Care Instructions For Ponytail Palm – Tips For Growing Ponytail Palms: Pony tail palm grow as a houseplant or as shrubs outdoors in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 through 11. They may go dormant during winter and require less water until spring. Water the ponytail palm sparingly during dormancy and resume normal watering when new growth starts to appear. Pony tail plants should be fertilized twice a year with a 20-20-20 diluted fertilizer, applying it to both soil and all exposed roots. Check out our basic care instructions for more help growing this plant indoors! Growing Information Caring For Ponytails – Everything You Need To Know About Indoor Growing Palms
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Outdoors About Pony Tails & Outdoor Growing Of Palms
Plant the pony tail palm in a pot with well-draining soil. If you are planting one outside, dig up the root ball and place it in an area with partial sun to light shade. If you are planting indoors, place the potted plant near a window that gets full or bright filtered sunlight. Keep the soil moist until new growth appears on your ponytail palm pruning . When growing ponytails indoors… try to keep them away from drafty areas of your home where they might get too cold. The exception would be if you live in an area that doesn’t get much colder than 50°F (10°C), then they can tolerate more air movement at cooler temps.
Ponytail Palm Grow Fast
They grow much faster than other palms. They can shoot up 3-4 feet or more in one year.
Ponytail Palm Leaf Drop
New Ponytails often lose their lower leaves when they are moved to brighter light. The plant is trying to adjust its leaf colors for the new environment, but it will recover. New growth will be greener if the light isn’t bright enough and the leaves may become yellowish if too bright. Brown tips on otherwise green leaves indicate that the fertilizer is causing damage and should be discontinued immediately. Always use a low nitrogen fertilizer diluted by half or less during ponytail palm growing conditions . You can start fertilizing again once you see signs that new growth is appearing – this could happen as early as next month or it may take 6 months. Don’t fertilize during dormancy .
Outdoor Growing Information About Pony Tails
Ponytail palms are evergreen to semi-evergreen tropical plants in USDA Zones 9b through 11, depending on how warm your winters are. They grow well in coastal climates and handle full sun well. Give them some shade or filtered sunlight if you live inland or further north. We also have a good article about How To Grow Ponytails Outdoors that describes the basics of growing palms outdoors in full sun. These hardy desert palm trees can tolerate dry spells once established but they prefer moist conditions when small. Once they are larger these palms only need watering when the soil becomes completely dry to the depth of the roots – about once a week or so.
Ponytail palm roots can be wrapped in burlap, sphagnum moss or mesh to keep them from becoming pot bound and stunted when they are small growing palms indoors. Outdoor ponytails only need this for one year – make sure you remove the wrapping after they settle in their new location to prevent girdling of the trunk as it thickens with growth. They grow faster if given regular water during dry spells and like most palms, do best in moist but well drained soil.
Ponytail Palm Benefits
Ponytails are easy to grow and attractive. It is one of the most cold-tolerant palms and also handles heat extremely well once mature – even better than many other types of palm trees. Many people think growing pony tails indoors or outdoors benefits from low light, but it is best to give them bright filtered sunlight if possible. They do not need full sun to survive . Anytime they are moved outside into full shade for the first time, you’ll see their leaves turn yellow until the plant adjusts to its new environment. If they are grown in very dark rooms indoors with no access to natural sunlight, this yellowing effect will occur every time you move your ponytail palm , so it is best to move them outside where there is more access to natural light.
Ponytail palms are fairly low maintenance once they are grown, don’t mind being repotted or have their soil changed and can thrive in both indoor or outdoor environments – except for the coldest regions of the United States . They rarely need pruning , but if you want to keep them small, just prune off growing tips when they get too tall. Ponytails generally don’t have pest problems but may get occasional mealybug infestation s or spider mites during transitions into new homes if humidity levels are not high enough. If this happens, treat with organic insecticide immediately after moving the plant outdoors when temps are warm.
