Free Pony Tail Palm Plants

The ponytail palm plant as the name suggests has an appearance of a pony tail with its green leaves giving it a look of a ponytail or a nice fountain and is native to the southern Mexico. It is a perennial plant and has more than nine different species. The other thing to remember and know about this plant is that although this plant has the name ponytail palm tree, it does not fall in the category of a palm and nor does it fall in the category of a tree. This plant belongs to the Agave family and falls in the succulent category of a plant. This plant has largely been used as a household plant because of its beautiful appearance. At the same time, it is easy to grow and take care of this plant. The only thing to remember when growing a ponytail palm tree is that you need to keep it in a well lighted area and never over water this plant. The ponytail palm tree is commonly named as elephant foot tree or bottle palm tree in regard to its bulgy appearance.

The ponytail palm tree is a single stemmed plant. Thus, most of the gardeners do not choose to prune this plant because pruning this plant will mean getting rid of some parts of the stem. This plant will appear naked if we choose pruning method of taking care. Yet, this is not the end to pruning you can definitely prune this plant when the plant has not grown more than six to seven inches tall. This will make the plant produce more heads, thus increasing the number of foliages.

Trunk : One of the most outstanding features of a ponytail palm tree is its unique bulged shaped trunk. The plant got its name from its bulged trunk as bottle palm tree or elephant foot tree. This plant uses this bulged trunk to store water.

Leaves : Ponytail palm tree has green leaves that rise from an elephant skin shaped trunk. These leaves come in a spiky appearance and grow about in the shape of a fountain. Gardeners have come to notice that the ponytail palm tree is sensitive to injuries, the leaves will start to turn brown or yellowish if certain conditions for its growth are not met. During such a time, you will feel best to get rid of all the unwanted leaves. You can definitely choose to trim the brown parts of the leaves by using a sharp scissors.

Bloom : You may not be expecting a bloom from a ponytail palm tree as it is a succulent, grows in a dry soil and prefers sandy soil, you may be wrong in this case because a ponytail palm tree does bear flowers during the summer months. The flowers than give rise to seeds that are especially harvested during the winter or fall months for propagation through seeds.

Planting/growing : Choosing to grow a ponytail palm plant at home can be a good decision because you will not have to give much time and effort in making this plant grow, it is an easy growing plant when the needed conditions are met. Ponytail palm tree is not expensive as compared to the other household plants. It has slow growth, which means that this plant will take longer time to turn into a fully grown ponytail palm tree unlike the other plants that will grow fast. Thus, take care of the following things and enjoy having a ponytail palm tree at home, in the restaurants, in the shopping malls or in your offices.

Light : Are you expecting for a good ponytail palm tree at home? It’s not a bad choice. Keep in mind that this plant needs plenty of light. Even direct sunlight will increase the plants right growth. The other thing to keep in mind is that this plant will grow well as long as you provide good amount of light—bright light is perfect.

Water : Although water is regarded as the key factor for a plants proper growth, the amount of water needed by a ponytail palm tree is very minimal as this plant falls in the category of a succulent plant. It is good to let the soil turn into semi dry condition before you apply water to this plant. Also, let the soil dry out well before you water, in this way, you will avoid root rot.

Fertilizer : Fertilizer is one of the key ingredients for a plants proper and healthy growth. When it comes to fertilizing the ponytail palm tree, make sure that you don’t over fertilize else the leaves will turn brown. Thus, it is best suggested that you provide fertilizer to this plant three times a year. Providing right amount of fertilizer will give rise to a healthy and shiny ponytail palm tree, attractive to eyes and healthy to the environment.

Growing ponytail palm tree outdoors and indoors : Although the ponytail palm tree falls in the group of indoor plant, this plant will thrive well in an outdoor environment too. Make sure that you let this plant grow in a sunny and warmer location. It will grow as tall as 30 feet when planted outdoor and given that the favorable conditions are met. Some people choose to bring their ponytail palm tree outdoor when the plant is more or less fully grown during their stay indoors. The plant will take some time to adjust to the changed environment and will soon start growing normally as all the outdoor ponytail palms. When grown inside a container indoors, this plant will grow only up to 2 to 4 feet tall, the reason being that this plant can spread its roots to only a certain limited area, it is exposed to limited amount of light.

