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Ponytail Palm Care Guide: How to Grow This Easy, Long-Lived Houseplant

Poneytail palm indoors by a window. The Beaucarnea Recurvata, also known as Ponytail Palm, or Nolina is a houseplant with a swollen thick brown stem and the long narrow curly, green leaves flow up from this base.
Image Credit:
Renata.Ka/Shutterstock
Botanical Name
Beaucarnea recurvata
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Partial Sun
Soil pH
Neutral
Flower Color
White
Yellow
Plant Type
Houseplants
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Ponytail palms, or elephant foot palms, are unique-looking, long-lived indoor plants that thrive on benign neglect. They are straightforward to grow—provided that 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. As the plant ages, one or more rosettes of long, green, leathery leaves develop from the top of the stem. Indoors, the leaves can reach up to 3 feet long, but outdoors, they may be double that length.

In its native environment of eastern Mexico, the plant can reach up to 30 feet in height. However, ponytail palms grown in gardens as landscape plants typically don’t reach more than 10 feet tall. 

Kept indoors, they are rarely taller than 4 feet. However, as Susan Mahr of the University of Wisconsin-Madison explains, “In containers, ponytail palms will grow slower than if in the ground, and the plants will remain small if kept in a small pot. They can go for many years before needing to be repotted. Moving your ponytail palm to a larger pot will give it room to grow in both height and girth. They can be very long-lived and can easily outlive their owners. However, older plants may be difficult to manage because of sheer size and weight if not kept on the smaller size.”

Care of this plant is simple; the most common difficulty is adapting your watering habits to its needs.

Planting

Choosing a Growing Medium and a Pot

  • Use a fast-draining potting mix, such as one for cactuses and succulents. If you already have potting mix, sand, and perlite on hand, you can create your own desert mixture using equal amounts of each
  • Select a pot with a hole in the bottom so that excess water can be drained off. Ponytail palms do not like to sit in moisture for long.
  • Use a clay pot if possible; the porous material will absorb some of the water, drying out the growing medium more quickly (a good thing for cactuses and succulents).

Growing

How to Care for Ponytail Palms

  • Ponytail palms prefer bright indirect light.
  • Keep growing medium fairly dry. Water from spring through fall, allowing the top inch or two to dry out completely before rewatering. During the winter, water only occasionally.
  • To water, soak the potting mix and allow the excess water to drain through the bottom of the pot into a dish. Let the pot sit in the dish for several minutes, then dump out any remaining water in the dish.
  • Fertilize in the spring with a cactus/succulent fertilizer and bring into a brighter room for the summer months.
  • Average room temperature is acceptable for most of the year, but to replicate the natural dormancy cycle, keep the plant slightly cooler in the winter (50°–55°F / 10°–13°C).
  • Don’t let the plant sit too close to cold windows at night during winter, as freezing temperatures can severely damage it.

Repotting a Ponytail Palm

  • Ponytail palms will remain small if kept in a small pot. They can go for many years before needing to be repotted. Repotting every other year at the most is all a ponytail palm needs.
  • Moving the plant to a larger pot will allow it to grow in height and girth. However, older plants may become challenging to manage due to their sheer size and weight if they are not kept at a smaller size.
  • When selecting a new pot, pick one large enough to leave about an inch or so of space between the ponytail palm’s trunk and the pot’s rim.
  • Note: Use caution when handling a ponytail palm, as its leaves have tiny serrated edges.

Harvesting

Propagation

  • Rarely, a ponytail palm may produce an offset—a tiny baby plant that stems from the base of the adult plant. These can be cut off at the base when they reach at least 4 inches in height and planted in a succulent potting mix. Before planting, allow the cut wound to heal, then apply some rooting hormone (available online and in nurseries) to encourage the offset to root. 

Pests and Problems

  • Overwatering can result in stem rot. If you withhold watering, the plant may be able to internally remedy the problem. Signs of stem rot include yellowing leaves and a caudex (the plant’s base and stem) that is soft or squishy.
  • Spider mites and scale insects may find their way to the leaves, but can be dealt with by rubbing a cloth of dish soap and water on the stems. Spider mites are evidenced by the presence of spider-like webbing on the plant.
  • Brown tips on leaves can be a sign of overfertilizing or underwatering, so adjust your practices appropriately. They can also indicate that the plant is getting too much direct light and not enough water.

