How to Grow Ponytail Palm or Beaucarnea Recurvata!
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Ponytail palms are one of my favorite houseplants because of their ease of growth and unique appearance. And despite the common name, this is not a palm at all! Rather, it is a succulent.
Want to know how you can grow a gorgeous ponytail palm in your own home? Keep reading for all the details!
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Beaucarnea recurvata has a few common names. One is Ponyail Palm which is misleading because it not a palm.
Another common name is Elephant Foot Tree because the swollen base (called a caudex) looks like an elephant's foot when it ages.
Ponytail palms are native to parts of Mexico and there are known specimens that are over 300 years old! They can grow 10-20ft tall (3-6m) in nature. Of course in the home they will be quite a bit smaller!
Growing up I actually had one that was about 5 feet tall and it was a single trunked, beautiful specimen. Unfortunately it didn't come with me, but many years later, I purchased another one, and it is the one that I show in this blog post.
Table of Contents
DO PONYTAIL PALMS NEED FULL SUN?
Inside the home, in order to have the best growth, the Ponytail Palm will need at least a few hours of sun to really do its best. At a bare minimum I would at least place it in front of an Eastern facing window.
If you have a big sunny Western or Southern window, this will be even better.
These are actually succulent plants that are native to Mexico and grow in full-sun to partial shade in their native habitat.
Keep in mind that inside the home, the light intensity is much less than outdoors, so don't be afraid to give your Ponytail Palm a good amount of direct sun!
One problem that you will find indoors if your plant is not receiving enough light is that the leaves on the top of the plant will flatten out, instead of having the beautiful upright, and curvy leaves that you see in the photo below.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD I WATER MY PONYTAIL PALM?
The dreaded "how often should I water" question 🙂 The real answer is...it depends. Sorry, I know that's not what you want to hear, but it really does depend!
Let me shed some light on this watering issue. First off, you must make sure you are giving your plant at least some direct sunshine. This is what this plant needs to be healthy, and also so that the soil will dry out quicker.
These plants must dry out a bit in between watering. I would recommend letting the top 2-3 inches of the soil, depending on the size of your pot, dry out before watering again.
And when you do water, water thoroughly! So many people make the mistake of not watering their ponytail palm (and many other plants for that matter) properly.
You must water thoroughly all around the pot and ensure all of the soil has been moistened. Let the water drain through the drainage hole and discard any extra.
So ditch the watering schedule and use your finger to judge when you should water again by feeling the soil.
Before we move on for more tips, I'd like to caution you against buying certain ponytail palms that I've seen in some stores lately.
I have seen ponytail palms being sold in pots with NO drainage and also with a layer of stones glued to the surface.
Although it may look pretty, this is just ridiculous! These plants NEED drainage and the layer of glued stones is just unnecessary. Just buy a regular potted plant and save yourself headaches from the beginning.
WHY ARE THE LEAVES ON MY PONYTAIL PALM TURNING BROWN?
There are a few reasons for this. If you let your Ponytail Palm stay dried out for a long time, what will happen is that the lower leaves will turn yellow, and then a crispy brown.
If this happens, just carefully pull off the leaves like I did below. When I neglected to water my plant for a while, it happened. (Sometimes laziness sets in and my plants take a little hit...hey, I'm human).
Another problem that you will see on your Ponytail Palm are the tips of the leaves turning brown.
This is a common issue, and you know what? Even the plants growing in nature will have brown tips. So don't feel so bad! With proper watering though that I described above, the issue should not be so bad.
If brown tips are coupled with the lower leaves turning yellow and then completely brown and dry, your issue is probably that you have kept your plant TOO dry. Yes, this is possible.
We always read about "overwatering" and you must not overwater succulent plants, but you still need to water properly. The key is to then let the soil dry out. But if you wait TOO long and leave the soil to be bone dry for a long time, you will have issues too.
That being said, keeping these plants wet for a long time will spell disaster and create rot. The soil must dry out a bit in between watering.
So it's all about a balance when you water. Water thoroughly, but let at least the top 2-3 inches dry out. If you let all of the soil dry out, that is fine too. Just don't wait too long to water again or you will start to get a lot of brown leaves.
So about those brown tips. Just take a pair of scissors and cut them off. Take a look at the photo below on my plant.
Just take a pair of scissors and cut off most of the brown area. I leave just a narrow margin at the tip and don't actually cut into the green part. That's all you need to do.
REPOTTING PONYTAIL PALM
These plants do not need to be repotted often at all. They are pretty slow growing and often times you'll see that the pot is just a little bit bigger than the swollen base of the plant.
Most times, these are sold as a single trunked specimen. Mine was actually a cluster of plants and has 5 caudex.
It has been in this pot for a few years now and probably should be repotted soon! There are roots coming out of the drainage hole and the soil has been drying out pretty quickly lately, so this is a sign that it should be repotted.
