Pony Up with the Ponytail Palm

Long luscious green tendrils atop a thick brown trunk, a true eye candy for any plant obsessed person.  The ponytail palm is an easy-care stunning plant that is a must have for any plant loving person, filled with many factual surprises that are fun to learn. 

     

 The ponytail palm is a low care plant that might have caught the eye of many a new plant parents, but the idea of having a tree in the house just seems too daunting.  But luckily for those people, the ponytail palm is far from difficult.  This beautiful houseplant thrives on neglect, and just wants to sit and be pretty, not inconvenience you with difficult tasks to try and keep up with. 

    

Photo Credit: Anderson Greenhouse and Flower Shop

A Little About the Ponytail Palm

 The ponytail palm is actually not a part of the palm tree family, contrary to the name.  This little tree is actually related to the Agave and Yucca (Joshua tree) family. The ponytail palm has been known to grow up to 30 feet tall, but this is only as an outdoor tree.  This tree prefers hot dry climates, so it works best as an indoor tree where it only gets to be a little over four feet in height at most when kept as an indoor plant.  This the base of this tree has a thick knob at the bottom where the tree holds water, almost like a camel holds water in the hump on its back.  This allows for the tree to go long amounts of time in between watering’s.  This shape also has earned the tree a nickname, the elephants foot palm.

Caring for the Ponytail Palm

 An important part of caring for plants is finding the right soil for the plant.  For the ponytail palm it requires a sandy well draining soil, similar to what cacti or succulents get planted in.  Make sure that the pot it is in has holes at the bottom to allow for proper drainage. This is important for the plant as it can be over watered and cause the tree to suffer from root rot. For water the plant, water it from spring-fall when the top two inches of soil are dry.  When it is time to water, place the plant above a bowl and water until water pours from the bottom.  Let the tree sit in the bowl for two minutes, then place it back in its spot.  This allows the tree to be watered through the roots, giving it enough water to survive.  After watering the plant it will need a place to get proper sunlight.  Bright indirect light works best for the tree, allowing enough sunlight for the plant to photosynthesis, but not to much sunlight so that the leaves burn.  The tree is very slow growing, so the proud owner of one of these magnificent trees won’t have to worry about up potting it very often, but eventually with enough time and care it will need to be placed in a bigger pot.  When up potting, choose a pot that is about an inch wider in diameter than the trunk, allowing for the plant to grow, but also allowing for the tree to get over watered in a larger pot. 

Things to Watch Out For

 While the ponytail palm is very low maintenance and easy to care for, there are of course things to watch out for to help keep it healthy. Over watering is the number one thing to look out for when caring for this plant.  It is best to set a schedule on watering for this plant, figuring out if maybe it is fine once every two weeks, or based off however the soil dries.  This plant loves to be more dry, as it stores its water in its trunk.  One thing to also keep an eye out for is the browning of the leaf tips.  This is a sign that the plant is getting too much light and is starting to burn.  This could also be a sign of too little light, if the plant is not anywhere near where it could be getting direct sunlight.  These are two things to keep an eye out for, just to make sure the plant is as healthy as it could be.

One More for the Road

 I hope that this blog helped spike some interest about the magnificent ponytail palm! Let me know in the comments, is this a new plant to you?  What other plants do you want to learn about? Let me know in the comments!

Have a great week!

Blake

Photo Credit: Anderson Greenhouse and Flower Shop