Forceful, strong, ‘what you see is what you get’. The Beaucarnea is one of the real stalwarts of the plant kingdom. She asks a little, but gives a lot: reason enough to crown this characteristic plant with its broad base and the striking head of long, curly leaves as the Houseplant of the Month for January.

The Beaucarnea is often given as a gift to first-year students or to people moving to a new home. Because Beaucarnea is a symbol of unbending strength and can take being knocked about.

‘Elephant’s foot’

This plant has two scientific names: Nolina for the young plants and Beaucarnea for the adults. Beaucarnea is often nicknamed as the Elephant’s foot, owing to the broad bulbous root at the bottom of the plant’s stem, which does indeed somewhat resemble an elephant’s foot. Although this plant can grow into a tree of eight metres high in its natural habitat in the United States and South America, it will not become elephant-sized in your home.

Your faithful friend

A light spot and a little water are enough to guarantee a faithful friend for many years.
Still, she prefers a spot with lots of sun and likes a temperature between 5 and 35 degrees Celsius. The Beaucarnea can store water in her roots and stem, so that periods of drought don’t bother her. In fact, she can survive for a period of months without water.