Monkey Tail Cactus 101

How to Care for Hildewintera colademonosis

This is the Monkey Tail Cactus, or Hildewintera colademononis. Perfect for when you have a little time to monkey around, this cactus is a great low-maintenance option for lazy gardeners to let hang in their homes. In this guide we’re going to go over basic care for the monkey tail, as well as how to propagate, deal with pests, and more!

Ideal Lighting & Placement

As always, our motto with succulents is “bright light and in sight!” Place your monkey tail in a location that you view often that gets lots of bright light every day so that you can avoid stretched out, skinny growth. If placing this outdoors, like on a patio, then provide partial shade from any intense sunlight.

Best Potting Soil

This cactus needs a well-draining potting soil so that it doesn’t sit around in too much moisture for too long. When you grab your potting soil, make sure to add in a few healthy handfuls of an inorganic material like perlite or pumice to help with drainage and aeration. You’ll want it to be about 30-50% inorganic.

30-50% perlite or pumice in mix is recommended

How to Repot a Monkey Tail Cactus

We recommend putting on a pair of gloves to keep your hands safe from this cactus’ spines. While it’s fuzzy on the outside, there are smaller, more prickly spines closer in. Take your Monkey Tail out of its old pot and break up the roots as best you can. Center the plant in it’s new pot with drainage holes (we’re using our cliff hanger planter) and fill in the empty space around with well-draining soil, firmly pressing it down to tuck everything in. Finish the look with some brown bean pebbles and you’ve got yourself a desert dream!

Break up roots well before repotting in well-draining soil

A fun thing we’ve also noticed is that when resting on top of soil a monkey tail might root into soil from the side! You can gently pull this out or let it grow.

How/When to Water

Err on the side of underwatering with the monkey tail. Before you water your cactus, first check that the soil is completely dry, then look to see if the cactus looks more deflated than usual. Check with your finger or with a tool like a wooden skewer to make sure no damp soil sticks. You should also notice that the pot will feel much lighter with dry soil.

fully saturate the soil with several rounds of water

When it’s time to water, do several rounds of watering to make sure that the soil is completely saturated, checking that any excess water is draining out of the bottom of the pot. Once you’ve done this enough, give the soil time to completely dry out before watering again. You should be regularly watering in the warmer growing season, and reducing watering in the colder months.

Monkey Tail Common Problems

A healthy Monkey Tail will have thick, trailing stems that tend to grow from the base or any cut points, and a vibrant yellow-green color. You’ll notice that as they grow the older sections of the stem will appear more golden while the new growth will look more bright green! The stem will be much fluffier as well.

overwatered monkey tail

*overwatered monkey tail

A common problem for this plant is overwatering. The base of the cactus will turn brown and mushy, but you can salvage the plant by taking a cutting if you need to. Also try to reduce watering or add more inorganic material to your soil. Another common problem is sunburn from too much direct intense heat. This will look like dry brown spots on your cactus. Move your cactus into shade or provide shade with something like a sheer curtain.

Common Monkey Tail Pests

You shouldn’t expect to have an issue with pests for the monkey tail, as this cactus quite effectively protects itself with its dense spines, but it’s never impossible. Regularly inspect your cactus for pests like spider mites or mealybugs and use 70% isopropyl alcohol to treat or prevent infestations.

Temperature & Humidity

The monkey tail’s growing season is from the spring to fall, and its USDA  hardiness zone is 10. It prefers warmer temperatures between around 65-80 degrees F, and prefers a lower humidity. If temperatures drop below about 35 degrees F then make sure to take precautions to avoid frost damage, such as bringing the plant inside if possible.

Monkey Tail on windowsill

How to Propagate a Monkey Tail

Propagating a Monkey Tail is a piece of cake! With a sterile cutting tool, cut off a healthy portion of a stem of your cactus. Wait at least a few days for the cut end to form a callus, or scab, and then plant that cutting straight down into well-draining soil. After a few weeks roots should form and you can slowly introduce more and more waterings. The monkey tail that you cut from can also form new growth from the cut site, so keep taking care of that mother plant too!

Take a cutting from stem with sterile tool

Monkey Tail Toxicity

This cactus is considered non-toxic to humans and pets, though we recommend caution when handling it due to its many small spines. We would keep this away from any curious kids or animals if you can.

Monkey Tail Blooms

The Monkey Tail blooms gorgeous, vibrant pink flowers you’ll typically see in the warmer months of spring or summer. They can be short lived so make sure to enjoy them when you can!

Monkey Tail's bright pink flowers

Outro

The monkey tail cactus is a fun and effortless plant that can add charm to any indoor space, lazy garden, or patio. Remember our motto of bright light and in sight, and always make sure that the soil is completely dry before watering. Please reach out if you have any questions!