Ponytail palms are a unique-looking, long-lived indoor plant that thrives on benign neglect. They are very easy to grow, provided you don’t overwater them! Here’s how to grow and care for a ponytail palm in your home.
Despite its name and palm-like appearance, the ponytail palm is not a true “palm.” In fact, it is more closely related to desert plants in the Agave and Yucca genera (e.g., Joshua trees).
The typical ponytail palm consists of a large, domed “stump,” which tapers off into a thinner stem. From the top of the stem, one or more rosettes of long, green, leathery leaves develop as the plant ages. Indoors, the leaves can reach up to 3 feet long, but outdoors, they may be double that length.
In its native environment (eastern Mexico), the entire plant has been known to reach up to 30 feet in height! However, ponytail palms that are grown in gardens as landscape plants don’t usually get to be more than 10 feet tall. Indoors, they are rarely taller than 4 feet.
Care of this plant is generally simple; the most common difficulty is having to adapt your watering habits to its watering needs!
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What causes a long shoot of
What causes a long shoot of new leaves, about 12 inches before it fans out?
Ponytail issues
My palm, which is usually kept indoors and has just had a new sprout/pup just above the big bowl base was fine until suddenly all the top leaves have collapsed and are a very light green. I have just moved the plant outside to get more light and will water tomorrow (every 10 days in Northern Thailand). Unfortunately we cannot post pics here
I messed up! Gave it too much water!!
Can I save my ponytail plant if i gave it too much water?? its been 3 days since i gave it water, i looked over and BAM, all her leaves have fallen down, if not off!!! Can i save her??
Ponytail Too Dry? Seems So Rare!
I have a small, 1.5m ponytail palm that was happy in the summer but come winter, the leaves became very brittle, almost a lime-green color, and the caudex is hard and shriveled. I don’t want to over-water, but could it be too dry? Google is of little help since the diagnosis for ponytail problems seems always to be too wet! It was getting full sun and 1x/week water in a very dry zone 9a, even drier than Tucson (Johannesburg, South Africa!)
Shriveled caudex
Update: just noticed it’s put out quite a few aerial roots, which your comment suggests it’s too dry, so I’m going to give it a deep watering. Nevertheless would be interested in the meaning of a shriveled caudex on these plants.
Shriveled Caudex
A shriveled caudex is indeed an indication of a thirsty plant! Try watering it a bit more often or watering it deeper—in other words, make sure that the soil gets properly soaked at each watering (but still allow it to dry out between waterings).
Note that if your area experiences a noticeable winter season, the plant could also just be going into seasonal dormancy, which means that it won’t need as much water as it does in spring/summer when it’s actively growing. Still, the trunk should have a fuller appearance, so find a watering schedule that brings the plant back to a healthy-looking state.
How to separate the new ones
How to separate the new ones that grow on the side
Ponytail Tree
Ok, many years ago I planted my Ponytail Palm in the ground and now it is 10 feet tall. Every now and then I pull the old /brown leaves/palms off the bottom on the plant. It survived many frost conditions we had in Florida. NOW I notice a little sprout coming out of the side of the trunk. What do I do with this new growth?
Ponytail Palm Sprout
If this new sprout is growing from the very base of the tree, at ground level, then it is a “pup”—in other words, a baby ponytail palm.
If the new sprout is growing from the point where the wide base of the tree narrows, it is likely a new stem starting to form. This usually only happens when the tree is damaged and dies back to the wide base, though.
In either case, you can leave it alone if you’d like to have a two-stemmed tree or a little stand of palms… However, if you do leave it attached, note that the tree will spend energy growing the new stem or pup rather than on its original stem. If your goal is to have the tallest ponytail palm, I would recommend cutting off the new sprout.
Ponytail palm
I have a ponytail palm that is 32 years old. I live in Rhode Island and keep it in the house during the winter and put it outside in the summer. This past winter I noticed that as the new grown is coming its turning brown and there more brown than normal for the leaves. It has never been repotted. I'm thinking of repotting but some advise would be great. Is my plant dying.
