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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. 
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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

Sandra (not verified)

6 years 2 months ago

It’s 4 years old and in the same pot. When I first got it I was watering it every 2weeks. Then of courses I wasn’t watering like I should and forgot some times. Could not remember when I did so I just gave it water. Today it looks skimpy with brown leaves. The bass where the leaves come out is all brown but some new growth is sprouting out. I not sure what to do should I water it last time was early in the month. I would love to see it thrive. Is it possible to bring it back.

Dry, browning leaves can indicate a thirsty plant, but it’s also perfectly natural for the older leaves to die off as the plant grows. Yours likely just needs a more regular watering schedule. Water it when the top inch or so of soil has dried out completely—this could be every two weeks, every three weeks, or once a month depending on the humidity of your home, the consistency of the soil, and how porous the pot is. 

To keep track of your waterings, try attaching a post-it note to the plant’s pot and writing down the date when you water. 

Try a spray bottle and mist your palm maybe twice a week to keep the trunk from drying out. I keep my spray bottle next to it.

martha kaeser (not verified)

6 years 3 months ago

I have just brought my palm in and my cat is very interested it and tries to eat the leaved. Are they hurt him other than cutting his tongue?

Ponytail palms are non-toxic, so your cat will be fine if he ends up chewing on a few leaves. However, it would be best if he didn’t!

Barbara Grobicki (not verified)

6 years 5 months ago

I have a ponytail that has been in our family for years, probably close to 40. It had not been repotted in years (if ever). We keep it inside in the winter and then put it outside in the summer. Sadly it grew too tall this summer to come back inside! The bulb has had no space in that pot for years so not sure what happened to make it grow so much. What is the true low temp that will kill it? If we plant it in the ground is that better than a pot? We currently stuffed it in at an angle inside but that’s not practical. I’m assuming it can’t be trimmed to cut off the top. Is this plant interesting enough that a botanical garden would want it?

Ponytail palms come from hot, arid climates, so they will only truly thrive outdoors in areas that have similar conditions (USDA Zone 9 and warmer). They can survive brief cold snaps that dip into the 30s, but they don’t tolerate freezes well and likely won’t be happy if kept below 40°F for long. They are also prone to rotting from too much water, so if your winters are wet or snowy, the plant could easily get too wet and rot. Additionally, depending on where you are located, it may be too late in the season to plant it outdoors, as the shock of going from indoor temps to cold outdoor temps could damage it.

Young ponytail palms can be cut back to encourage branching, but I wouldn’t recommend trying that on one as large and as old as yours.

Though these plants aren’t particularly rare, a large specimen would likely be of interest to a botanical garden or university!

Peter Gurtenstein (not verified)

6 years 7 months ago

I'm in Saint Pete Beach, FL and have a huge ponytail palm in the ground in front of my home. We bought the house five yrs ago and the tree was already here. It's a double trunk and everyone says it is the biggest ponytail they have ever seen. Approx 25' around at the base and 15-20' tall.
Recently I noticed a larger than usual dropping of dead leaves and now the new leaves are yellowing much too quickly. One or two leaf clusters have actually caved in. We've had above average rainfall this year but drainage is good and the Royal Palm and Queen Sago in the same area are doing fine. I suspect it might be too wet . Any thoughts on what might be causing the problem and what to do about it?
Thanks for your input.

Boy, that’s a big one alright! 

It sounds like your analysis could be correct: the plant is likely getting too much water and its roots may be rotting. Unfortunately, with a plant so huge, there’s not a whole lot that you can do, aside from hoping for drier weather.

To confirm your theory, take a look around the base of the plant, poking gently with your foot to see if you can find any obvious soft spots. These would be a sign of rot and too much water in the soil. If you can’t see anything aboveground, gently dig down (no deeper than 1ft) around the base of the plant in a few different spots to see if you can find any rot belowground. If you can’t find any signs of rot there either, the problem is probably deep within the roots of the plant. 

There’s not much you can do for the plant at this point, unfortunately, but ponytail palms are fairly hardy. If it gets a chance to dry out, the plant should recover!

Rhonda Maner (not verified)

6 years 7 months ago

Hello, my ponytail plant is about 8 years old, I have repotted once. It's about 4 ft tall and has new stems coming from the top most of the time. The older leaves are bent and come all the way to the floor. Can I trim those leaves to give it a more upward poofy look on top? They do not have brown tips, they just drag the ground and are droopy. Thanks.