Ponytail Palms and lizards go hand in hand – both love sunshine and warm temps. I bought it years ago as a little young’un in a 4″ pot.
To the left you see the second pot my little Ponytail Palm was growing in. I repotted it once more a few of years ago and now it was time for its fourth repotting adventure.
I decided to make it a little fancy pants and top dress it with turquoise rock to go the whole shell theme thang going on.
There’s a seafest on my front patio now!
How to Repot Ponytail Palms
Ponytail Palms are as tough as can be and very easy to repot if they’re not too big.
I have a larger, 3-headed specimen on my office patio and it’s quite heavy. Here are a few pointers if you ever need to repot your Ponytail Palm:
They grow slowly but need a pot large enough to hold its bulbous base.
That bulb stores water so as the plant grows, so does the bulb. You need to be a muscle man to lift a large, specimen Ponytail.
They are not palms.
They’re in the Asparagus family but act more like succulents as they are drought tolerant. They store water in that round base.
Plant them in an organic succulent and cactus mix.
They need to stay on the dry side. Also, make sure the drainage is excellent.
Ponytails don’t need fertilizer.
I amend at planting time with organic compost and worm castings. Twice a year I water in some manure tea. Read about my worm compost/compost feeding right here.
Never sink the bulbous base lower than its existing soil line.
Leave the root ball up about an inch or so higher than you want it – the weight of the plant will pull it down in the light planting mix.
I leave it dry for about a week & then thoroughly water it in.
I top dressed it a month after repotting it. I wanted it to settle in before bedecking it with the turquoise rock.
Here’s what the pot looked like before it was whisked off to my craft table for a transformation.
Check back in a couple days because my next post is all about how I painted and decorated it. The shells on the pot are the same as those used in my wind chimes. As you will see in the video below, this Ponytail Palm was very root bound and now has room to grow. I hope the lizards like it!
Top Dressing The Ponytail Palm
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Nell, the founder of Joy Us garden, was born into a gardening family and grew up in Connecticut’s countryside. After living in Boston, New York, San Francisco, & Santa Barbara, she now calls the Arizona desert home. She studied horticulture & garden design, working in the field all her life. Nell is a gardener, designer, blogger, Youtube creator, & author. She’s been gardening for a very long time & wants to share what she’s learned with you.
Hi Jane – Mine have never sprouted pups so I’m not quite sure exactly how to encourage that. What I can tell you is that my neighbor’s PP produced 3 plus sprouted at the top after it got decapitated (it grows in the sidewalk strip). Nell
hi, we have a huge palm that is about a dozen feet high, the base is five feet in diameter and it has 6 large branches. it is starting to push our metal boundry fence and lift the paving slabs. can it be moved or split up and re potted . thanks. Tony…
Hi! I bought my first ponytail palm today at Sam’s Club. I watched your video of repotting one above, they way you caress it’s “tresses” is what drew me to it. I want to caress them. I try researching all plants I get. I have a question about this one, it seems to be dressed to the point of no visible soil. The small rocks are stuck together actually, should I remove this to find the soil? This is a small ponytail. I was able to lift it and carry it. I can’t determine when to start watering it without finding the soil though.
Thank you,
Angela
Hi Angela – If you tend to over water plants, then I would definitely remove them. Ponytail Palms store water in their roots & bulbs & like to be kept on the dry side. Nell
Hi Nell, my pony tail palm is doing great. Has gotten so big I decided to do some research. Has four heads ( walmart 4 inches) now in a 12 inch pot and I noticed that plastic pot getting reshaped. Been in this pot for over 4 years. When I transplant do I put the different soil, worm castings etc. In layers? And would a huge 19 inch pot big to big? Thank you Susie
Hi Susie – You’re timing is great. Tomorrow’s video & blog post are about transplanting my 3-headed Ponytail Palm so your questions will be answered in that. You can plant Ponytail Palms in a large pot, just as long as it doesn’t look out of scale. Going from a 12″ to 19″ pot will be no problem. Nell
Hi Tony – Yes, they have a tough root system & can be moved & transplanted fairly easily. It’ll have a good-sized root ball so be prepared to do some digging. Nell
Hello Nell. I enjoyed watching your video on the ponytail palm. I am a new ponytail palm owner.
