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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Planting Outside
I have a small (maybe 1.5') ponytail that I bought with the intention of planting in the corner of the backyard. My husband, however, has decided he wants it to go in this very small area in front of the house. This area is a spot surrounded by concrete and directly against the house and is currently filled with a bleeding heart vine. How much space does the ponytail need and will the placement prove to be a problem as it grows? He is convinced that the small area will prevent the base from growing too large for the space.
Ponytail Palm Outside
A ponytail palm grows very slowly, but will eventually fill the space it’s given. They do well in pots because they can tolerate being root-bound—that’s what keeps them small. If planted in the ground, they can get up to 30ft tall! How deep does the concrete go? If not too deep, the plant’s roots will spread underneath, letting it get larger.
Ponytail palms like fairly dry, well-drained soil, and need full sun. If the spot where your husband would like to plant it is right up against the house, there could be rain run off from the roof or the plant could be shaded by your house, depending on which direction it faces.
Assuming that that spot doesn’t get too wet and gets full sun exposure, you could plant the ponytail palm there, though you may have to remove it many years down the line if it gets too large. At that point, the roots may be too deep to remove, though!
Ponytail Palm problem
Hello - I live in SW Florida. I have a ponytail Palm I received when I volunteered at the Naples Zoo 12 years ago. It was about 2” tall. Now she’s 3-4’ and potted on my lanai. For the last 6 months it’s been covered in a fuzzy white particles. I water/fertilize as needed. Of course watering more. I have tried to wipe each leaf clean with different suggested “ home remedies” to no avail. It just keeps returning. Then I bought Garden Safe Fungicide3. It covers fungicide, insecticide and míticide. Still it keeps returning. What’s next? What can I do? I love this plant. It signified a turning point in my life and I do not want to give up. It’s orjerwise healthy at the base and still producing new branches but they are quickly covered in white. Please help! Thanks!
Mealybugs
It sounds like you could be battling mealybugs, which are tiny white pests that can quickly infest a plant. They tend to congregate on the undersides of leaves and look like little pieces of cotton or fungus.
Mealybugs can be tough to get rid of. Repeated application of an insecticide is usually what does the trick. The insecticide that you bought does list mealybugs on its label, so it should be appropriate. Follow the directions on the insecticide’s label, and make sure that you search every nook and cranny of the plant, as well as in and around the pot and soil. Remove all the bugs that you can see by hand and know that you’ll need to treat the plant several times to kill subsequent generations of the pest. The insecticide only kills the adult mealybugs, but not the eggs.
In the meantime, you may want to move the plant to a different area in case the insects are hanging around that area. Mealybugs spread easily, so keep the infected plant away from other plants.
Trimming pony tail palms
My pony tail is putting out branches, or clamps of leaves, several places along the main stalk, should these be pruned off?
Pruning Ponytails
It depends on what you’re looking for in your plant! If you want it to grow as tall as possible with only one central stem, trim off the offshoots so that the plant focuses its growth upward. If you’d prefer that your plant be a little bushier, leave the offshoots alone. Offshoots can add interest, but a tall, single-stemmed ponytail palm is also quite a sight. The plant will do fine with or without the offshoots, so it’s up you!
I am trying to keep the plant
I am trying to keep the plant in more sunlight and water less, but the brown tipped leaves are getting worse. Should you remove these and if so how?
Brown Tips
If your plant’s leaves continue to turn brown at the tips, you may actually need to water a more. If the plant is in intense sun for most of the day, it will dry out fairly quickly. Test the soil and water when the top inch or so of soil is dry. This could be once a week, twice a week, or more. When you do water, water deeply.
As for the brown tips, they can be cut off if you prefer a cleaner look, though the leaf tips won’t grow back.
Repotting
Hi there,
I have a poneytail palm that is about 9 years old- it was given to me as a gift when my grandfather passed away. It was in a small clay bowl with a hole at the bottom. I just repotted it, as it definitely had outgrown the bowl. There was hardly any dirt in there when I took it out- it was also topped with stones that I would just water over once a week. I repotted it to a larger pot that does have holes at the bottom with regular potting soil and used some fertilizer too (I reported it after reading this info). I then put that pot into an even larger decrotive pot that does not have holes in it. The pot with holes fits pretty snug into the pot with no holes, the pot inside is a plastic pot, and the decrotive one is clay. I used to water it once a week- when I repotted I gave it about 4 times as much water as I typically do, since there is now so much dirt in there and thought I’d wait awhile to water again.
