How to grow Ponytail Palm

Beaucarnea recurvata needs full sun to light shade, with a well drained soil mix. A soil mix consisting of 2 parts loam to 1 part peat moss to 2 parts sand has been used successfully. To this mix, small gravel may be added to ensure good drainage. In a container, plants are very slow growing and very drought tolerant. Plants can be watered every three weeks during the growing season and fertilized once during this period. During the winter months, the plants should be watered only enough to keep the foliage from wilting (this usually equates to 1 dose of water during the winter). Over-watering is the single most frequent cause of failure when growing Beaucarnea

When grown as a houseplant ensure it is planted in a small well draining pot² with a cactus type soil. Houseplants may be hardened off and kept outside in the summer, assuring that they dry out between waterings.²

Ponytail makes a large and handsome houseplant, doing well even in rooms with air conditioning as long as it has bright light. It’s a good specimen plant for a rock garden in a dry, warm climate. They do well even in rainy climates like Florida as long as the soil is sandy and extremely well drained.

Propagation Methods:
From seed
Seed Collecting:
Allow seedheads to dry on plants; remove and collect seeds
Properly cleaned, seed can be successfully stored

Potted Ponytail Palms are happiest when root bound. The best time to re-pot a ponytail palm is in the spring or summer. Small ponytail palms are easier to transplant than large ones but keep in mind that the new pot should be only slightly bigger than the previous one. Use soil that is half potting soil and half a mix of perlite, vermiculite, shredded bark and sand.³

These estimates for how long Ponytail palm takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.

Most common names allude to the shape of the tree, the leaves like a ponytail, the trunk like a bottle, and the base of the trunk like an elephants foot especially on older specimens.

The trunk of this plant can reach a diameter of more than five feet at its widest point.

Bottle palm, Monja, Palma culona, Elephant foot palm, bottle palm tree

Beaucarnea recurvata Lem., Nolina recurvata

Misspellings: Pony tail palm,

¹ “Success With Houseplants, Packet 32”

² Missouri Botanical Garden

³ gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/ponytail-palm/how-to-move-ponytail-palms.htm

⁴ Floridata