Elephant Foot: Care, Reproduction & Pests

The elephant foot has a remarkable growth habit. Here you can find out everything you need to know about the elephant's foot.

The elephant foot (Beaucarnea recurvata) with its thick, tapering trunk, actually looks like the stompers of the gentle savannah animals. But it is not only this unusual appearance that makes it a popular houseplant. The trunk contains unimagined storage capacities that give the elephant's foot an incredibly high level of adaptability and resilience. This makes it the ideal plant for aspiring indoor botanists. However, a healthy, pretty elephant foot needs a few things to be happy.

Elephant foot: origin and properties

The elephant foot is native to only one state in Mexico. Here the succulent tree grows in dry, tropical forests and reaches heights of up to 9 meters. As a houseplant, sizes of up to 1.5 meters can be reached. However, it takes a long time to reach such a size because the tree grows very slowly. Here is some information about this extraordinary and yet undemanding indoor tree:

• Latin name: Beaucarnea recurvata
• Common names: bottle tree, water palm
• genus Beaucarnea
• Family: Dragon tree family (Dracaenaceae)
• Age: Up to 100 years
• Leaves: Slender; up to 50 cm long
• Flowers: Ovate to paniculate; white inflorescence
• Trunk stores water and nutrients

As with the dragon tree, the sprouting leaves die off over time from bottom to top. Only the ends of the shoots have leaves. Flowers are only very rarely formed in room culture. Always keep an elephant tree out of the reach of small children and pets as it is poisonous. More on the subject "Elephant foot: poisonous or not?” can be found in our special article.

Buying an elephant's foot: This is important to note

You can buy seeds as well as plants that have already been grown in garden centres, online shops or sometimes in supermarkets. The older and larger the plant, the more expensive it is of course. When buying, make sure that the plants are not in an area with drafts. The leaves should be bright green. Yellowish or brown leaves indicate improper care and a weakened, ailing plant. You should also look out for a pest infestation. It is better to keep your hands off plants with fluffy spots or misshapen leaves.

Multiply elephant foot yourself: is that possible?

The exotic can be multiplied by you as you wish. In older specimens, side shoots can form in the leaf axils. These can for one propagation by cuttings be used. The side shoots are cut off with a clean knife and placed in a seed pot with a sand/peat mixture. The cuttings will soon take root in a pleasantly warm, light-protected place. Make sure the soil temperature and humidity are constant. To ensure the humidity, a foil hood is placed over the growing pot. Unfortunately, the growth of the cuttings often does not correspond to the desired typical appearance of an elephant tree, which is why the variant of choice is usually the cultivation of seeds. Although the in-house production of the seeds is more of a special case due to the rare flowering, the seeds can also be purchased online. When rearing by seeds, the procedure is as follows:

• Soak seeds in lukewarm water for a few hours
• Fill the seed tray with a sand/clay mixture
• Sow seeds on the ground and cover lightly with soil (light germinators)
• Pour lightly
• Location: Bright and warm; up to 25 °C
• Use foil hood
• Always keep substrate moist
• Germination time: several weeks

Ideally, a heat mat is placed under the seed tray to keep the soil temperature consistently high. After the first leaves have formed, enough roots have formed. The mini elephant foot can now be relocated to a larger vessel.

Caring for elephant feet like a pro

In order for the elephant foot to feel comfortable with you, it is important to bring Mexico into your living room. You don't have to wear sombreros, but provide plenty of light and warmth. However, the blazing summer midday sun quickly leads to sunburn. Drafts are also not tolerated - otherwise the elephant will quickly turn into an ice foot. A nice spot on a west or east window is therefore ideal. To ensure that the trunk grows straight at a window seat, the pot is occasionally turned a quarter of a turn. In our article you can find out what you can use to sweeten the summer for your elephant foot and how you can get it through the winter Elephant Foot Care.

