth there as well.
Keep us posted.
drayas
Hello,
The black spots could be scale. Can you scrape or peel them off? Try spraying the plants with a soapy dishwater mixture twice a day and see if the black spots go away.
Thanks,
drauas
I have to say I have never seen a ponytail palm grow more than a foot within years. You're saying yours grew 3 feet within 5 years??
Any advice you can give us would be better than what I can give you because mine barely grow inches.
Whatever lighting you have used, keep using!!!
-- drayas
I have a pony tail palm that is about 4 years old. Its thriving in its current pot and location...almost too much. It's huge! I hate to say it but it's becoming so big that its getting rather unattractive. It has nummerous arms that are 3-5 feet long. Can I trim healthy leaves? Can I plant outside and let it get as big as it wants?
Hello,
Planting outside depends on your climate and temperatures. I'm not sure on that as I don't have an outside tropical plants.
In terms of trimming, can any of my readers help us out??
Thanks,
drayas
I was given a pony tail palm, where it first lived outdoors in a pot in southern Florida, where it thrived. It was moved to North Carolina Mountain home where it remained outside this past Summer, and continued to thrive. I brought it back to Wisconsin in late October, where it is now indoors for the first time. I have two palms in one pot, but they are separate plants. One lost some lower leaves, but seems to be doing fine. The other, however has also lost some lower leaves, but the top shoot has been growing like crazy, close to 2 feet! I love the growth, but I'm thinking that is not normal. I believe it is reaching for light, as it has always been outside. I'd like to clip the top, to allow healthier growth, but I don't know if that will kill it. And if it can be clipped, can I put the clipped top in a pot where it can root? Help!
Hello,
That much growth does sound like its reaching. Move it closer to a light source. I'm not sure about cutting the top off. I have never tried it.
Have any of my readers??
drayas
I got a pnytail fern from my husbands grandmother. It is about 35-40 years old. it stands probably 7 feet tall. When i got it it was in bad shape. All the ends were brown and had a lot of dead leaves. So I trimmed all the brown spots and pulled all the dead leaves off. It has done good for about 6 months. well recently all the ends have started to turn brown again and alot of the leaves are dying again. Is this normal?? I need to re-pot it but I can not find a big enough pot for it. It has been in my house since I have got it. I sprayed some water mixture on it and put some miricle grown on it as well. Is there anything else I can do??
I bought mine at an Ikea two years ago and have not seen much if any growth in the trunk. The leaves get longer and longer. They are now 2 ft long at the longest - the trunk is only 8"!
I love the plant b/c it looks like a little tree. We tend to water it anywhere from once a month to twice a month. I fertilize it whenever I remember to - about two or thre times a year. The plant sits next to a lamp 3 ft from a southern exposure window.
I pinched of 2 shoots at the base of the mother plant, put them in water for about a week, then planted them in soil. I put them in a north window and kept them watered. They have grown and are doing fine.
My son toppled my little 8" palm and snapped off the center of one of the clusters (*sigh*) But I find it's going to need to be repotted. I'd love for my little tree to get a little bigger. It's been inside since I bought it, we live in NW Florida closer to the gulf, so it stays fairly warm here but will have the occasional freeze... what would you guys do?
Hey hey!
I live in west Florida. I have had this pony tail since 2004. It's currently 3ft tall. Recently I have moved it outside of my covered screened porch and now the base of the leaves are turning a redish color. I have 11 shoots coming off the base. Can someone tell me if the shoots need to be replaced and is the redish color bad news?
Thanks
I just bought what I think is a PT Palm at a grocery store...the foot is about the size of a small baby red potato, three stuck together, crammed into a 3" pot with a few rocks for looks...should it be transplanted and in what size pot? Should I try to pull apart the bulbs or let them grow that close? It's so cute but it needs some TLC...help!
I was given a ponytail palm from a friend who was moving from the wests coast to the east coast. It was in a small pot when she bought it a year ago and has not done anything with it except water it and keep it inside in good sun light. The plant looks healthy enough, but has small rocks-pebbles all around it that are glued together. I am unable to feel the dirt or check for moistness. As this is my first experience with this plant, I could use some help in finding the proper way to re-pot in a pot that I can check the soil and make sure it has enough room for growth.
Thank You.
Hello,
I have 2 ponytails and I love them. They are small.. I mean the pot is only like 6 inches tall and the plant sticks out of the dirt. I keep it on my kitchen table and open all the curtains in there and it is doing great!
Any chance of getting more specific about the soil mix? I've got a bag of desert sand and a bag of potting soil and was planing to mix them 50/50 but I'm scared to death I'm going to kill my ponytail. I love it! Any help at all is appreciated.
