Ponytail palm

Ponytail palm: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Upright stem with a swollen base; indoors 1–2 m tall after many years and up to 1 m wide. Old plants sometimes branch.

Stem base

Swollen like a ball or an onion, with rough, grey-brown bark; this is where it stores water.

Leaf

Long, narrow and strap-like, often 50–100 cm long, thin and supple; in a dense tuft that arches gracefully.

Flowering

It rarely flowers indoors. In its homeland, old plants produce large plumes of tiny, creamy white flowers.

Roots

Fairly shallow; they cannot stand wet feet and rot quickly in a pot without a drainage hole.

Plants: March–April

Why grow it?

• A striking plant that looks like a living sculpture with its swollen base and ponytail of leaves.
• Very little work: thanks to the store in its swollen base, it can go weeks without water.
• Evergreen and attractive all year.
• Slow-growing, so it stays happy in the same pot and the same spot for years.
• Can spend the summer outdoors on a sunny, sheltered patio.
• With good care it can live for decades.

Ponytail palm: where does it grow best?

• As bright as possible: right by a south- or west-facing window. Full sun is no problem.
• Normal room temperature in the growing season; cooler in winter is fine, but never below 5 °C.
• Poor, sandy, free-draining compost, such as cactus compost mixed with some grit.
• Dry: it prefers too little water to too much.
• From late May to September it can go outside in a sunny, sheltered spot; let it get used to the light in partial shade for a few weeks first.

Light

Sunny

Potting soil

Cactus compost

Acidity

Neutral

Watering

Sparingly

Size

2 m tall, 1 m wide

Temperature

Minimum 5 °C

Goes well with

• Succulents: Echeverias and other succulents need the same sun and dryness; lovely in a group on the windowsill.
• Cacti: The same compost, the same watering and the same sunny spot.
• Aloe: Another water-storing plant; its thick rosettes contrast with the fine ponytail.
• Jade plant: Likes sun and little water and stays compact next to the taller ponytail palm.

Ponytail palm: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April.

1. Repot in March or April, and only when the pot is really full of roots: every 3–4 years is enough.
2. Choose a wide, shallow, heavy pot, preferably terracotta, with a drainage hole: the plant becomes top-heavy.
3. Put a layer of gravel or clay pebbles in the bottom and use cactus compost, or potting compost mixed with coarse sand and grit.
4. Do not plant it deeper than before: the swollen base must stay above the compost.
5. Firm lightly and wait a week before watering, so that damaged roots can heal.
6. Then put it back in the brightest spot you have.

Care

Watering

Only water when the compost is completely dry, then water thoroughly and let the excess drain away. In summer that is often every 2–3 weeks, in winter once a month or less.

Feeding

From April to August, once a month, a half dose of cactus feed. No feeding in autumn and winter.

Repotting

Every 3–4 years in spring. It likes being pot-bound; a pot that is too big stays wet for too long.

Brown tips

Snip off brown leaf tips with scissors, leaving a thin brown edge so you do not cut into the green leaf.

Turning

Give the pot a quarter turn now and then, so the stem grows straight.

Tip: Water thoroughly once rather than a little often, and feel with your finger whether the compost is dry deeper in the pot too. A heavy, shallow terracotta pot stops the plant toppling over and dries out faster.

Ponytail palm: when to prune it?

When: No pruning is needed. Just trim brown leaf tips and remove dried lower leaves, at any time of year.

How:

• Cut brown tips off at an angle, following the shape of the leaf.
• Gently pull away dried lower leaves or cut them off close to the stem.
• If the top is damaged or cut off, the stem often sprouts again with several new heads.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

In spring, lay fresh seed on moist seed compost, cover lightly and keep warm (20–25 °C). It usually germinates within a few weeks; the seedlings grow slowly.

Offsets

The base sometimes produces offsets. In spring, cut them off with a sharp knife, let the cut surface dry for a few days and pot them in barely moist cactus compost. They are slow to root.

Ponytail palm: how does it get through the winter?

• Not hardy: keep it indoors in winter, and bring it in from the patio before nights drop below 10 °C.
• A cool, bright room at 10–15 °C is ideal in winter; it must never get colder than 5 °C.
• In winter water very little, once a month or less, and do not feed.
• Give it as much light as possible: in poor light the new leaves become limp and pale.

Diseases and pests

• Rotting base: A soft, sunken or dark base means too much water. Stop watering at once, take the plant out of its pot, cut away rotten parts and repot in dry cactus compost. A stem that is soft all through cannot be saved.
• Brown leaf tips: Dry air or irregular watering. Harmless: trim the tips off.
• Red spider mite: Fine yellow speckling and webbing, especially in warm, dry air. Rinse the leaves and check the plant regularly.
• Scale and mealybug: Brown scales or white woolly tufts on the leaves and stem. Wipe them off with a cotton bud dipped in a little methylated spirit.
• Limp, pale leaves: Not enough light. Move the plant closer to a sunny window.

Through the year

• January: Very little water. Place in the brightest spot.
• February: Watch for red spider mite and scale insects.
• March: Repot if the pot is full of roots. Water a little more.
• April: Feed once a month. Sow seed.
• May: In late May it can go outdoors, first for a few weeks in partial shade.
• June: Water when the compost is completely dry. Feed.
• July: Leave in the sun. After heavy rain, check that the pot is not standing in water.
• August: Last feed.
• September: Bring indoors before nights drop below 10 °C.
• October: Water less. Stop feeding.
• November: Keep cool and bright, at 10–15 °C.
• December: Little water. Not above a radiator.

Did you know?

• It is not a palm: the ponytail palm belongs to the asparagus family and is related to agave and yucca.
• The species name recurvata means ‘bent back’ and refers to the arching leaves.
• There are male and female plants; only female plants produce seed.