The Elephant Palm Tree – called the Ponytail Palm Tree and Bottle Palm Tree – has become a popular visually stunning plant in gardens of Spain.
The common characteristics of the plant include a bulbous trunk, used to store water and it’s lush long, curly hair-like leaves that grow from the top of the trunk like a ponytail, giving the plant its renowned name.
An ideal plant for any level of gardener, due to being easy to care for, with basic needs of some bright light, being tolerant to half-sun-half- shade.
A member of the Agave family, its neither a palm nor a tree, being a succulent and grows best in semi-dry conditions, thus let the soil dry out completely, in-between waterings.
Let them get root-bound, before repotting on. When you do re-pot them, use a pot which is only an inch or two (2.5 to 5 cm) wider, than the previous pot.
If you re-pot them into a too large a pot, they can get too much water, damaging growth and health.
The Elephant foot plant only need to be fertilised two or three times annually. Sight of any brown tips on the leaves is a sign that they are being fertilised too much.