Water the elephant's foot properly

The thickened trunk is used to store water to protect against long periods of drought in the Mexican homeland. As a houseplant, this offers the advantage that the elephant tree only rarely needs to be watered. Especially in spring and autumn, the tree does not take it amiss if it is forgotten. Even hard watering is tolerated. In winter, if necessary, water only in small quantities. In summer it should be watered regularly and thoroughly, but only when the substrate has completely dried out.

Fertilize elephant foot properly

The trunk has not only a water but also a nutrient storage. This is why only moderate fertilizers are used during the growth phase. During this time, the irrigation water is fertilized every four weeks with cactus fertilizer. Alternatively, green plant fertilizer can be used at half the concentration. Whether cactus or green plant fertilizer, it is generally recommended to use an organic fertilizer variant, because the nutrients contained are released over a longer period of time. This reduces the risk of over-fertilization. After repotting, do not fertilize for the next eight weeks, as the new substrate offers enough nutrients. More information about Fertilizing the elephant tree can be found in our special article.

Repot elephant foot

Due to its slow growth, the elephant's foot does not need to be repotted often. Only when the trunk has the same circumference as the pot or the root ball is pushed out of the pot does the leisurely plant need a new home. This is the case about every three to five years. You can find out exactly how and when to repot your elephant tree in our article Cutting and repotting elephant foot.

Summary Caring for elephant foot like a pro:

• Location: Bright and warm; east or west window; no draft
• Watering: When the substrate is completely dry
• Fertilize: In the growth phase every four weeks with cactus fertilizer, half dose of green plant fertilizer
• Repot: Every three to five years

When and how to cut elephant foot?

The leaves of the elephant tree can grow over a meter long. The idea of ​​pulling out the scissors to get the leaves to the desired length quickly comes to mind. Unfortunately, pruning results in unsightly brown leaf tips. The temptation to remove them is great. The vicious circle that has been set in motion usually ends in a short-leaved hairstyle, to the sorrow of the indoor plant owner. Then cut off the shoots completely to make room for new ones.

Cutting off the elephant's foot: when is the right time?

Pruning is best done at the beginning of the growing season in spring.

How to cut off elephant's foot correctly?

The trunk is cut with a clean and sharp knife at any height above the foot. The cut surface is then disinfected and sealed. The wound closure with wax serves to protect against drying out. Your elephant tree will soon sprout again laterally at the cutting point. Usually two to three shoots are formed.

Elephant foot: diseases and brown leaves

A properly maintained elephant tree despite diseases and pests, but if the tree is in the wrong place or is not watered properly, the exotic will quickly become ill.

Elephant foot: the most common diseases

A few diseases and pests are particularly common if they are not cared for properly:

Mold and rot (fungal infection)

• Symptoms: Yellow, soft young leaves
• Cause: Too heavy watering
• Countermeasure: remove damaged roots; repot in dry soil; water less

Mealybug

• Symptoms: white streak; small animals covered with a white layer of wax on the underside of the leaves and the leaf axils
• Cause: Introduced from other plants or when purchased
• Remove affected leaves; isolate plant; treat other plants with lye solution (precaution)

spider mite, scale insect

• Symptoms: spun webs; cotton ball-like patches or deformities on the leaves
• Cause: Low humidity
• scraping off the affected leaves with a knife and taking a cool shower; higher humidity

Elephant foot: why do the tips of the leaves turn brown?

The lower leaves will naturally turn brown over time. You only have to pay attention if not as many new leaves grow back as old ones fall off. There are many reasons for this:

• pruning the leaves
• Too frequent watering; waterlogging
• Sunburn from too much sun exposure
• Winter: Too much heating air; low humidity; too warm; lack of light; poured too little
• Leaves hit the floor/walls
• Not enough nutrients due to a pot that is too small
• Too cold temperatures

So that the leaves do not turn brown in the first place, the care must be right. Here you will find everything for the right one Care of elephant foot and what can be done about brown leaves in an emergency.