Ponytail Palm 101
Despite its name, a ponytail palm is not a palm. It’s a succulent related to desert plants like agave and yucca. Its long, ribbon-like leaves cascade and twirl from the top of its main stem-like hair cinched into a high, flowing ponytail, hence its name.
The ponytail palm is native to Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. In the wild it can grow to 30 feet tall, but indoors these plants don’t get taller than 4 feet. A ponytail palm’s leaves grow out of a stem with a large, swollen-looking base called a caudex. The caudex stores water, allowing the plant to survive long stretches with no water or help from you. This is why a ponytail palm is an easy-to-grow houseplant. It has a water tank in its trunk, basically.
Be careful. Ponytail palm leaves have serrated edges, and some varieties are sharp enough to draw blood if you scrape your skin on them.
Picking a Pot and Soil
Ponytail palms need a fast-draining soil mix, like the type formulated for cacti and succulents. A heavy soil or potting mix will hold too much water and cause root rot.
Pick a container with at least one drainage hole in the bottom so excess water drains out. Ponytail palms aren’t happy sitting in moist soil for extended periods of time.
Clay pots absorb excess water out of the soil, drying it out faster; good for a ponytail palm.
How To Care for Ponytail Palms
Give them as much bright, indirect sunlight as possible. They’ll burn in direct sun, so put them by a window or outdoors under a patio roof.
Only water them when the top inch of soil is dry. Then water consistently during the spring and summer; their growing season. Ponytail palm goes dormant in the winter, so only water it occasionally during that time.
Fertilize the plant once a year, in the spring, with a fertilizer for cacti and succulents.
Don’t sit the plant too close to a drafty window in the winter or leave it outside in temperatures below 40 degrees. Freezing temperatures will damage the plant.
Ponytail palms grow to the size of their pot and can go years before they need repotting. But if you see roots coming out of the drainage hole, your plant needs a larger pot.
The best way to water a ponytail palm? Slowly, deeply and from the bottom. Pour water on the plant until it runs out the hole in the bottom and into the dish under the pot. Let the potted plant sit in the dish of water for 10 minutes or so, absorbing water up from the bottom of the pot, through its roots. Then dump out any remaining water.
FAQ
You have questions about ponytail palms, we’ve got answers.
Are ponytail palms toxic to cats?
No. They’re nontoxic. Your pet won’t get sick if he eats the plant’s leaves or roots. Kitty may hurt his mouth on those serrated leaves, though, so keep the plant out of his reach.
Why does my ponytail palm have brown tips on its leaves?
You may be overfertilizing your plant or underwatering it. Yes, you can underwater a ponytail palm but it takes some doing. Most likely the plant is getting too much direct sunlight and the leaf tips have burned. Move it to a shadier place.
Why are some of the leaves on my ponytail plant turning yellow and drying up?
You’re not doing anything wrong. Those leaves are old and tired of making food for the plant. They’ve lived out their natural lifespan. Trim them off the stem with pruners so the plant will grow new ones. It’s the cycle of life.
What does an overwatered ponytail palm look like?
The leaves yellow and the plant caudex gets soft and squishy. Once you’ve overwatered your ponytail palm, there’s little chance of saving it. Back away from the watering can and leave the plant alone, it might save itself. But usually that drowning plant is on a one-way road to stem rot and the compost pile.
