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!
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Split in the trunk. My
Split in the trunk.
My ponytail palm has a 1" split in the trunk right at the soil line. I can actually stick the tip of my finger into it like it is dented.
I usually water it every 2 weeks and it has alot of new light green growth and looks beautiful and healthy otherwise.
My concern is that either the trunk is shrinking and has split........or this open wound is caused from something else.
When I water it, this split in the trunk seems to feel soft to the touch. So it worries me that it is rotting.
Split base
I haven't seen any answers regarding this topic. Mine is also split. It is about 18-20+ feet tall, the base (bulb?) is about 3 feet tall and probably 15 feet in diameter. It has several tops 4-6 and there is a pup(?) growjng straight out of the middle. It must be older since it is about 4' tall. That is where the split begins and it goes all the way to the base and gets larger.
Is there anything to fix this?
What became of the OP's ponytail?
I have a Pony Tail planet
I have a Pony Tail planet which I bought from a florist about 16 years ago.
It has always lived inside and gets quite a lot of light.
It has never been re-potted and only recently I have noticed it is not looking as healthy as it once was, The leaves are dull and a lot skinnier than they once were and the bulb itself is not firmly attached into the soil. It is very special to me, what do I do to get it back to good health?
Do I need to feed it? if so, what is the best plant food for Pony Tails?
First, we would change the
First, we would change the soil and repot in well-draining bonsai soil. Tip it over and gently pull it out; brush off old soil; gently remove any dead roots. Repot in a container slightly bigger than the roots. Lightly dust the remaining roots with rooting hormone. Do not water for at least a week. Then slowly add small amounts of water over the next few weeks afterward. Keep it lots of light but not direct sun. Only water when dry. It does not need much water.
I just got my first ponytail
I just got my first ponytail palm about a week ago. The cashier tipped it over when she was ringing it out. it almost came put of the pot. I put more potting soil in it. and watered it good. now it doesn't look so good. leaved are curling inward. Is this natural? the plant is a young one. It doesn't need any water since. Did I over water it? What should I do?
Water about every 1 to 2
Water about every 1 to 2 weeks; give it a good watering, and let it drain out. Do not water unless the soil is dry at least 1 inch below the surface--or even more. Good luck!
My Ponytail palm is about 5
My Ponytail palm is about 5 yrs. old and has always been indoor in indirect light.
It's healthy, but all of the leaves are getting very long and hang below the bottom of the pot by 6-8". It has a droopy look. There is no brown on the leaves, they are all green.
Should I prune the long leaves?
Usually, drooping leaves just
Usually, drooping leaves just means the ponytail palm needs watering.
I live in N.J. and bought my
I live in N.J. and bought my pony tail this summer. When I saw it at the garden center, I had to have it. It was sold as a bonsai. It's in a dish about 3" high and about 5 or 6" across. I have it on my porch where it gets sun for part of the day. It's doing well. When I took it in to water it today, I held it by the trunk, and it came out of the pot. I noticed that it already had roots starting to wind around the root ball. I want it to stay small, so I carefully pulled the roots away and cut them back, while not eliminating them entirely. I had once read that bonsai roots get trimmed. Did I do the right thing?
I read through all the posts
I read through all the posts and not sure if my question was answered. I'v had a palm for almost 2 years. Not sure how to care for it, I moved it around alot and it didn't get the sun that it needs to survive. The crown has a broken piece and the leaves all turned brown, so I cut it down to the very core. My question is will it survive? This summer I've put it out on the deck. It does have some green leaves sprouting from the top. I left the broken piece of crown on the top where it broke off.
Hey! This one I believe I can
Hey! This one I believe I can help you with. The crown being broken isn't a huge problem- in fact, many nurseries/shops sell them with the tops cut, to promote growth out the sides of the top, which gives the leaves a nicer 'drape'. I'd take the broken piece off- it won't reattach, and might make the healthy part of the plant rot. If it's getting new leaves, I'd say it's happy; my only concern with you having it on the deck is all the direct sunlight, and possibly tons of rain. A good soaking rain is fine, as long as it's not constantly damp. Hope this helps!
Hi! I recently bought a small
Hi! I recently bought a small Ponytail palm and when I bought it the base of the plant was just resting ontop of the soil. I did buy a very slightly bigger pot to repot it in and purchased some Miracle Grow Cactus, Palm, potting soil. The plant seems very healthy though. I wanted to know when I do repot...how far down into the soil does the base go...how mucho of the base should be exposed?? Any other suggestions would be helpful? This is my First Ponytail palm! Thank you! Kathy
My ponytail palm was just a
My ponytail palm was just a little shrub when my dad got it probably 20 years ago it was given to me about 17 years ago I've repotted it probably three Times it's actually too heavy for me to do now. It's been inside, outside in Florida and now Tennessee. Since I'm now in Tennessee it is on a hefty plant dolly and I roll out just outside the door when we've had the last of cold weather and back in again when the cold nights reappear. My question is about growth, my Palm has two growths off the main trunk with lots of fresh green leaves, I don't want them to grow more I want my Palm to stay tall and skinny it works well being indoor/outdoor. If I remove these growths do I need a sealant to apply to the spots on the trunk where they came from?
It sounds as if you are
It sounds as if you are asking about cutting off branches and not the "offsets" which are the pups that grow from the base. If so, you can cut the branches and coat the wound with tree pruning sealer.
What type of pot do I need
What type of pot do I need for a Ponytail Plant? One with a drainage hole or one without?
WITH!!! Unless I'm rooting
WITH!!! Unless I'm rooting something, I won't use hole-less pots. They have to be able to drain.
I have two ponytails one I've
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
Can you leave a pony tail
Can you leave a pony tail palm outside in the shade, it is covered by a very large tree?
I have half a dozen ponies
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.
Hello. I have a pony-tail
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!
If the trunk is shriveling
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.
My question is how do I get
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!
A hanging plant fell on top
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.
You will have better luck if
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!
My ponytail palm is starting
My ponytail palm is starting to have leaves turning almost redat the top. What does this mean?
Thank You
Barbara
You can cut the brownish-red
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.
I have 2 ponytail that I've
I have 2 ponytail that I've had for about 3 yrs. Now all the leaves have fell off both of them. Is there anyway to save them? I'm heart broken.
To promote leaf growth on the
To promote leaf growth on the palm you can cut off the top and the palm will grow new shoots. You can also plant the top in a pot with soil to root it.
I bought a Ponytail Palm for
I bought a Ponytail Palm for my desk at work 2 years ago. The lights are on 24/7 and I give it a cup of water every other week. It has some brown tips (about a half an inch on every leaf) is this ok? Other than that it looks very healthy for never seeing a window. Also the bottom part/bulb of the plant is quite big now. At what point do I repot?
The plant is a little over a
The plant is a little over a foot and a half tall and almost 5 inches wide in a 6 inch pot
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