This was about two weeks ago, and today the underneath leaves are starting to yellow. This has happened in the past before also. But now I am worried since I changed the pot. Any advice I would greatly appreciate!
Ponytail Palm Problems
Yellowing leaves can be caused by over- or underwatering; to know for sure, you’ll have to check the soil and see if it feels wet or dry.
Our guess would be that the plant has gotten too much water—the potting soil and plastic pot hold in more moisture than the plant has been accustomed to. For now, take the plastic pot out of the clay pot and check the bottom of the plastic pot. Is the soil at the bottom still moist? If so, let the plant dry out outside of the clay pot. Also note that if the plastic pot is too snug in the clay pot, there will be nowhere for excess moisture to evaporate to.
If it seems like the plastic pot is holding too much moisture, you may want to consider repotting the plant again. Ideally, use a clay pot with a hole in the bottom, as well as a succulent soil mix (or a 1:1:1 mix of perlite, potting soil, and coarse sand). When you repot, don’t water for about a week in order to encourage the plant to put out new roots.
Thank you!
Thank you for the advice and info! I did repot the plant a couple of days ago. I took the little pot out and had my husband drill holes in the clay pot. I added a layer of rocks so they do not get clogged, then repotted the plant with succulent soil. It is still a little yellow, but the soil is completely dry at each level. I checked with a hydrometer. I will wait at least a week to give it anymore water, hopefully that will spruce it up! Thank you again for the advice!
Ponytail palm
My mom gave me her ponytail palm. She is now deceased and this palm means so much to me. My mother grew this from a baby. It ij s now at least 30 years old and stands 6ft high. It is potted and I bring it outside here in NY for the warmer months. I noticed that I have lost many leaves this past winter. What is the best thing to do to get new leaves to grow back? It looks very odd with such a small amount of leaves on top of a 6ft high trunk.
Thanks for your help.
Large Pony Tail "rotting" in base? Falling over
I have had my pony tail plant for 44 years (yes 44!). It has gone from pot to pot but we eventually planted in our backyard (zone 12) about 4 years ago. It loved it, grew about 10 feet more, and survived Irma. All the sudden I noticed it was leaning. I went out and the base is basically rotting away. I'd send a picture but don't see that option. Is there anyway to save it?
base rotted
This happened to my Ponytail after Hurricane Charlie. It had been flooded by salt water for several days when our canal overflowed. I moved the entire plant to a dryer part of the yard and it responded nicely . I have now moved the plant again when I moved and the rotted base had healed. It's doing beautifully in full sun .
Getting another start
Hello! I have a ponytail that has two growing off of the base. The plant itself is at least 6ft min. The starts on the base are at least 2ft. How can I safely remove one to grow another? O read above the cut needs to heal but what does that mean?
Leaves Fell Off
I just lost all the leaves on my ponytail palm. It's been perfectly healthy for the last six months but then all of a sudden the leaves started to fall over. I didn't water it much so I watered it some more hoping to perk it up but that didn't work. I also used some liquid fertilizer but that didn't work either. The trunk is solid. I'm really not sure what do to. Do you have any advice? TIA
Lost Leaves
Could the plant have been hit by a cold draft? Perhaps it’s near a window? Sudden leaf-drop can be caused by cold damage. If that’s not the case, the best you can do is keep it in a warm, partly-sunny place and let the soil dry out as usual. Let the top inch or two of soil dry out before watering again. Without its leaves, the plant can’t get rid of excess water as easily, so be careful not to overwater. Avoid fertilizing until leaves appear again. If the trunk and roots aren’t rotted, then the plant should recover.
Just following up on my post.
Just following up on my post. I left it as is, moved it into better light, and watered it very little but the leaves still haven't grown back. I repotted it, where I noticed the roots were in good condition, gave it some water, and then fertilized a month later but there's still nothing. The base got soft for a few weeks but seems to be returning to normal now. Do you have any more suggestions please? Thanks again.
Trunk/Base Rot
I had a friend with a large 4 trunk 15' high specimen that was moved to my backyard last year. It was blown over by Irma and we noticed the root zone was very soft and it progressively got worse till the next wind event broke off the trunks from the base. The upper plants are still green and the trunk is firm a foot or so up from where they broke off. Is it possible to stand up and plant these trunks together to save them?
