The elephant foot is considered easy to care for and beginner-friendly, but has certain requirements when it comes to the ambient temperature. It originally comes from Mexico and prefers a warm and bright location. It should not be permanently below around 10 °C.
What temperature is ideal for an elephant's foot?
The elephant's foot prefers temperatures around 25 °C in summer and 10-12 °C for overwintering. It should be placed in a warm, bright location without direct midday sun or drafts. Low humidity is not a problem, waterlogging should be avoided.
The elephant's foot (bot. Beaucarnea recurvata) is almost perfect as a houseplant; it can only be in the garden in summer. Low humidity has little effect on it, but waterlogging damages it quite quickly, as does the blazing midday sun. Root rot or sunburn are then possible. The elephant's foot tolerates temperatures up to 30 °C quite well.
The most important things in brief:
- ideal location: warm and bright
- can burn easily in the blazing midday sun
- suitable humidity: rather low
- ideal temperature in summer: around 25 °C
- good temperature for wintering: 10 °C to 12 °C
- Avoid drafts
Tip
In the summer, the elephant's foot can definitely stand outside, but it should slowly get used to the fresh air.
