Ponytail palms (Beaucarnea recurvata) are a go-to beginner plant. They are known for being drought tolerant and even low maintenance.
They thrive in bright indirect light and are not too receptive to being in shady or low-light areas.
The ponytail palm or the bottle palm, however, is quite forgiving if you make mistakes when caring for it.
If your indoor palm does run into any trouble, it may be due to an issue with fertilizer, watering, light, or even a pest.
Each issue you may run into is easy to solve and can bring life back into your ponytail palm.
1. Light Yellow Leaves on a Ponytail Palm
Light yellow leaves on a ponytail palm can be caused for a number of reasons. This may be from overwatering, and not enough sunlight.
The ponytail palm prefers bright indirect light. So it is essential to ensure it is in your home’s brightest place. However, if it is not, you will notice the leaves start yellowing or lacking color.
The indoor palm also does best when it is only watered when it is completely dry. Since it is a succulent plant, it prefers more parched soil.
Move Your Ponytail Palm to a Brighter Area
To make sure all the healthy leaves and parts of the plant grow bright green and healthy, you will need to move your ponytail palm to a brighter spot.
It is important to find a place that has the most amount of sun throughout the day.
If there are large amounts of yellow or dead leaves, you should prune these leaves to encourage new growth.
Any new growth will be bright and rich green. When you see this foliage, you will know that your palm tree is in the perfect spot and is healthy again.
Yellowing from Overwatering
If your bottle palm is turning yellow from overwatering, you will notice that the soil is very damp or wet. You will also notice that the leaves are not only yellow but also drooping and limp.
Ponytail palms prefer their soil to dry out before you water them completely. If you are watering your palm tree and the soil is still wet, you should hold off watering it and wait until it is dry.
How to Reverse Damage from Overwatering
If your ponytail palm is facing root rot, you will have to cut off the infected roots and leave only the healthy roots. When you transplant your palm, you must make sure the soil is new and fresh.
To even make sure it is growing right, you can place it in water before putting it in the soil to ensure the roots are growing healthily.
However, if you do not notice any root rot, you will repot your plant in fresh soil and wait until the soil is completely dry before watering your palm.
2. Burnt or Brown Leaves on a Ponytail Palm
While ponytail palms love bright indirect light, if it is getting direct light the leaves will burn and turn brown.
Browning and burnt leaves could even be a product of overwatering. If it is overwatering, you will notice that the soil is damp along with yellowing and drooping leaves.
Move Your Ponytail Palm
If your ponytail palm is getting direct sunlight, you should move it to a different area of your home.
This will be through a bright window that gets a great amount of light throughout the day.
3. Black Spots on Foliage of a Ponytail Palm
Black spots on a ponytail palm are usually due to sunburning as the palm tree is getting too much sun.
High exposure to direct and bright sunlight can cause a great amount of burning, similar to browning leaves.
Prune the Burnt Leaves
It is important for you to move your palm tree to a bright place in your home, but ensure that it is bright indirect light and not direct.
For the leaves that are brown or have black spots, you will have to prune them. Pruning will allow your palm to create new and bright green, healthy leaves.
4. Curling Leaves
If your ponytail leaves are curling in odd directions, then you could be underwatering or overfertilizing your palm tree.
Curling could even be caused because the humidity is too low and it is placed under an air vent.
Underwatering
If you are underwatering your ponytail palm, you will notice that the soil is bone dry and even browning leaves. If this is the case, you are underwatering your ponytail palm.
You should water your palm and remove any standing water. It is important to prune any curling or discolored leaves.
Overfertilization
If you have just recently fertilized your ponytail palm and now the leaves are curling, you have either fertilized the plant too much or have not diluted the fertilizer enough.
It is important to only use fertilizer once or twice in the growing season as the ponytail palm does not require too much of it. When you overfeed your palm the leaves will be dehydrated, leading to curling and browning.
To fix this, you should repot your plant in fresh soil with no fertilizer. You should wait until the following growing season to fertilize the palm tree.
Low Humidity
Since the ponytail palm is native to a humid and wet environment, you will have to make sure to replicate that environment in your home.
If it is not humid enough, the leaves will become dehydrated. This may happen from your palm being under an air vent or just in a dry environment.
To stop this from happening, you should move your ponytail palm away from any air vent and midst the leaves every so often.
You can even add a humidifier to the room that the plant is in. When you have done this, the leaves will uncurl and begin to look healthier.
5. Freckles and Fungal Bacteria
If your ponytail palm has fungal bacteria, you will notice freckles and brown spots on the plant.
While it is not something that is not life-threatening to your palm, you still may want to remove the fungus for cosmetic purposes.
How to Get Rid of Fungus on a Ponytail Palm
To remove any fungal-infected leaves on your palm tree, you should spray the plant with an anti-fungal.
After this, you should increase the air circulation of the area where the plant is. This will stop any new fungal growth.
6. Signs of Pests on a Ponytail Palm
Pests can cause your ponytail palm to rot and eventually die.
The pests are taking away the nutrients from the plant and the soil, causing issues with the palm.
Whenever you water your palm, you should inspect the leaves for scales, spider mites, or even mealybugs.
- Scales. You will notice that scales are black dots that sit on the stem of your plant. They will be in large clumps around the tree.
- Mealybugs. Mealybugs are fast breeders and can easily become a long-haul problem. They are strong and look white like cotton.
- Spider mites. Spider mites are tiny red and brown spiders. You will notice their webbing under the leaves and anywhere on the plant.
You should wipe your plant with insecticide or neem oil to remove any insects or signs of them.
After you have completely washed your plant and removed all the bugs, you should continue to treat the plant so the issue does not come back.
It is also essential to repot your plant in new soil to make sure you have completely eradicated the problem.
How to Prevent Future Issues
To keep your ponytail palm in pristine condition, you should follow these steps to ensure it is always healthy.
- Place your palm tree in bright, indirect light and avoid direct sunlight.
- Make sure your soil is completely dry before watering it.
- Be sure to mist your palm tree to ensure it is humid enough and is not getting dehydrated.
- Do not overfertilize the palm tree, and only do so in the growing season.
- Every time you water your palm tree, check for any pests so it does not lead to an infestation or even kill your palm tree.
To always keep your ponytail palm healthy, you should always inspect the palm tree for any issues.
By maintaining the plant, you will always keep it in great condition, allowing it to grow prosperously.