Browning Leaves
It probably wouldn’t hurt to repot and refresh the plant’s soil a bit, just to give it some new nutrients and room to grow! The sickly-looking leaves could have also just been a result of winter conditions indoors—if it was too cold, too dry, or too wet, this can produce browning leaves.
my ponytail palm is loosing all of its leaves.
Is it dying? It looks otherwise healthy. Will I get new growth?Please respond
Losing Leaves
The plant will lose its oldest leaves naturally, but if they’re all starting to fall off, then something has gone wrong. Typically, this is an indication of a watering problem; too much or too little water will promote leaf drop. Follow the watering instructions given above and your plant should recover.
Misting an indoor ponytail palm with water
I was wondering if it is beneficial to mist a ponytail palm (it grows indoors in a pot)with water in the summer or ever?
Thank You!
Misting Ponytail Palm
It’s not really necessary to mist ponytail palms; they will benefit much more from a thorough watering every few weeks!
When I water my pony tail
When I water my pony tail palm I give it a shower in the kitchen sink. This method keeps leaves dust free and bright, and it has been happy for years.
Elephant foot plant damage
I have an elephant foot plant that is two years old and about 2 feet in height.
There has been alot of new growth coming from the center palm. However last week
something fell on it and broke off many of the center palms. Will they re-grow? Should I keep the plant?
Lost related article from me. Miss Joy Bradford
Where is the very time consuming articule I wrote concerning, do we or don't we cut the brown ends of the ponytail hair.
I'm elderly ad can't see well. I'm very concerned about my article. When I was finally finished. The report was having trouble try again. I'm just not able to try again.
It would be most appreciated if you would please take the time and find my article, answer it. And send it to my email. Along with the copy of my article.
I've been many,many years with The
Almanac. I certainly would not want to be disappointed after all our wonderful years together. Once again bless you indevor. Sincerely, Miss: Joy Bradford
Brown Tips
I’m afraid we are only able to see comments that are published. Unfortunately, errors do occasionally occur.
In any case, we are happy to answer any questions about ponytail palm that you may have. Please post them here on this page or send an email to our inbox, AlmanacEditors@YankeePub.com.
Regarding the brown tips of ponytail palms: You may cut them as you wish—the brown tips are dead, so it won’t harm the plant to lose them.
Propagation
I have had an elephant foot tree I bought at a home depot about 3 years ago. Every summer (in Northern Illinois) I have put it outside, and it has grown and been re-potted once. Its about 12" tall. This summer I moved it out of the backyard because the goats were trying to eat it, and into the front, and forgot about it. Early fall it was cold and raining a lot and I remembered it and brought it inside. After a few days the leaves were turning brown, and eventually fell off. I was hoping that it was just going to be dormant and that I didn't kill it, so I left it in the pot in the house with no leaves and eventually a small squishy spot on the trunk, and haven't watered it at all, waiting for spring. Until today! When I walked past it I noticed 2 pups growing from the base of the trunk. Is my Elephant foot tree still alive? Should I cut the pups off, or just let them grow in the same pot? Is it possible to propagate off of a dead plant? I'm so confused and really hope its still alive!
Ponytail Palm Propogation
It sounds like the top of the adult plant died back due to cold and/or excess moisture, but the roots and base (caudex) survived. Does the upper stem of the adult plant still feel squishy? Or does it seem dry and shriveled? Either of those conditions would further suggest that the top of the plant is no longer alive. But, if the stem looks normal, try putting the plant in a warm, sunny spot for a couple weeks and water it as you normally would, as this could trigger it to produce new foliage.
If no new growth appears from the top, then you may want to trim the stem back to an inch or two above the caudex of the plant. If the plant is still alive, this should encourage it to produce new stems from the cut area after a few weeks. This practice is commonly done for aesthetic purposes, as it will make the ponytail palm produce more than one stem.
