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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I’ve had this ponytail for about a week. The tips are turning brown. #PonytailPalm
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saved ponytail palm from being completely naked on a friends balcony, now it’s sprouting from the base no new growth on the top and i’m slowly removing all the dead leaves to hopefully allow it more energy to grow more (also considering sawing off the top to allow it to start fresh), but i checked it today and noticed it’s sprouting a new node from the caudex. should i leave it be, or try to propagate?
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I’m going to re-pot Ponyboy today, any tips? He’s currently in a 5“ pot and I have 6, 7 and 8” eco-pots to work with. Also, should I try to break up these roots before? I have good cacti soil to use. #NewPlantMom @question
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I can’t get this plant to grow what am I doing wrong? #PonytailPalm
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Saved from being pot and soil-less laying on a friends balcony #PonytailPalm basically this guy has been laying on my friends balcony for months on its side with no soil and no pot after being blown over by the wind. i repotted in succulent mix and have watered. it looks really sad but just wondering if it’s salvageable?
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Does the #PonytailPalm need a big pot or a small pot? #PonytailPalm
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My ponytail palm is experiencing extreme browning at the end of leaves. It is well watered. It is under a grow light 16 hours / day in our dining room because there are no windows here. Any ideas? Thank you #PonytailPalm
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White spots on ponytail palm I have a white growth on my ponytail palm and I’m not sure what it is an how to treat it. Online search says mealy bugs or fungus but I’m not sure it looks like either. Does anyone have suggestions?
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ponytail palm question Gaga came with a bunch of plants smashed together for a mega tail. I was able to tease out one tail from the mass a year ago. The teased out palm seems to be thriving separately much better than my mega tail (but environment could account for that). Should I try to separate all of them or maybe thin it down into 2/3 multi-tails? #PonytailPalm #plantquestion #PropagationStation
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Do you think it's time to re-pot her? She's been in this same pot for years. #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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