On the other hand, this plant will grow to its full potential when planted outside because it can spread its roots far and wide, it gets enough exposure to direct sunlight, it is not over watered and is left to grow on its own without further disturbances of overwatering or over fertilizing. You will see this plant growing up to 10 to 15 feet in height. This plant will start to flower and produce seeds especially when grown outdoors. The seeds can be collected in order to prepare new growth of ponytail palm through seed propagation.

Taking care of ponytail when outside : When you let a ponytail palm plant grow outside, make sure that the plant receives enough amount of sunlight because the plant will show some signs of pale growth when left to grow in a shady location. Ponytail palm tree prefers to grow in a sandy soil but it will thrive even in a loamy soil. The major thing to remember is that you will not overwater. Overwatering will result in root rot which will eventually lead to killing of this plant. The reason why you will not overwater is that this plant has a natural bulged trunk that stores water and supplies water to the plant body when the amount of water gets less in the environment. Thus, they are regarded as succulent. As this plant has slower growth, you will have to wait patiently until the plant is fully grown.

Propagation from :

Seeds : The ponytail palm tree is very commonly propagated from the seeds because you can be sure that the plant will grow when chosen this method of propagation. But it will take longer time to grow. Make sure that you choose a seed that is fresh and been well pollinated. Also make sure that the temperature is not below 20C and keep the container a bit moist under a covered plastic. You will remove the plastic once the plant starts to germinate after a month or two. During the early days of its germination, you are also suggested to mist this plant to keep it fresh and healthy.

Division : The other method of propagating the ponytail palm tree is through the division method and the best time to do this is during the spring months. The plant will grow fast compared to the seeding method of propagation yet you cannot be sure that this method will work unless you take good care of this plant until it is well grown into a healthy plant. You might be wondering how to divide a ponytail when it has only one stem. The way to choose a division method of propagation is when you see a new plant growing from near the trunk of this plant. Divide this new growth and plant it in a newer location or inside a pot.

When grown inside a container indoors, this plant will grow only up to 2 to 4 feet tall, the reason being that this plant can spread its roots to only a certain limited area, it is exposed to limited amount of light.

On the other hand, this plant will grow to its full potential when planted outside because it can spread its roots far and wide, it gets enough exposure to direct sunlight, it is not over watered and is left to grow on its own without further disturbances of overwatering or over fertilizing. You will see this plant growing up to 10 to 15 feet in height. This plant will start to flower and produce seeds especially when grown outdoors. The seeds can be collected in order to prepare new growth of ponytail palm through seed propagation.

Uses : Ponytail palm tree has both indoor and outdoor uses. It has been regarded as a popular ornamental plant. This plant when grown outdoors beautifies the outdoor environment and when planted indoor, makes your indoor environment fresh and pleasant. But when you let this plant grow outdoors, make sure that the outdoor environment is warm and well lighted. This plant is commonly visible inside the house, in the restaurants, hotels, shopping malls and offices. The unique appearance of this plant makes the plant stand out in a homely atmosphere. When made to grow in the open environment, this plant will help beautify the outside landscape of both tropical and semi-tropical environment making you love the environment more and more.

Pests/diseases : The ponytail palm tree when overwatered or left to grow in muddy water will result out in it being attacked by the mealy bug and cochineal. The roots will rot away in case of overwatering.

Repotting : Repotting is suggested in almost all the plants. For a ponytail palm tree, it is good to repot this plant once in two years time and let it grow in a temperature of 20C-17C. This means you can and should repot or replant this plant especially during the summer and spring months and not during the chilling winter months. It is easy to repot a ponytail palm tree growing in a pot but replanting the one growing in the open ground can be difficult and may require many hands. When you are replanting, make sure to check the roots of this plant, in case you find any damage in the roots, do remove or cut that part of the root in order not to encourage further damage.