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.
About Ponytail Palms
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 (such as 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 get 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. Kept 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!
Reader Comments
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Pony tail plant
My mother has had PT plant for over 35 years. She hasn’t moved it or started watering any differently and all the sudden the leaves turned brown. There is new growth on the top but everything else looks dead. We are stumped as to why this happened.
Downsizing my pot?
I have 'acquired' a ponytail palm that is already 10' tall with a 14" base. It has the green top coming out of the top so I'll probably cut that off. But the tips of many of the leaves are dry and brown. Is it okay to trim those edges off? The pot it is in has disintegrated so we are going to try to put it in an equal size pot. I don't think we want it much taller.
Multiple Ponytail Palm
My ponytail palm with 2 heads got cold one is fine while the other turned yellow at the tip and also could tell it got cold . Can I cut the part that got cold off? The trunk seems fine the other other seems fine but I don't want to chance loading the whole plant. It belongs to my mother
The new growth leaves in my pony palm are falling out
Hi all, help please
We noticed yesterday that pretty much all of the new growth at the top of our beautiful pony palm is falling out.
None of it is brown, none of it is crisp
It's all beautiful brand-new growth.
Why is it just falling out?
It was repotted three months ago, because it was not looking too good. But it came back around BEAUTIFULLY .
We did have some Christmas tinsel kind of decorating around the base of it and we're wondering if maybe some chemical from that got into it or prevented adequate water from getting to it ( but it does not display any of the signs of lack of water ) , but aside from that the plant is beautifully healthy looking.
Thank you for any help you can give me
Ponytail Palm Leaves Falling Out
Has the plant been exposed to a sudden drop in temperatures? A drafty window or door, perhaps? Even being right up against a cold window could do it. Shock from temperature fluctuations can cause plants to drop their leaves. It should recover if moved to a warmer, more stable area.
If you don’t think that could be it, consider whether you could be giving it too much water. Stick your finger in the soil and see if it feels damp. Also check the soil at the drainage hole of the pot. Allow it to dry out more than usual, since it doesn’t have foliage to allow it to get rid of water as quickly as it usually would.
Leaves looking unhealthy with rusty spots
My two plants have been in my Hawaiian garden, potted, for about 5 years. Recently I had them moved to the ground in a relandscaping idea some five months ago. Other plants in the area are doing well, but I’m a bit worried about these two recently. Both are about 3 feet tall. Ideas? Thanks!
New Leaves Stick Together
My ponytail is doing well. But when new leaves grow, they stick together. There's 7 leaves that grew out but they all stick together towards the tip. Should I separate them myself? Or will they do that on their own? Thank you.
Pests - My Cat!
My cat has given my Ponytail Palm a buzz-cut! It's by far her favorite snack. Any tips for keeping her away and helping it regrow?
I've tried spraying it with lemon water but it didn't seem to help.
Thanks for any thoughts!
Cat Damage
You might try offering your cat a pot of cat grass as an alternative snack. Perhaps she’s just looking for something green to chew on!
Got any cayenne pepper? Try mixing some into water—plus a couple drops of non-toxic dish soap to make it stick to the plant—then spray the plant with it. Use only a little at first and see if that does the trick.
Pony tail palm
Moved a 15 ft. Ponytail the chain scratched off the outer layers in several areas, what do I do?
Ponytail Palm Damaged
As long as the plant is in an area with adequate air flow and the wounds are allowed to dry, they shouldn’t have any trouble healing without extra help.
Ponytail Palm Tree Growth
Hi,
I am at a loss. Today I noticed that my ponytail palm has grown something that looks like mushrooms. Long stem all yellow plant coming from under the dirt? I googled it all morning and yet no one seems to know what it could be. One person on FB said it was toxic mushrooms. Scared I googled it and nothing came up for that. I wish I could include pictures but this website does not offer that ability. Can you help me please? Thanks Sally
Mushrooms in Soil
Having mushrooms appear in your potted plants is typically not something to be concerned about, as it just means that the organic matter in the soil is being broken down. Just don’t eat it (or let any of your household members eat it). Mushrooms usually only last a couple days at the most, so you could either wait or cut it down and dispose of it. If it has already released spores onto the soil, however, expect more!
