Ponytail Palm

Family: Agave

Genus : Asparagaceae

Botanical Name: Beaucarnea recurvata

Difficulty: Great for beginners

Light

They are super forgiving plants, so don’t panic if you think you can’t provide them with the best lighting conditions. They love bright sunlight, but they can tolerate lower light conditions too!

They like to be watered like most other succulents, so you should let the soil dry out quite a bit before watering them. A great thing about these guys is that they are pretty drought tolerate if you tend to be a forgetful plant parent. It can take 1-2 weeks for them to need water again!

Climate

They prefer warmer temperatures and higher humidity levels, but they can actually survive down to 50°F for short periods of time.

Soil

Because they are considered a succulent, they do like a sandy, well-draining soil. Cactus soil is just fine for them!

Pests and Diseases

Like your other houseplants, these can be susceptible to the regular offenders like scale, spider mites, and mealybugs.

Tips

• They love to be root bound for awhile before repotting them.

• Add a little bit of peat to cactus/succulent mix to add richness to your plant’s soil.

• Water them once a month during the winter.

Signs your plant is unhappy

• Leaf spots/streaks: over watering

• Yellow leaves: over watering

• Leaves curling: under watered

How to Propagate

These guys aren’t really meant to be propagated. Sometimes they will produce pups that you can separate, but they don’t have much of a root system to begin with, so this is not the easiest thing to do. They rarely flower when kept as houseplants and do not produce seeds to use for propagation.

Fun Facts

• It is actually not a palm tree or tree— it’s a succulent!

• It is nicknamed “elephant’s foot.”

• It stores water in its trunk!

Hardiness Zones

Before you move your plant outside, be sure to check the hardiness zone to save yourself some grief and the loss of a beloved plant.

The hardiness zones for ponytail palms are: 10-11

If you live in Tennessee, here’s a hardiness map to help you decide if your plant can survive outside!