Be sure not to miss my ponytail palm repotting guide where I show you step by step with pictures how to repot your plant and learn the 3 critical steps that you shouldn't miss in the repotting process!
When you do repot this plant, only go up one pot size larger than where you started. As far as soil mix, I like to use whatever cactus/succulent soil blend that you have on hand but I always add ¼" pumice to the mix. This is a FANTASTIC soil amendment for Ponytail palms, and also for any succulent or cactus.
I'd recommend one part pumice to 2-3 parts of cactus mix. You can even use a good quality standard houseplant potting soil, but be sure to add pumice.
One last tip, these plants are not huge feeders, but I do like to fertilizer a bit during the active growing season. I like to use the Schultz 2-7-7 cactus fertilizer that I buy off of Amazon. Just follow the directions on the label.
Be sure not to miss my detailed YouTube video on Ponytail Palm care, which includes some troubleshooting for common problems.
That's all folks, and thanks for reading! Do you have a ponytail palm? Comment with any questions below!
Hello, thank you for your article! I have a pony tail palm that was about 5ft tall. Unfortunately, it was so big we had an issue finding it a place inside to stay during the winter. We built a "greenhouse" shed for him but in an unpredictable cold snap lost him...or so we thought. I was so depressed from this loss that I pulled the dead parts off and left it outside. I was hoping that maybe I'd get lucky and something would grow. Well, it did!! So now I have this extremely wide "trunk" with 2 shoots coming out of the side of it. I need to repot it as it's in a huge pot that is not convenient to move or find a place inside for. Do you have any advice for repotting. I'm worried that the leaves are going to hit the dirt very soon with the way they are growing from the trunk. (Sorry for the incorrect terminology.) I read your repotting article but wasn't sure about this case since it has enough roots for a 5ft plant. Can I cut the roots for the new smaller pot? Thank you for any advice you can provide.
Hi Angela! Sorry to hear about your plant, but I'm glad it's coming back! Did it lose most of its leaves and only has a couple new shoots growing? You can definitely trim some of the roots and put it in an appropriately sized pot that is maybe a couple inches wider in diameter than the root ball. I hope this makes sense. Let me know.
@Raffaele, yes, it lost all of its leaves. There were 2 new shoots coming off the side which I removed and hopefully can grow separately. When I went to repot it I found that I was too late and the trunk was filled with water and rotted. 🙁 We have had lots of rain this summer and despite my attempts to make sure the container drained properly I didn't realize how tight the roots were inside. So now I'm hoping I can keep the 2 remaining pups alive!! Thank you for letting me know that the roots can be trimmed. I hope to have another one large enough to need that information again!
Hello. Ponytails are my favorite plant. I have one that is at least 40-45 years old. It is kept in my house, so over the years I had to cut it back. Of course new growth grew from the stumps. This year I cut the top of of another one and I am wondering if I can propagate the cut off top. Would love to know. If you can help please let me know. Thank you.
You can try Kim! After you cut it, let it air dry for a few days, and then dip it in rooting hormone, stick it in a pot of soil and hope for the best!
I’ve had mine for around 12 years and I had to chuckle because it came in the ceramic bowl with the glued stones. I wasn’t able to get it out.. it took years before the foot finally just cracked it 😊 it’s been such an easy plant to have. It just grows and grows !
Hahaha, I love that it escaped on its own! 🙂
I just bought a ponytail from the farmer's market (my first one ever and I do not have a green thumb). I don't really have a sunny window although the front of the house faces east the sun is limited due to trees and porch ceilings. Will my ponytail do OK?
Hi Chris! I would put it immediately in front of the brightest window you have. It's hard to say without seeing your window, but it should be ok.
My ponytail palm is about 9-10” tall and came in a ceramic pot 3” deep and 8” wide with rocks glued on top. I’m having trouble determining when it needs water. Should I repot in a clay pot without glued rocks?
Hi Jan! Those glued pebbles make it really difficult to know the state of your potting mix! I would remove it if you can for sure.
When I repotted my palm, there was a huge whitish coiled rope-like root around the bottom of the pot. I wondered if I should cut that off, since it keeps pushing the whole plant up and now it seems to need repotting again after only a couple of years. Would you recommend cutting off the rope? It's almost an inch thick.
Also, how far out of the soil should the bulbs protrude? About half of the bulb? (The palm started out as 3 in the pot and one 'gave birth' so there are 4 now. It is at least 18 years old, if not older. The top of the pot is about 12" across.) Thank you!
If you already repotted it into a bigger pot, I would leave it alone. Your plant will be fine! And yes, I would say at least half of the bulb, if not more, should be above the soil. As long as you didn't bury it more than it was before you repotted it, it'll be fine. Good luck!
What could the white stuff on top of the soil be? Just found out my husband has been watering every few days! Help! What do I need to do? Repot?
