Multi-Purpose Pony Tail Palm

I am a person that wants to be a plant person really bad but unfortunately I'm not a plant person. Plants die in my care. When I bring a plant home, my husband apologizes to it. One of my besties has given me plants....because she's a plant person that works at a plant nursery in the spring....she will say, you won't be able to kill this one. Wanna bet? And it eventually dies. I've gotten plants from school from the kids for mother's day, they die. I know they're going to die so why do I even bother to keep trying? Because I'm not a quitter and I want to be a plant person! People tell me - get a cactus - sorry friends, I've already killed a couple of those.

Enter Pony Tail Palm. It's a cool plant, isn't it? So why do I consider it a multi-purpose plant?

• It likes to be left alone and watered once a month.

• Because it likes to be left alone I'm feeling really good about this one.

• Requires a little bit of sunlight but not direct sunlight and I've got that!

• It's a really cool looking plant.

• It's not poisonous to cats or dogs.

  • And THAT's where the real multi-purpose part of the plant really comes in. My dog had an upset stomach. I could tell she was on the verge of throwing up. We have 8 inches of snow, no grass in sight for me to take her to eat. I opened the deck door so she could go outside and throw up. On her way out the deck door she had to pass the Pony Tail Palm. And she stopped. And then she started eating it....and eating it....and eating it. And I let her because I could tell it was calming her stomach down and I knew it wasn't poisonous to her. She never did throw up. She was quite happy about me letting her eat the plant and not yelling at her. And it hasn't killed the plant letting her do that either!

So basically what I've got here is a plant that I may possibly be able to keep alive and a plant that is medicinal for a dog's upset tummy when there's no grass to be found. Most people would spray their pets with a water bottle to keep them away from their plants. In this case - have at it poochy-keener, eat as much as you need to.

Cross your fingers that I can keep it alive. Trust me, you'll hear about it if and when I kill it!