The popular houseplant with the funny name does not need many nutrients. Here we show how to properly fertilize the elephant's foot.
The elephant's foot (Beaucarnea recurvata) is quite a bizarre plant with its strangely bulbous trunk. But it certainly has its right to exist. If you want your elephant's foot to thrive, it helps to better understand the function of its trunk and to take a closer look at the home of this exciting plant.
Elephant's feet are native to southern Mexico, where they form sparse forests in arid regions. The soil there is sandy and nutrient-poor and it rains a lot, but only in the summer months and in autumn. But the elephant's foot has come up with something to survive drought and nutrient shortages: a thickened trunk. Water is stored in it, like the cactus does. Since hardly any nutrients can be absorbed during the water-poor period, these are also temporarily stored here. In addition, the plant grows very slowly and therefore does not need much to make ends meet. Elephant feet are more likely to cope with a deficiency than an excess and should therefore only be fertilized carefully.
Fertilizing elephant's foot: the right time
During the sunless time in winter, the elephant foot goes into winter break. When it gets warmer and, above all, lighter, it starts to grow. First, the elephant foot uses up the resources it has accumulated in the trunk. Fertilization should therefore only be started in late spring, and even then rather cautiously. It is sufficient if you supply your elephant's foot with nutrients once or twice a month during the warm summer months. If autumn is approaching, you should slowly reduce the fertilization before the elephant's foot starts its winter break again.
Detecting deficiency symptoms in elephant foot
Positive news: Deficiency symptoms are virtually non-existent in elephant feet. However, that meansalso that there are other reasons if your elephant's foot looks dissatisfied. Brown leaves, for example, can be a sign of waterlogging or drafts. For more information, see this article on elephant foot.
Since the elephant's foot is extremely frugal, it will not show any deficiency symptoms if it is fertilized more or less regularly in late spring and summer. However, if the plant is never fertilized, it cannot grow either.
What should you fertilize the elephant foot with?
It is best to feed liquid fertilizer to elephant feet. Since they are only rarely watered, nutrients in solid form cannot otherwise be dissolved well and are therefore of little use to the plant. In general, however, you should fertilize the plant sparingly. Our Plantura citrus & Mediterranean fertilizer is just the thing here. This liquid fertilizer provides the perfect nutrient ratio for the elephant's foot: lots of potassium, which has a positive effect on the water balance, and relatively little nitrogen. Under no circumstances should the fertilizer contain more nitrogen than potassium or phosphorus.
Fertilizing elephant's foot organically: This is the best way to do it
In the wild, the elephant's foot thrives mainly on mineral soils with a low humus content. However, you can also fertilize your elephant foot organically. In liquid form, the fertilizer can be easily mixed into the irrigation water and is therefore easy to administer to the plant. However, before you use the fertilizer, you should moisten the soil, otherwise the plant will be overwhelmed. A good and extremely cheap alternative is, for example, coffee grounds. You should be very careful with very nitrogenous substances such as manure, compost or various organic fertilizers. These are not suitable because the fertilizer should contain more potassium and phosphorus than nitrogen.
Fertilize elephant foot with minerals
The elephant's foot gets along well with mineral fertilization, but only in moderation. Since mineral fertilizers are usually readily available, there is an increased risk of over-fertilization. Therefore, do not fertilize more than once or twice per summer month and use a cactus fertilizer.
Fertilize elephant foot with home remedies: coffee grounds and co.
Coffee grounds are made for the elephant's foot. It provides sufficient phosphorus and potassium and relatively little nitrogen. This prevents over-fertilization. Coffee grounds also have an acidifying effect on the soil. Especially with one tends toDue to the high pH of the soil, this can help bring the soil environment into a range between 5.8 and 6.8 - i.e. slightly acidic.
Not a coffee drinker? No problem, many cafés are happy to give away their coffee grounds on request. Even the big chain Starbucks is now willing to do so.
In order for your elephant foot to thrive, you should not only fertilize it, but also cut it occasionally. You can find out how to do this correctly in our article on cutting and repotting elephant feet.