Beaucarnea
B. recurvata Also called Notina recurvata and N. tuberculata (elephant foot tree, beaucarnea, pony tail)
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Elephant foot tree |
The elephant foot tree is carefree plant that can live in definitely indoors, limited only by the height of your celling it is capable of becoming 30 feet tall and when it outgrows its space, the best thing to do is to put it in a tub for your patio or give it to your local botanical garden. It grows with one or several trunks , each crowned with a plume of ¼ inch wide leaves up to 4 feet long. The plant is distinguished by a bulbous swelling of the trunk at soil level this strange characteristic, coupled with the grays brown color and wrinkled texture of the bark, account for the common name elephant foot tree. The swollen trunk serves as a water tank, enabling the tree to survive drought.
How to grow
Elephant foot tree do best where they get four or more hours a day of direct sunlight, or where artificial
and natural light average 800 foot candles over 12 hours a day , but they will
grow fairly well in bright indirect
light, such as that reflected from light walls. They prefer night temperatures of 50 to 55 and day temperature of 68 to 72
but can withstand
temperature ranging from 40 to 90
. the soil should be allowed to become
moderately dry between thorough watering. Feed established plants once a years
in spring with a standard house plant fertilizer, but wait
a full year before feeding newly purchased or newly potted plants. Plant will live for year in small containers. Report over
crowded elephant foot tree in very rarely
spring before new growth starts.
