Ponytail Palm
4.7 out of 5 (193 experiences)
Survivor
Fast grower
About Ponytail Palm
Ponytail palm is not a true palm, but a plant with a thick swollen stem (caudex) that stores water and narrow dark green strappy leaves that gently curl toward the ends. It needs bright light and regular watering. They prefer dry winters and do well even with indoor heated air.
Taxonomy
Beaucarnea recurvata
Beaucarnea
Asparagaceae
Asparagales
Also known as
Nolina recurvata, Elephant Foot Tree and Bottle Palm Tree
How to care for Ponytail Palm
How often to water your Ponytail Palm
every 12
Ponytail Palm needs 0.5 cups of water every 12 when it doesn’t get direct sunlight and is potted in a 5" pot.
Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.
Water 0.5 cups every
12
Finding light for Ponytail Palm in your home
a window
Ponytail Palm may have difficulty thriving, and will drop leaves 🍃, without ample sunlight.
Place it less than 3 feet from a south-facing window to maximize the potential for growth.
Select your region to see how the current weather in your area affects the placement of Ponytail Palm in your home 🏡.
How to fertilize Ponytail Palm
Most potting soils come with ample nutrients which plants use to produce new growth.
By the time your plant has depleted the nutrients in its soil it’s likely grown enough to need a larger pot anyway.
To replenish this plant's nutrients, repot your Ponytail Palm after it doubles in size or once a year—whichever comes first.
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Help abandoned rescue When I got this little guy he was in an abandoned Apartment my husband brought him home to me I cut off the majority of his dead leaves and checked his roots obviously not waterlogged. They still looked and felt decent. I soaked his roots in some good water and replanted him in some good draining chunky soil. Slowly the green that he had on him is turning to brown. Is this a lost cause? I don't know what else to do for him. #PonytailPalm #happyplants #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantaddict
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Inconsistencies with Greg - Fertilizer Often times I find inconsistencies with Greg. For instance, the Greg app recommends to fertilize my #PonytailPalm every 26 weeks during the growing season while the Greg desktop site recommends twice monthly. Then, on a separate page on the Greg desktop site it states that Ponytail Palms do not require fertilizer at all. I have never found information on the Greg platform to be consistent or straightforward and is, more often than not, contrariwise. That said, how often do I fertilize my Ponytail Palm? Additionally, how much in tablespoons? The app states 103 mg, but even IF that is accurate, 103 mg is confusing to convert to mg. Finally, is Jack’s Classic Blossom Booster (10-30-20) truly and ideal fertilizer? Thanks.
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I need to remove pests #PonytailPalm
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I got this plant on clearance in pretty bad shape. It’s got mealy bug/scale. Im using alcohol pads to scrape the ones I can off by hand and spraying it with neem oil. Any suggestions on how to get rid of them? How often I should treat? Or how long? #PonytailPalm
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Tip of some of the leaves are brown. Is it normal? What should I do to correct it? #PonytailPalm
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Not looking good Wondering why does my plant have a lot of dead spots any help is kindly appreciated
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What if the ends start to turn brown? To much water? Not enough water? Not enough light, but not sun light? #PonytailPalm
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I placed an online order for a ponytail palm baby and all these were together. Wondering how long does it take to grow to a giftable size and are they ok to grow 2 or 3 together as I ran put of small pots! #PonytailPalm
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I transplanted my ponytail, I then watered the soil but not drenching it. I used good organic soil and plenty of drainage pot. I placed the plant in filtered light not direct . How long do I wait to water my plant? #PonytailPalm
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Hi Guys, most of the ends of my palm is vrown.Should I give her a hair cut and trim the ends or leave her bee? Thanks ! #PonytailPalm
Care Summary for Ponytail Palm
Ponytail Palm
Greg recommends:
Water
0.5 cups every 12 days
Placement
< 3ft from a window
Nutrients
Repot after 2x growth
Based on the 4” pot your plant is in, and that it doesn’t get direct sunlight.
What other plant parents say
Survivor 112
Fast grower 43
Large, lush leaves 40
Browns easily 24
Easy to propagate 13
Blooms easily 10
Pest magnet 2
03/31/2022
Slowwwwww grower. Can live up to 100 years old
Survivor
Large, lush leaves
03/07/2022
Low maintenance and gorgeous!
03/07/2022
Low maintenance and gorgeous!
02/23/2022
My cat loves to eat the leaves on this ponytail plant, also after moving it from direct sunlight to indirect sunlight it grew back much faster
Fast grower
Large, lush leaves
Survivor
02/04/2022
Thought it was a weird looking plant at first but now one of my favorites! Long tendrils of leaves, likes sun ☀️, stores a lot of its own water 💦. What’s not to love! 🪴 💚
Fast grower
Survivor
01/18/2022
I bought lots of plant when I decided to decorate my house and I realised that I am a plant killer 😱😱😱 Not many of them survived and Pony tail palm is one of them!!
Don’t need to care much, and it looks great!!!
Very slow grower!
Survivor
01/14/2022
Easy care plant, doesn’t need much care at all. Love how cute and tropical he looks!
Survivor
01/08/2022
I’m not sure
12/30/2021
Beautiful easy care palm
12/12/2021
I just love how easy it is to take care of this plant
Survivor
Easy to propagate
Fast grower
11/24/2021
Great!
Fast grower
Blooms easily
Easy to propagate
Survivor
11/23/2021
You can really just let it chill and if the leaves get a little crispy, snip them off. It’s so cute!
Fast grower
Survivor
Browns easily
11/08/2021
I don't know what I'm doing wrong but the ends of my ponytail palm are brown and I'm wondering what I need to do to make it not be brown? are they supposed to be brown?
Browns easily
11/02/2021
This plant is perfect for people like me who forget to water all the time.
Survivor
Large, lush leaves
11/01/2021
Easy to care for and doesn’t mind neglect.
Fast grower
Survivor
10/18/2021
Conversation starter
Survivor
10/10/2021
Let soil dry out before watering.
Survivor
10/04/2021
Low maintenance. Seems to be always happy!
Large, lush leaves
Survivor
10/04/2021
Resilient
Survivor
09/28/2021
Slow growing
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