I'd have to see a photo to help. It could be salt buildup from tap water and fertilizers, and it could also be fungus/mold of some sort. I wouldn't repot just because of that. If you'd like to send me a photo, use the contact form on my website, and when I reply, you can attach some photos and I can try and help you! As far as your husband watering every few days...is the soil completely dry when he waters? Or is he just doing it on a schedule and waters regardless of how dry the soil has gotten? I don't water on a schedule, but I water when the potting mix is appropriately dry.
Hi there! I recently noticed that one of the chutes (not sure what the proper term is here sorry!) of leaves on my ponytail palm has become very flat and it doesn’t seem like there’s much new growth as far as leaves coming from the center like on the other chutes. Also I’m noticing a couple bottom leaves on all 3 chutes turning completely brown. Any tips as to what I might be doing wrong? It’s right in front of a big eastern facing bay window as it has been for the last 10 months when I first got it.
Hi there! I recently noticed that one of the chutes (not sure what the proper term is here sorry!) of leaves on my ponytail palm has become very flat and it doesn’t seem like there’s much new growth as far as leaves coming from the center like on the other chutes. Any tips as to what I might be doing wrong? It’s right in front of a big eastern facing bay window as it has been for the last 10 months when I first got it.
Hi Carrie! Can you send me a photo so I can see? You can DM me on Instagram if you use that (@ohiotropics) or email me using my contact form on the website, and when I reply, you can attach a photo. Also, if you can tell me about how you approach watering, that will help 🙂
Hi, my ponytail palm had and infestation after I left it out in the rain ( I moved house and did not put it in a proper place) and all the leaves dropped off. I read that it is okay to cut off the spongy part of the stem and cover the cut with cinnamon powder. It is okay to repot the ponytail palm at this point? Oh ya, at one stage, my cat used it like a scratching post - but has since stopped. The stem and caudex is still firm to touch.
What do you mean by an infestation? Did it have pests? If you didn't notice any pests, the leaves dropping off probably had to do with poor conditions (light and potting mix moisture) or maybe your cat! 🙂 It's hard to say without more details. If you want to send me an email through my contact form, when I respond, you can attach photos and tell me how you've been caring for it. Seeing the photos will give me a much better idea, but please include your care details (light, watering, etc.) Repotting is not always necessarily the answer.
Hi Raffaele!
Thank you very much for your reply - will snap a photo of the plant and send it over. It is currently in a dry sunny spot. I did notice some white stuff on the crown of the ponytail - not sure if it was mealy bugs, and the crown was growing soggy and the leaves dropped off.
I was given a ponytail palm by an elderly neighbor who was tired of so many plants. It has grown to over 41/2 feet now and is always a conversation starter. I call it my Dr.Seuss palm.
I love that! Sounds like a beautiful specimen 🙂
Good Morning! I just purchased my first Ponytail Palm about 3 weeks ago so I'm very interested in learning all I can about caring for it. I have read your posts about watering and repotting (THANK YOU.) One thing that I didn't see addressed and forgive me if I just overlooked it, but
do you ever separate the caudex to make individual plants or is it better to leave them together?
Any advise you would like to share is appreciated.
Thank you,
Donna
Glad you enjoyed the posts Donna! I haven't personally separated ones with multiple caudex. Mine actually has multiple :-). Depending on how tight the root ball is and how it was initially planted, you can try and tease them apart if you can, or you could potentially use a knife and cut straight down the root ball. It will depend on each case and what you're comfortable with. Hope this helps!
@Raffaele,
Thank you for responding. I am not going to try to separate it, I’ll leave it as is. You said (prior to repotting) that yours had been in the same pot since you had purchased it. Mine came in a plastic container, should I not move it to a ceramic pot?
You're welcome. It's really up to you whether you want it in plastic or ceramic! Just personal preference.
Hi! I love your write up, I have a Ponytail, it has to be at least 6ft, and around 15 years old. How much do you think a big ponytail would be worth?
Thanks!
Sounds like a beautiful specimen! As far as the cost, it's really hard to say.
I’m not sure what is happening to my ponytail palm but it seems to be developing a hole in the side of the base of the plant. It is a bonsai now. I would like to repot it and let it grow. Can that be done and what do you think I should do about the hole in the trunk?
Hi Jen! Yes, it can be done. It will just continue growing if you give it good conditions and a larger pot. Be careful not to overpot it and give it a huge pot though. I'm not sure about the hole. I'd have to see it to best advise.
Over-watering.. I did it the hard way and it died! What location is a sunny area... cuz I don't know!
I purchased a ponytail from a grower. It's decent size,but the pot seems too big. Can I get your input? I can't pist a pic,but the diameter of the base is about 3"across. The pot is 8" wide.
Hi Patty. Sure, you can email me a photo if you'd like!