The Ponytail Palm is a succulent from the deserts of Texas and Mexico. It is not really a palm, but a member of the same family as the Century Plant.

The other names for this plant are the Elephant-Foot Tree and the Bottle Palm.

The swollen base is a water tank. You should water this plant and then let it dry out thoroughly. You can mist it during extra warm nights. Good drainage is essential.

Fertilize it once a year, in the spring.

It prefers to be crowded in a small pot. Repot only if you feel that there is absolutely no more room in the pot for the enormous base. We have never repotted ours and we can barely water it, there is so little room between the base and the pot.

As a houseplant you will probably need to keep this on some base as the recurving leaves tend to hang down and be longer than the plant and pot together.

Outside grow in only frost free, dry climates. We summer our houseplant outside.

It should have full sun. As a houseplant it should have at least four hours of sun a day.

Propagation is by seed (we have never seen any seeds) or by root offsets in the spring.

This plant makes a beautiful, unique houseplant. If you purchase one, buy a large one, because it is a slow grower.