Ponytail Palm Health Benefits Uses
A ponytail palm that is healthy and happy (and especially one which is growing fast with nice full leaves) is an effective remedy for nervous stress, anxiety, headaches , lack of energy, depression, fatigue and insomnia . Some people even use it to treat arthritis pains.
The active ingredient in ponytails’ healing properties are called cycasin. This organic compound can accumulate in the liver if taken internally. Therefore, it should only be used externally on unbroken skin or consumed under the supervision of a qualified health care practitioner who has experience working with this unique herb. Not everyone experiences these positive effects from ingesting or applying this natural substance – some find that it makes them feel worse instead of better so always consult your health care provider before trying any new supplements or remedies.
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Ponytail Palm Sunlight Requirements
The more sunlight a ponytail palm gets, the healthier it is and the faster it grows. Most people recommend giving your ponytail bright indirect light when indoors, but if you want to keep them small (for example when growing ponytails in small pots) or slow their rate of growth (if they are becoming too tall), lack of direct sunlight can be used as an effective tool . When grown outdoors in full sun , make sure they get at least 6 hours per day with no shade whatsoever. They will grow well – just much slower than in tropical regions like Florida where these palms thrive best.
Ponytail Palm Care Indoors
Ponytail Palms Care Instructions – Ponytails do not require much care when grown indoors unless your room is dark or has no windows. In these situations, it’s not a good idea to keep this plant unless you know how to provide artificial lighting for your ponytail palm. The lack of proper light as well as too little humidity can cause its leaves to turn yellow and dry out. In this case, the only solution is to move the plant outside in summer where it will have all the resources needed to recover from such conditions.
Pony tail palms grow extremely slowly so they do not need frequent repotting into larger containers. When a ponytail palm becomes root-bound , it starts growing more slowly and may eventually stop altogether if over potted . If left in one pot too long, their roots start circling around creating an even bigger problem. When this happens, it is best to move them into a container one size smaller and slowly increase it as the plant grows.
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Ponytail Palm Care Instructions Growing Indoors
You should consider repotting your pony tail palm every two years (one year for small varieties) using regular potting soil and leaving all but the top three inches of the old root ball intact. The most dangerous time for any ponytail palm is during its transition from one container to another . It may shock easily and turn yellow or even die if done too fast or without care. Although it has been popularly suggested that you can cut off all its leaves before replanting to reduce stress on the plant, we recommend against doing so because any kind of injury to the trunk or major branches can leave ugly scars that never heal completely.
Palms with visible scars should be kept out of direct sunlight which increases their stress and prevents proper growth. We suggest covering them with a sheer curtain instead, allowing filtered light while protecting them from harmful UV rays. If your ponytail becomes too tall for its pot , you can always re-pot it into a larger container using regular soil but make sure the top is at least five inches below the rim to allow for possible future root growth . You can also move your palm outdoors in summer where it will have more space to grow naturally . It’s not advisable to cut off any leaves on this plant when grown indoors because they are needed to provide adequate protection from the cold.
Pony Tail Palm Care Instructions Growing Outdoors
Palms growing in regions where winters are too cold for them to go dormant should be moved indoors or into a greenhouse during winter months . If kept outside, they will drop their leaves and go into a semi-dormant state from November through February when the weather is at its coolest. After the last frost of spring has passed , it’s safe to move your ponytail palm back outside again .
It needs full sunlight all day long which can drain away moisture from its trunk so make sure it gets enough water . We suggest using lukewarm water because cold water may cause the plant trunk to turn brown over time. This is especially true if you live in areas where the weather is warm, but it tends to be dry most of the year. You can mist its leaves a couple of times a week or place the pot on top of moist soil in a tray filled with rocks and water.
Palms growing outdoors will need repotting every third year using regular potting soil and making sure that there are no weak spots on the trunk where rot might start. Palms grown as house plants will produce flowers with red berries if they receive sufficient amounts of sunlight during summer months although those grown indoors rarely bloom . It’s also advisable not to fertilize your ponytail palm when grown as an indoor plant because too much fertilizer can burn its roots even though they grow slowly.
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