Wit and Wisdom

  • The plant’s unusual shape and coloration have granted it another strange nickname—elephant’s foot palm.
  • Are ponytail palms poisonous to cats? While the leaves of a ponytail palm are not toxic to feline (or canine) companions, their foliage does have abrasive edges that could irritate a pet’s mouth, so we suggest keeping the plant out of reach. 

Houseplant Guides

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Leah</span> Sat, 06/29/2024 - 17:15
A question. I have potting soil and perlite. No sand. May I substitute the sand with perlite?
<span>Nichola Sweet</span> Sun, 03/24/2024 - 18:52
I have beautiful pony tail palm I rescued pot less of the side of the road I replanted it but it has 2 dead brown leaf things at the top should I cut them off it also has a baby plant forming on the trunk? Do I need to take the baby off or can it just stay and grow on the plant?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 03/26/2024 - 11:33

Hi Nichola,

Thanks for sharing your rescue story! It's great this ponytail palm got a second chance.

You can certainly trim your ponytail palm to remove the dead leaves, which will improve your plant's appearance. Browning of leaves can be a sign that your plant is not receiving enough water, too much fertilizer, or too much direct sun. It could also stem from the shock of all it has gone through.

In terms of watering, keep the soil fairly dry. From now through fall, allow the top inch or two of soil to dry completely before re-watering. As for sun exposure, bright and indirect is best.

The baby plant your referenced is an offset, which can be removed and planted on its own. You should wait until it is at least 4 inches in height. See above under Propagation for more instructions for planting your offset.

 <span>Mary</span> Thu, 12/14/2023 - 04:13
My son has had my pony tail Palm for about 5 years. He recently gave it back and said it couldn't get enough light at his place. It is huge but not doing well at all. The top is gone, pretty much fell off. I don't know if it's smart to try repotting or toss it. It was a beautiful plant. Approx 20-25 years old.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Thu, 12/14/2023 - 12:22

Hi Mary,

Sorry to hear about the condition of your ponytail palm. Given its age and story within your family, you should certainly try to save it. It might be a slow process of nursing it back to health, but it can be done.

You mentioned that the top fell off. You should inspect the top of the stem to see if it has the same firmness as the lower part of the trunk. If not, you will want to cut down to where the stem is firm with a squeeze. If it is firm just below the breaking point, you still might want to give it a cut for a clean look depending on what the break looks like. 

You should let it adjust to its new growing environment in your home and hold off on repotting for now. Too many changes could be detrimental to your already struggling plant.

Make sure you give it plenty of bright, indirect sunlight and only water occasionally during the winter. Ponytail palms like fairly dry soil. 

Good luck!

 <span>Marlene</span> Mon, 11/06/2023 - 18:22
My ponytail palm is 54 years old and too big for me to repot again. It is over 5 feet tall. As it get new leaves the bottow row dies. Is that normal? Do you ever water on the bulb? He has moved with me everywhere I have lived. Can I leave it in the pot where it is now and never repot? Thank you.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 11/07/2023 - 10:13

Hi Marlene,

It is natural for older leaves in a ponytail palm to die. With that being said, if newer leaves are yellowing (or the trunk is soft) that is a sign that it is getting too much water. If brown tips appear, that indicates your plant is not receiving enough water, got too much fertilizer, or is getting too much direct sun. 

You want to water the soil as best you can and not the base. That way the water will get down to the root level where it will take up the water. Just remember to allow the top inch or two of soil to dry completely before re-watering and only water occasionally during the winter.

Considering the age of your ponytail palm, it's easy to see where it would be difficult to repot. Ponytail palms actually do not mind being rootbound, so if you want to give it a little refresher in the same pot you can remove the top layer of growing medium and replace with new. You also want to be mindful of signs that it is too rootbound, including roots growing out of the drainage holes, the growing medium drying out very quickly, and water running out directly through the pot and not the soil when watered.

 <span>Pamela</span> Wed, 08/16/2023 - 09:38
Hi I have a ponytail palm but my cat Mr. Poe has decided to "prune it". Is there anything I can do to hopefully get it to grow back. Was going to attach a pic.
<span>Julie</span> Fri, 09/01/2023 - 00:30
My cat did the same thing. I just kept caring for it like before and the leaves grew back.
<span>Beth</span> Mon, 08/14/2023 - 20:16
My ponytail was growing fabulous, then it got brown spots. I read how to care for the plant, but it has gone down hill ever since. Now I think it's a goner, the base(stem) is squishy and not looking so good. Can I I save my favorite plant!! Please say Yes!!