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Ponytail Palms: How to Care for a Ponytail Palm | The Old Farmer's Almanac

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Ponytail Palms

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.
Photo Credit
Renata.Ka/Shutterstock
Botanical Name
Beaucarnea recurvata
Plant Type
Houseplant
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Part Sun
Soil pH
Neutral
Flower Color
White
Yellow
Hardiness Zone
9
10
11
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How to Care for a Ponytail Palm Plant

Catherine Boeckmann
November 8, 2023
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Ponytail palms are unique-looking, long-lived indoor plants that thrive on benign neglect. They are very easy 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. 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 grown in gardens as landscape plants don’t usually reach 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 adapting your watering habits to its needs!

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Planting

Choosing Soil and a Pot

  • Use a fast-draining soil, such as a cacti and succulent potting mix. If you have potting soil, sand, and perlite already on hand, you can create your own desert soil mixture: Simply mix 1 part potting soil, 1 part perlite, and 1 part sand. 
  • Select a pot that has a hole in the bottom, so that excess water can be drained off. Ponytail palms do not like to sit in moist soil for very long.
  • Use a clay pot if possible; the porous material will absorb some of the water, drying out the soil more quickly (a good thing for cacti and succulents).
Growing

How to Care for Ponytail Palms

  • Ponytail palms prefer to have as much light as possible, so place the plant in a bright location. Bright, indirect sunlight is best.
  • Keep soil fairly dry. Water from spring through fall, allowing the top inch or two of soil to dry completely before re-watering. During the winter, only water occasionally.
  • To water, soak the soil 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 cacti/succulent fertilizer and bring into a brighter room for the summer months. 
  • Normal room temperature is acceptable for most of the year, but keep the plant slightly cooler in the winter (50-55°F / 10-13°C) to replicate the natural dormancy cycle.
  • During winter, don’t let the plant sit too close to cold windows at night, as it can be severely damaged by freezing temperatures.

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 give it room to grow in both height and girth. However, older plants may become difficult to manage due to their sheer size and weight if not kept on the 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 rim of the pot. 
  • 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 small 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 a bit of rooting hormone (available online and in nurseries) to encourage the offset to root. 

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Wit and Wisdom
  • The plant’s unusual shape and coloration has granted it another strange nickname: the 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. 
Pests/Diseases
  • 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 husbandry practices appropriately. They can also indicate that the plant is getting too much direct sunlight and too little water.
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Comments

marlene (not verified)

4 days 9 hours ago

My ponytail palm is 54 years old and too big for me to repot again. It is over 5 feet tall. As it get new leaves the bottow row dies. Is that normal? Do you ever water on the bulb? He has moved with me everywhere I have lived. Can I leave it in the pot where it is now and never repot? Thank you.

Hi Marlene,

It is natural for older leaves in a ponytail palm to die. With that being said, if newer leaves are yellowing (or the trunk is soft) that is a sign that it is getting too much water. If brown tips appear, that indicates your plant is not receiving enough water, got too much fertilizer, or is getting too much direct sun. 

You want to water the soil as best you can and not the base. That way the water will get down to the root level where it will take up the water. Just remember to allow the top inch or two of soil to dry completely before re-watering and only water occasionally during the winter.

Considering the age of your ponytail palm, it’s easy to see where it would be difficult to repot. Ponytail palms actually do not mind being rootbound, so if you want to give it a little refresher in the same pot you can remove the top layer of growing medium and replace with new. You also want to be mindful of signs that it is too rootbound, including roots growing out of the drainage holes, the growing medium drying out very quickly, and water running out directly through the pot and not the soil when watered.

Pamela (not verified)

2 months 3 weeks ago

Hi I have a ponytail palm but my cat Mr. Poe has decided to "prune it". Is there anything I can do to hopefully get it to grow back. Was going to attach a pic.

My cat did the same thing. I just kept caring for it like before and the leaves grew back.

Beth (not verified)

2 months 4 weeks ago

My ponytail was growing fabulous, then it got brown spots. I read how to care for the plant, but it has gone down hill ever since. Now I think it's a goner, the base(stem) is squishy and not looking so good.
Can I I save my favorite plant!!
Please say Yes!!

It sounds like your issues stem from overwatering your Ponytail Palm. A squishy trunk and brown spots on the leaves are both signs of too much water. Ponytail Palms are tough succulents designed to withstand dry and hot conditions and only require water every week or two and allowing for growing medium to dry out inbetween waterings. Their root systems are designed to absorb and store water and too much moisture can oversaturate the roots. If the problem persists, root rot can develop and can spread up, causing the trunk to become mushy.

Your issues can also be a result of poor drainage, using the wrong growing medium, or the incorrect container. You want to ensure that your container—which it is best to use an unglazed clay or terracotta pot as both are porous and allow the growing medium to breathe—has plenty of drainage holes. As far as growing medium, it is best to use a cactus or succulent mix combined with sand or perlite. Improper light can also be an issue.

From the sounds of things, your Ponytail Palm is not improving so it might be time to remove your plant from its container and check the roots for signs of rot. If the roots look healthy, you can simply repot it. If there are signs of root rot, you will want to cut away any dead, dying, or affected roots. Then rinse the remaining roots and allow them to dry out before repotting in fresh growing medium. Unfortunately, if the roots are all dead or affected, there is a good chance your Ponytail Palm is too far gone and should be discarded.

sandra garza (not verified)

4 months ago

My pony tail palm has little white dots on the leaves. how do I fix that

Hi Sandra,
If it were mine that had white spots and I didn't know what they were, I'd start with a good long thorough shower. Making sure to get the areas where the leaves come out of the stem. If it comes back I'd put it outside of in the tub and spray it with Neem Oil. (I bought mine on Amazon).

I hope this helps.

Ron (not verified)

10 months ago

Here in southern Florida pony tail palms can grow outside and can get quite large. Some people call them "Hooville palms" because they look like something that Dr. Seuss would draw.

Crystal Johnson (not verified)

10 months 1 week ago

How should a ponytail palm be pruned, it has several brown leaves and drooping stalks.