Pony Tail Palm
Is it possible to air root the top of the pony tail and if so, how? I have one plant that is 8 Ft.,6 inches and I don't think it will fit in the house for the winter. We live in Dallas and it freezes here. My plant is very old and has many offshoots all around the plant, very pretty. Please advise best options.
light requirements for poneytail palm
I have read that the plant loves lots of light. I have had my ponytail palm for over 40 years and nearly lost it when I took it outside. I get the strong morning sun in the summer for over 6 hours. The blades started to blanch and bleach out so I returned the plant back indoors rather than take a chance and loose it. Why did this happen? I thought long periods of light is what it likes.
Ponytail Palm Outdoors
Ponytail palms do enjoy lots of sunlight, but plants that are usually kept indoors need to be given time to adjust to the intensity of direct outdoor sun before they can be kept outdoors for extended periods of time. Ideally, start by putting it in partial shade for a couple hours in the morning, then gradually increase the amount of time and the amount of sun over 10 to 14 days, until the plant is adjusted to the new environment.
It’s also important to keep in mind that with more light (and heat), the plant will use more water. So, keep an eye on your watering, as you may need to water it more often once it spends longer periods of time in the sun.
Pony tail plant
I have a 5 ft tall and 25vyears old. It has limbs coming off the trumk. No has been able to tell me how to take them off .n
Ponytail Palm Limbs
My ponytail palm has limbs growing from the side of the trunk. They are about 4" long and they each have their own ponytail. Can I remove them and root them for more palms? If so, how do I do this?
All leaves are gone
Will the ponytail plant regrow leaves if they fall off. Mine was doing really well and then they started to get soft where growth is and they came off like maybe they had too much watering. I didn't want to throw it away if i could save it. Help!!!
Mealy Bugs
My tropicals are getting infested with mealy bugs including my beautiful 10' pony palm. It got so bad that in the fall, I had to cut off the trunk beneath the palm growth... thinking it dead, I just left it in the house all winter and just a couple of days ago, I can see sprouts coming from just below the cut line of the trunk! I am so very happy, but the mealy bugs are back. I've tried everything, the store bought spray, rubbing alcohol dabbing, and washing the plant down with a solution of water, vinegar and dish detergent. Nothing seems to stop these awful invaders. How can I get rid of them???
Pony Tail Plant Flower
I've had my indoor PT plant for many years, it's 5-6ft high. We've recently moved, and suddenly the leaves went flat. Then to our amazement it flowered, which was very exciting (we live in the UK, so it's not very warm). New leaves are coming out of the base of the flower still , but the flower itself has now dried up. Should I wait for it to drop off, or dead-head it? I can't quite work out how to allow the new leaves to come out if it is still there. Thank you!
Deadheading Flower
Wow! How lucky!
Once the flower has withered and dried up, you may prune it off. The entirety of the flower stem may not be removable at the moment, but it should eventually dry up enough and fall off on its own.
Pony tail palm
I have had my palm for approximately 30 years and it has started sprouting new growth from the root ball is that ok or should I cut them off.
Ponytail palm
My ponytail has 6 stems, one of which seems to have died. The center is bald with green leaves all around it, like a flower. Will this stem come back? If not should I cut it and where should I cut it. At the bottom, or top, someplace in between!
Ponytail Palm's leaves are splitting off
My Ponytail Palm was growing really well this summer when all of a sudden, its leaves started splitting or creating a slit and tearing off. I do not know what this is from. What am I doing wrong?
Ponytail Palm
I have green sprouts growing out of the dome, what does that mean?
New Trunks
Those sprouts will eventually form new trunks. You can leave them if you like, or prune them off if you prefer the single-trunk style.
Elephant Palm
We are moving and we have a Elephant Palm in the back yard about 3 feet in diameter and 6 feet high. We would like to take it with us as it was my Mother in Laws but are wondering if it would survive and whats the best way to dig up and transport?
Ponytail Palm
I bought my plant in 1975 in a 3" pot. Until this spring, it was scraping the 8' ceiling in my house. It was usually placed outside in May and brought inside in October. Due to its height another winter in the house would not be possible, so I made the painful decision to cut it down to 5'. It has now produced 6 new shoots at the cut, in addition to the shoot it pushed out at the base 3 years ago.
Ponytail Palm
My Ponytail Palm is 6" tall and the leaves are about 2 feet long, with the last foot very brown. Is it OK to cut the brown off?
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