I would also suggest leaving the pups until they get a bit bigger—at least an inch in diameter at the base and 3–4 inches in height. Best of luck to you and your plant(s)!
reply
It does seem dry and shriveled, as if an avocado that is over-ripe. Where is you squeeze the trunk it seems as if there is air inside, the pups are now about 6 inches tall growing off the base of the plant. I did not try to cut the trunk down, but if you think this will spike new growth I will try that. Will I risk killing the pups if I do that? The pups don't seem to be growing trunks, just palms growing out of the base of the (dead) trunk
Ponytail Palms
It sounds like the pups are not actually pups, but rather new growth. They are coming out of the top of the wide, rounded base (the caudex) of the plant, correct? Pups would be emerging from where the base touches the soil.
If the skinny part of the plant (the “stem” or “trunk”) is damaged by cold or rot, the plant may die back to the base, where new growth sprouts from.
If this sounds like what’s happened to yours, then you can cut off the dead stem just above the base and the new growth won’t be affected.
Dwarf Ponytail Palm?
Is there any such thing as a dwarf ponytail palm? I started my plant from seed 42 years ago. it lives indoors and is very healthy with new leaves constantly sprouting. But, it is only 3 1/2 feet tall. It is given two cups of water every week or two and given a weak plant food solution every 2 months. it is repotted every 10 years. The trunk has never been cut and it has never sprouted babies nor has it bloomed. It prefers very good light but the green part of the trunk get wrinkled if it gets to much direct sun. Is there anything i should do differently?
Ponytail Palms
It sounds like you’re doing everything correctly; three and a half feet is actually pretty tall for a ponytail palm that’s spent its life indoors! Indoor specimens taller than 4 feet are fairly uncommon. The plant really needs ideal conditions (bright sunlight, warm temperatures, and no restrictions on its roots and trunk) to reach taller heights, which is usually the case for ponytail palms grown in greenhouses or outdoors.
Ponytail palms are very responsive to the size of their pots, so keeping it pot-bound will slow down its overall growth. You might try planting it in a deeper and wider pot than it is currently; that could encourage it to grow larger both above and below ground.
Thank you for the info!
Thank you for the info!
Pony tail palm question
I have one that I have had for about a year now and it's basically just a cluster of pups that were removed from the parent plant. I have never repotted it. It's starting to grow aerial roots and the leaves are turning brown. It doesn't get much natural light, as its currently indoors for the winter. I recently Purchased a small plant light and covered the aerial roots with a bit of potting soil. Now I'm wondering if I've made the right choice?
Ponytail Palm With Aerial Roots
Succulents that put out aerial roots typically do so in search of water, so that—combined with the browning leaves—suggests that your plant is in need of more water. However, if your plant doesn’t get much light this time of year, you do need to be careful not to overwater. What’s your watering schedule currently like? During winter months, water the plant deeply but don’t water again until the soil is almost entirely dry. Once you get the plant back in stronger light, you can increase waterings—still being sure not to water again until the top inch or so of soil is dry.
As for what to do with the aerial roots: You don’t want the plant to be planted deeper than about halfway up its base, so if the soil was already at that level before you added more, it would be better to remove the extra soil and simply snip off the aerial roots with clean scissors. If you do this, don’t water the plant until it looks like its wounds have healed; this will help to prevent fungal disease.
Ponytail palm needs help
It’s 4 years old and in the same pot. When I first got it I was watering it every 2weeks. Then of courses I wasn’t watering like I should and forgot some times. Could not remember when I did so I just gave it water. Today it looks skimpy with brown leaves. The bass where the leaves come out is all brown but some new growth is sprouting out. I not sure what to do should I water it last time was early in the month. I would love to see it thrive. Is it possible to bring it back.
Pony Tail Palm
Try a spray bottle and mist your palm maybe twice a week to keep the trunk from drying out. I keep my spray bottle next to it.
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