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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>Sandra Avilez</span> Wed, 06/25/2014 - 13:28
I have two ponytails one I've had for 4.month's and the other for 3 month's. My first palm has 3 feet and my sevond one has a big single foot about 4 inches wide. So far both are healthy but to my dismay my wide base palm has developed some green spikes on its foot about 10 of them is my plant dying because it also had a beautiful spray of green growth comming out of the top and a couple of the sprouts turned brown so I tugged the leaf an the whole spray came out oh my
<span>Felicia White</span> Tue, 06/24/2014 - 10:17
Can you leave a pony tail palm outside in the shade, it is covered by a very large tree?
<span>Don Hildebrand</span> Fri, 10/17/2014 - 15:27
I have half a dozen ponies (our name for them). We keep them out in the sun, southern Alberta, 6 months of the year. Temp's from -2 to + 40 (Celsius). Doing great! They also sit outside in Palm Springs year round. They're pretty hardy.
<span>Angelica Santrich</span> Tue, 06/03/2014 - 12:16
Hello. I have a pony-tail plant myself for about 3 years and I'm getting a bit worried. It's leaves are getting all dried up. I want to know what kind of fertilizer or anything else so that it can be as beautiful as it once was. Also, the trunk/stem is starting to really dry up and shrink. I just wanted to know how often I should water it, too. Thank you!
<span>Paula Shepard</span> Thu, 06/19/2014 - 17:34
If the trunk is shriveling up, water it now as that is the water storage for the plant and shriveling means it's nearly empty. I water my ponytail palms (who are right next to a southwestish facing window and get some sun through the window as well as bright light- yeah if taken slowly to get them used to the change, they love sun and heat) once a week by placing the whole pot into another container that is as tall or taller than the pot and I add water to the edge of the plant pot and I let sit a couple hours to give the plant time to tank up. Then I take it out and put it somewhere it can drain out what it doesn't need. Adjust watering down a little for lower light and in winter lengthen the time between waterings as the plant isn't growing and not using water as fast. The leaves are drying up probably because it is water deficient. I'm wondering what changed recently as you had it going well for 3 years...a move maybe which caused a change in light level with a change of location? The brighter the light the more water a plant will use generally. You can also kind of generally tell how much water is in the pot just by picking it up. Feel how heavy it is right after it has been watered and drained and remember how heavy it is, the pot gets lighter in weight as the water is used up. If the top is heavier than the pot...get it in water. You can fertilize it with a well balanced fertilizer once every two months during the spring/summer/fall (could put it in the water even) but if I were you I'd go half strength on the fertilizer. Or if you have compost around, sprinkle it over the top works too then water gently over the top of that to get the nutrients down in the soil. These guys also like being misted with a spray bottle when you remember to do it. It's not mandatory but they like it alot and it helps keep them beautiful. I use water with a quarter or less strength fertilizer that is good for spraying on plants in my water bottle and don't worry about fertilizing other than the new soil every so often. I try to remember to spray once a day as I walk by. These are TOUGH plants though, especially if you don't rot them out with too much water. If the leaves look that bad, cut them off...just chop them and new, pretty ones will quickly start to grow and take their place. And remember, if you repot the ponytail palm into a bigger pot it grows TALLER. If you want to keep it shorter with a bushy top avoid repotting it as long as you can, preferably until it physically breaks the pot it is in, then try to get a pot only a half size bigger to pot into. I also practice root pruning on mine where every two to three years I cut the lower quarter to half of the rootball off, put new soil in the pot to take its place and put the plant back in over the top and push the plant and remaining root ball firmly onto the new soil to make sure it's firmly lodged into the pot again. This gives it fresh nutritious soil. It's kind of like repotting without repotting. And watch that trunk, if it starts to shrivel it's in advanced water shortage and needs a chance to tank up again quickly...at least several hours and possibly two rounds of watering like that 3 days apart.
<span>Lauraz</span> Thu, 08/21/2014 - 21:07
My question is how do I get my palm to grow taller? I have had it for about 3 years and it is still only a small bulb for the trunk. From what I have read so far I think I should change the soil to bonsai and put into a larger pot. Is that correct? Do it need to be a generally larger pot or just wider or taller? Whatever would work the best. I would really like it to begin taking a tree shape instead of just a small plant. Thanks!
<span>Jana D</span> Sun, 05/25/2014 - 16:43
A hanging plant fell on top of my 2+ year old ponytail palm. I am devasted because the main branch, the entire ponytail that was so beautiful and getting very large, is broken completely off at the stem. Another smaller sprout broke off too. All that is left is one small/newer sprout with some leaves and the bolbous stem. It looks so sad now. What should I do? After I cried for awhile, I haven't lost hope because I am wondering if I can replant the main branch and hope it grows? Also, will the main branch grow back and someday have a beautiful large ponytail again? Or I am in a bad situation? Thank you.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 05/27/2014 - 11:31

You will have better luck if you plant the broken stem in a new pot. The main stem will most likley grow a new stem where the old one was broken off. Good luck!

 <span>Barbara Craft</span> Fri, 05/23/2014 - 22:29
My ponytail palm is starting to have leaves turning almost redat the top. What does this mean? Thank You Barbara
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 05/27/2014 - 11:34

You can cut the brownish-red tips off. It's normal for the lower leaves to turn brown and eventually dry up. If you have brown tips on the upper leaves try moving the plant closer to a window so it gets more light.