Ponytail Palm

The Ponytail palm (Beaucarnea recurvata) is a slow growing palm that thrives outdoors in USDA growing zones 9-11 but can be grown anywhere as a houseplant or patio plant. A lovely addition to any home or landscape, these easy to grow palms can reach a mature height of 10-15 feet tall and 5-10 feet wide at the canopy when planted in the landscape, but will remain much smaller when planted in containers.

Choosing a location: Ponytail palms will thrive in a variety of conditions, in cooler climates they will like a full sun location, in warmer areas they will prefer some afternoon shade. Ponytail  Palms can tolerate almost any soil type and can be grown in small areas like parking lot islands and  small spaces. They prefer well draining soil and dry conditions, the trunk actually holds water for the plants, so they do not need frequent waterings even if planted in the ground. Choose a sandy, or very well draining location when planting outdoors.

Planting Directions (in ground):
1) After choosing your location, dig a hole that is three times as big around as the container the palm came in (the root ball) and just as deep. If you have a hard clay soil you can dig the hole a little deeper to amend the area more so the roots can establish more easily.
2) Remove the plant from the container and lightly comb the roots to loosen them.
3) Place the plant in the hole so that the top of the root ball is even with the surrounding soil.
4) Backfill the hole with a mixture of 60% native soil and 40% good compost and sand mixture. Tamp the soil to remove air pockets.
5) Water when done but make sure not to saturate the area or leave the palm with standing water.
6) Mulch the planting area when done to conserve moisture and protect the roots from temperature fluctuation.

Planting Directions (potted):
1) Choose a container that is 2 times larger than the one the plant initially arrived in.
2) Use a quality, well draining acidic potting mix such as a palm or citrus mix.
3) Fill the container part way and place the palm in the container so that the soil is just below the top of the container and fill the remainder of the way.
4) Water until it begins to flow through the bottom drainage holes. Let the soil dry out almost completely before watering the plant again. They can can go up to 2 weeks without being watered.
If the plant is not getting enough water, the trunk will begin to shrivel. If it’s getting too much water, the fronds will yellow and the trunk can begin to rot.
5) The Ponytail palm only needs to be re-potted about every 2 years as they are very slow growing.

Watering: Ponytail palms are very drought tolerant whether they are in a container or in the ground. Water them when the soil is almost completely dry, do not allow the roots to sit in water or water to sit in the collection tray after watering.

Pruning: Ponytail palms need very little pruning, just to remove yellow or damaged fronds.

Fertilizing: Young palm trees do not need to be fertilized until after they put out a new spear (about 2 months). After that they will perform best when fertilized with a slow release fertilizer such a 10-5-10 formula in the spring and summer.