Ponytail Palm Base Rot
Sorry to hear that your ponytail palm didn’t survive the storm. Unfortunately, the bare trunks are very unlikely to grow roots if replanted. However, if the base survived (and is not totally destroyed by rot), then it may produce new growth if replanted in a drier area.
ponytail palm
I have a large 30 year old plant. Height about 8', it also has a few shoots growing lower on the stalk. Question: This past winter in Texas we had some severe cold nights. The tip of my plant fronds fell off. The lower ones had some damage but are surviving. Do I cut back this tall stalk and hope it gets new growth? I worry about cutting 6' off. the stalk is firm and solid. Thanks!
Palm in rocks
Hello-
I am so glad I found this page. I have always wanted a Pony Tail plant and bought one today at Sams Club...it came in a pot with rocks not dirt..and it is pretty much cemented in there....the instructions say to water once its dry an inch or so down....but it is in and cemented in the pot. Also,there is no hole to drain. I am kinda confused how to care for it? Any help would be so appreciated. TY Frankie
Ponytail Palm in Rocks
With the way your plant is currently potted, it sounds like it will be very difficult to know when and how much to water, which will surely end up stressing out both you and the plant. Really, it would be best to repot it entirely. Try carefully removing the rocks to see if there’s any way you could get the plant out of the pot. If it’s cemented to the bottom of the pot, perhaps you could carefully break the pot apart (assuming it’s terracotta). Be careful not to snap the stem of the plant in the process. If you can manage to get the plant out, replant it with a succulent potting mix in a pot with a drainage hole and follow the care instructions outlined above.
If there’s absolutely no way to get the plant out, you could create a makeshift dip-stick to tell you when there’s no water left in the bottom of the pot. Assuming the rocks are fairly loose, take a straw and feed it down to the bottom of the pot, leaving a bit sticking up from the surface. To check the water level, take a piece of string and feed it through the straw to the bottom of the pot. If the string comes out bone-dry, it’s time to water again. Be careful not to water too much at once, as you don’t want the base of the plant to sit in water.
you are awesome
Thank you so much for getting back to me so fast. I appreciate you :)
Ponytail palm
I have a ponytail palm i got from my mother when she passed and i promissed i would take care of it. This plant is 42 years old, everything was going good until i noticed the leaves are turning dark brown at the top where new groth is starting. It is not in direct light cuz there are heater vents by the windows and the plant will dry out so i try to getit as close to light as i ca n until i can turn off the heat.what can i do to save this beutiful plant? Pleas help.
Brown Leaves
Brown leaf tips are fairly normal for an indoor ponytail palm. They can be caused by over- or underwatering, so make sure that you are following the watering tips outlined above. Ponytail palms don’t need much water, especially in the winter, and the soil should dry out almost completely between waterings. Once you’ve ensured that your watering habits are correct, consider the lighting. Dying leaves could also be caused by the lack of light—ponytail palms do need full sun. Setting up a supplementary indoor light using a full spectrum fluorescent or LED bulb may help keep it happy during the winter months.
In any case, ponytail palms are hardy plants, so yours should bounce back when spring comes around and it can get more light.
pony tail palm
can you cut off and plant the side shoots of the parent plant that present on older palms.
what care is needed. section found did little to provide much info on anything other than planting. Found the answer tks a lot
kaye
ponytail palm.
Is it possible to grow this plant by a cutting.
Ponytail palm cuttings
It would be a bad idea to remove the main stem of a ponytail palm, but occasionally, adult plants will produce “babies” or “pups,” which are small offshoots stemming from the base of the plant. These can be removed and grown into new plants with the right care. When they’re at least 4 inches tall, the pups can be cut from the mother plant and replanted. When you make the cut, make sure you use a sterile knife, and dust the pup’s cut wound with rooting hormone if possible. Then, place it in slightly moistened soil (a succulent mix, ideally) and wait. Do not overwater.
White foamy sap oozing from trunk after freeze
I have a ponytail palm that I’ve had for almost 30 years. Got it from my mother. It is in a pot and lives outside. Very unusual but this winter we had several continuous days of below freezing weather. The palm was covered but apparently not good enough. The palm oozed a white foamy sap. The fronds are all brown. It could be my imagination but the stem feels a little soft. The bulb still feels hard and firm. All these years, the ponytail has been so hardy that it is distressing to see its current condition. Is there anything I should do to help it (beyond making sure to bring it inside if it is going to freeze in the future)?
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