Ponytail palm

Beaucarnia recurvata

Description

The Ponytail palm is a unique landscape plant that slowly grows from small container sizes to spectacular specimens with large swollen bases, several branches and heights ranging 12-25 ft. tall. The foliage is comprised of 3-5 ft. long weeping strap-like leaves, producing a ‘Dr. Seuss’- type character. Hundreds of creamy-white flowers make a very showy display on tall panicles in late spring; these flowers are replaced by showy golden brown seed bracts as they mature.

The Ponytail palm comes from warm and dry regions of southeast Mexico and is highly adapted to garden conditions in warm, sunny exposures on well-drained soils in the Inland Empire. It can store moisture from winter rains in its swollen base and endure long summers without supplemental water. It is highly successful as a container plant and focal accent plant in dry wash and southwestern style gardens.

Plant Type: Tree
Foliage Character: Evergreen
Habit: Upright, Low-branching
Growth Rate: Slow
Foliage Color: Medium green
Flower Color: Cream
Flower Season: Spring
Soil Adaptations: Well-draining soil
Exposure Adaptations: Heat, Drought, Aridity, All day sun
Function: Specimen, Foliage accent plant, Flowering accent plant
Height: 12 ft. – 25 ft.
Width: 10 ft. – 15 ft.

Watering Schedule: Low 2

For most situations, we recommend watering deeply every 2 weeks after establishment.

Learn how to apply this watering schedule to your landscape on our How to water waterwise and California native plants page.

Important Notes

These are general guidelines. Always observe and adjust as necessary for your landscape.
If it rains over 1” you will likely not need to water for at least another two weeks. Before watering again, check the soil. It should be significantly dry at least 4” below the soil surface before watering.
To save water, in many cases you can go longer in between waterings during the winter, often up to 3-4 weeks between watering for well-established plants. Two weeks after watering, check the soil approximately 4” below the surface. If it is still significantly moist, you can wait longer before watering again.
In most cases, if you have a “smart timer” or weather sensitive irrigation controller, you may use these features to save some water in in the fall and winter. If you are using automatic weather adjusting functions, continue to allow the timer to run every two weeks. It will adjust the number of minutes it runs to account for the cooler weather.
It is important to group plants with the same water needs together in the landscape to avoid needing to over or under water plants when running your irrigation system.