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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>Dez M.</span> Sun, 09/13/2020 - 10:59
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.
<span>Carrie</span> Sun, 08/09/2020 - 13:30
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!
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 08/25/2020 - 11:43

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.

 <span>Sandra Bass</span> Mon, 08/03/2020 - 11:51
Moved a 15 ft. Ponytail the chain scratched off the outer layers in several areas, what do I do?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 08/04/2020 - 09:21

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.

 <span>Sally A Dart</span> Sun, 07/12/2020 - 11:20
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
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 07/13/2020 - 16:13

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!

 <span>Linda C Youngblood</span> Wed, 06/10/2020 - 08:33
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.
<span>Doug Mckenzie</span> Thu, 05/28/2020 - 16:12
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.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 05/29/2020 - 15:11

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.