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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>Deanna Burns</span> Sat, 02/01/2014 - 17:20
I have a ponytail palm that we keep outside during the summer. The palm did really well but it got really cold and I think we waited to long to bring it in. The tops have all slumped over and got really soft and have since started to smell and fallen off. I'm trying to save it but I think it might be dying. What can I do? The leaves are still green in some places but are very limp. I put it in the sun during the day and move it back to the living room at night but it doesn't seem to be doing any better. Please help it's my favorite plant and would really love to make sure I can save it. It's about 4 years old.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 02/07/2014 - 14:49

Hi DeAnna.

The tops got damaged from the cold but if the bulb and roots are OK the palm may start growing new shoots and leaves. Don't give up yet.

 <span>Pamela Payne</span> Fri, 01/24/2014 - 09:40
my ponytails heads were really wet at the beginng of summer. Now most off them have rotted off. very brown and have brown streaks down the leaves.What do I do? Could it be the mulch I used ? It was quite fresh when I laid it down. Can I cut the tops of the heads off. I live in Australia
<span>Catherine Hetzler</span> Sat, 01/18/2014 - 12:50
I have two plants both bought as seedlings at the same time. They are about 8 yrs. old. One has a large bulb with a short neck and looks very nice with long curling leaves hanging down. The other one has a very long "neck" with no leaves of course and very few straight leaves coming out the top. Are they different varieties? I have tried switching their locations, but they continue to look as they did regardless of location. Is there a way to get more leaves to grow from the long-necked one?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Thu, 01/23/2014 - 15:34

Hi Catherine,

Your palms may be different varieties. To promote leaf growth on the palm with the long neck you can cut off the top and the palm will grow new shoots in about a month. You can also plant the top in a pot with soil to root it.

 

 <span>Lisa Hartline</span> Wed, 01/15/2014 - 12:25
Is ponytail palm poisonous to cats?
<span>Hm1</span> Mon, 01/27/2014 - 10:46
NO there not poisonous to cats. My cat has been eating mine for years. He keeps finding a way to get up to it every time I move the plant. I'm going to hang it this time. HA
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 01/15/2014 - 17:27

Hi Lisa,

According to the ASPCA the ponytail palm is non-toxic to dogs and cats.

 <span>Sd</span> Sat, 01/11/2014 - 16:15
I've had a ponytail palm for 2 years now and I love it! I even bought one as a housewarming gift for a friend. But I'm noticing the new one looks a lot better than mine. The new ponytail palm leaves are tighter, more curly and greener than mine. The new growth on mine is more straight and barely curly. It's also a must lighter shade of green. Is there anything I can do to get the leaves to curl more? And do you think it needs fertilized to get more color in the leaves? It sets in a very bright window and is lightly watered about once a week. Thank you for your help! There is so much great info on your page.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 01/13/2014 - 12:51

The newer leaves on the ponytail palm are usually lighter in color and will turn darker with age. Some palms have curlier leaves than others. I don't think that you can make your leaves curl more. If you haven't fertilized your plant lately it's a good idea to do so.