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How to Care for 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

Growing Ponytail Palm Houseplants: Watering, Lighting, Repotting, and Pests

Catherine Boeckmann
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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 (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. 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 it 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 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 already have potting soil, sand, and perlite on hand, you can create your own desert soil mixture: Mix 1 part potting soil, 1 part perlite, and 1 part sand. 
  • 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 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. 
  • 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. 
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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.

Wit and Wisdom

  • The plant’s unusual shape and coloration have 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. 
Houseplant Guides
About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

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

Elaine (not verified)

8 months ago

I love her simple and straightforward methods. Ty

Catherine (not verified)

8 months ago

First off thank you for your awesome article on the lovely Ponytail palms. I love them. Secondly I think it's wonderful that you always reply to the people that post comments/questions, as I will greatly appreciate your insights.
A neighbor down the road have 2 beautiful large Ponytail palms and the bloomed and made seeds. Apparently they only bloom and seed after the age of 30 years. I asked the neighbor for some of the seeds and he was kind enough to give me a clipping with seeds. Now my question is how to germinate them? Should I remove the husk part on the outside or plant it as it is? I would really love to grow some from seed.

Hello Catherine! How generous of your neighbor to share seeds! We’ve never heard of a 30-year blooming cycle for ponytail palms, but we know that only females produce flowers, then seeds. You’ll want to scarify the seed husks and soak them in water overnight to germinate. Happy Growing! 

—The Editors

Kirsten Hunter neff (not verified)

8 months 2 weeks ago

I have a question about ponytail palms . Does the palm die after it flowers? I have a palm blooming

Leah (not verified)

9 months 2 weeks ago

A question. I have potting soil and perlite. No sand. May I substitute the sand with perlite?

Nichola sweet (not verified)

1 year ago

I have beautiful pony tail palm I rescued pot less of the side of the road I replanted it but it has 2 dead brown leaf things at the top should I cut them off it also has a baby plant forming on the trunk? Do I need to take the baby off or can it just stay and grow on the plant?

Hi Nichola,

Thanks for sharing your rescue story! It’s great this ponytail palm got a second chance.

You can certainly trim your ponytail palm to remove the dead leaves, which will improve your plant’s appearance. Browning of leaves can be a sign that your plant is not receiving enough water, too much fertilizer, or too much direct sun. It could also stem from the shock of all it has gone through.

In terms of watering, keep the soil fairly dry. From now through fall, allow the top inch or two of soil to dry completely before re-watering. As for sun exposure, bright and indirect is best.

The baby plant your referenced is an offset, which can be removed and planted on its own. You should wait until it is at least 4 inches in height. See above under Propagation for more instructions for planting your offset.

mary (not verified)

1 year 3 months ago

My son has had my pony tail Palm for about 5 years. He recently gave it back and said it couldn't get enough light at his place. It is huge but not doing well at all. The top is gone, pretty much fell off. I don't know if it's smart to try repotting or toss it. It was a beautiful plant. Approx 20-25 years old.

Hi Mary,

Sorry to hear about the condition of your ponytail palm. Given its age and story within your family, you should certainly try to save it. It might be a slow process of nursing it back to health, but it can be done.

You mentioned that the top fell off. You should inspect the top of the stem to see if it has the same firmness as the lower part of the trunk. If not, you will want to cut down to where the stem is firm with a squeeze. If it is firm just below the breaking point, you still might want to give it a cut for a clean look depending on what the break looks like. 

You should let it adjust to its new growing environment in your home and hold off on repotting for now. Too many changes could be detrimental to your already struggling plant.

Make sure you give it plenty of bright, indirect sunlight and only water occasionally during the winter. Ponytail palms like fairly dry soil. 

Good luck!

marlene (not verified)

1 year 5 months 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.