Trilly,
Both of my ponytail palms are planted in Miracle Gro potting soil.
Thanks,
drayas
I found this site helpful in care, soil, and proprogation
My palm has a white, powdery like patches on it - they wipe off - although it's covered with it. Any ideas what it is? How it should be treated?
I have a ponytail palm that I've had for about a year. It's kept outside on a screen porch here in Florida and gets almost a half of day's sun. I water every 7 days. The problem is that it has what looks like a black mildew infestation on the leaves particularly close to the trunk. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong or how to correct this problem. I have sprayed it with a chemical that's supposed to get rid of mildew regularly but is not working. Help!
I have a pony tail palm which is on the front porch in the morning sun. I live in Spain by the way. A few months ago I noticed that the foliage on two of the arms have gone mildewy and sticky. I thought maybe I had watered it too much and it would 'dry out' but it hasn't. Could it be too little water because it only gets watered around once a month. Any ideas, its such a lovely plant I would hate to lose it.
I have a young pony tail palm, and the top of the "new" folage thats sprouting from the top is a bright yellow, does anyone have any suggestions on what it could be?
Thank You, Tracy
I live in Minn. and have had a PTai for about 35 years. It's been totally an indoor plant. Unfortunately it's now about 14 feet high and is hitting the ceiling. I'm going to try cutting off the crown, down to about 6 feet , wax the end and hope it will sprout. Im pessimistic but will see. JR
First of all, I cut the top off my ponytail at least 15 years ago, and it grew multiple branches. (I was in a greenhouse that had a tree, and when I asked how it got that way, they said that they cut the top off.) This makes the plant wider because all branches grow. I also have cats, and they love the tips. This doesn't seem to hurt the plant, but the cats throw up the foliage that they ate, so having cats eat a pony tail is bad for carpets.
Cat's love the ponytail cactus as they think it looks like catgrass. If your cats play with/eat it, it would a good idea to provide some wheatgrass or catgrass for them. The chia catgrass planter system seems to work best, and is very easy. Cats need to chew on this for the greens, and know to seek it out, and they mistake our ponytail for it.
Greetings, I tend to agree with most of you reqrding the PonyTail. I have 3 plants ranging from 10 years to about 2 years (in my care) and ALL are in 12" concrete planters on my front porch in Central Florida, south side of house. ALL get direct hot sun all day. Last winter I did not cover them too well when it dropped to 22 degrees for the night and lost the leaves on one. We cut it back and left it alone and it is now fully recovered and has no less then 9 sprouts popping out all over it plus the top has fully recovered and very bushy. All plants stay about 18" to 24" in height. Very little water (1-2 times a month if no rain & that's it.
I never did read whether or not those little "bud branches" could be nipped off and used to start another plant. However if it is nipped off, THAT spot will result in a couple more buds popping out. Have fun with your plants. Those BIG ones can have the pots mounted on a little wheeled carrier so that they may be moved more easily in and out of the house for the winter. Regards; Mushroom
I have a ponytail that is about 6 ft tall. I repotted it when I acquired it from a friend about 8 years ago. I bought a fiberglass pot from the home improvement store and it has held together all this time. My problem is that I took the advice of other readers about putting the plant outside for the summer and mine got burnt! The leaves turned brown and died and after trimming off the dead leaves it looks like a butchered pineapple! I'm heartsick over this. This was the showpiece of my houseplants and now it looks so sad. If I cut off the trunk (about four feet long) will it grow a new top? I could put it on my enclosed sunporch where it would still get light but not be seen too much until it recovers. Also, the person who said the top leaves of their plant were yellow. My plant's new leaves are always yellow at first, then bright light green then dark green - about the same time as they fall over and cascade down the plant rather than standing up straight.
Almost all the leaves have some off my ponytail palm. It has a huge bulb (about a foot wide) and is an old plant, so I don't want to throw it out, but want to know what I can do to revive it. I have someone water my plants when I was away and they may have forgotten it. I just don't know . I looked at it one day and the leaves were drooping and turned yellow. What can I do to say it?
When replanting a ponytail palm outside, should the bulb be covered in soil, or left exposed. We have 2 7 foot tall ponytails that are outside and are doing well. We live on the beach in the Yucatan Peninsula...lots of alkaline water and plenty of sand. Ours grow in a sandy compost mixture. My husband insists that the bulb be covered, but every picture I've ever seen shows the bulb exposed, and the bulbs were exposed when we bought them last year (for about $10 each!) I have seen no information about the bulb issue; maybe someone can help!
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