I planted mine in pure potting soil and I was wondering if I should take out some of the potting soil and add the Cactus soil. But I did plant my root ball above ground.
Thank you
Renee
Hi Renee – I always recommend planting a PP in succulent & cactus mix because it helps to prevent root rot if you tend to be heavy on the watering. Potting soil holds more moisture so if you leave it in the potting soil, just be sure not to over water it. The fact that you planted the root ball above the ground will help. Either is fine, but just adjust the watering accordingly! Nell
Thank nail. I might take some of the top soil out and mix the cactus mix in. I appreciate your response and I’m not a heavy waterer. I pay very careful attention to the requirements of a plant. I always do research and do whatever it says that they need to do. I have also however through trial and error on some plans found that the directions that come along with the plant aren’t always correct. But I believe that yours are seeing as how you’ve had them for so long thank you for your instructions and help
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Hi Jane – Mine have never sprouted pups so I’m not quite sure exactly how to encourage that. What I can tell you is that my neighbor’s PP produced 3 plus sprouted at the top after it got decapitated (it grows in the sidewalk strip). Nell
hi, we have a huge palm that is about a dozen feet high, the base is five feet in diameter and it has 6 large branches. it is starting to push our metal boundry fence and lift the paving slabs. can it be moved or split up and re potted . thanks. Tony…
Hi! I bought my first ponytail palm today at Sam’s Club. I watched your video of repotting one above, they way you caress it’s “tresses” is what drew me to it. I want to caress them. I try researching all plants I get. I have a question about this one, it seems to be dressed to the point of no visible soil. The small rocks are stuck together actually, should I remove this to find the soil? This is a small ponytail. I was able to lift it and carry it. I can’t determine when to start watering it without finding the soil though.
Thank you,
Angela
Hi Angela – If you tend to over water plants, then I would definitely remove them. Ponytail Palms store water in their roots & bulbs & like to be kept on the dry side. Nell
Hi Nell, my pony tail palm is doing great. Has gotten so big I decided to do some research. Has four heads ( walmart 4 inches) now in a 12 inch pot and I noticed that plastic pot getting reshaped. Been in this pot for over 4 years. When I transplant do I put the different soil, worm castings etc. In layers? And would a huge 19 inch pot big to big? Thank you Susie
Hi Susie – You’re timing is great. Tomorrow’s video & blog post are about transplanting my 3-headed Ponytail Palm so your questions will be answered in that. You can plant Ponytail Palms in a large pot, just as long as it doesn’t look out of scale. Going from a 12″ to 19″ pot will be no problem. Nell
Hi Tony – Yes, they have a tough root system & can be moved & transplanted fairly easily. It’ll have a good-sized root ball so be prepared to do some digging. Nell
Hello Nell. I enjoyed watching your video on the ponytail palm. I am a new ponytail palm owner.
I planted mine in pure potting soil and I was wondering if I should take out some of the potting soil and add the Cactus soil. But I did plant my root ball above ground.
Thank you
Renee
Hi Renee – I always recommend planting a PP in succulent & cactus mix because it helps to prevent root rot if you tend to be heavy on the watering. Potting soil holds more moisture so if you leave it in the potting soil, just be sure not to over water it. The fact that you planted the root ball above the ground will help. Either is fine, but just adjust the watering accordingly! Nell
Thank nail. I might take some of the top soil out and mix the cactus mix in. I appreciate your response and I’m not a heavy waterer. I pay very careful attention to the requirements of a plant. I always do research and do whatever it says that they need to do. I have also however through trial and error on some plans found that the directions that come along with the plant aren’t always correct. But I believe that yours are seeing as how you’ve had them for so long thank you for your instructions and help