In habitats where it is a preferred meal of elephants, elephant bush plants can grow to heights of 6 to 20 feet (2 to 6 meters). It is considerably more likely to only grow a few feet (about one meter) tall inside the house. The bush has small, soft green leaves on thick, succulent brown stalks that resemble miniature jade plants.
Elephant bush houseplants do well in indoor environments like those found in homes. Warm temperatures and bright light are necessary for portulacaria care. The bush produces tiny pink blooms clustered at the terminals of the branches after a wintertime dormancy period.
Does the elephant bush live inside?
Elephant bush is a native of South Africa, where it grows on rocky, semi-arid hillsides. It is also referred to by its botanical name, Portulacaria afra. Because it is a succulent plant, it may thrive in practically any environment. Both indoors and outdoors, it thrives, but it’s preferable to grow it inside. Additionally, it has as many names as applications. In its native South Africa, people refer to it as Spekboom. Elephant’s Food and Miniature Jade are some other names for it.
Elephant bushes and the traditional jade plant, Crassula ovata, another succulent, are commonly mistaken for one another. Even though they are similar in many ways, classic jade can be identified by its unsupported vertical growth. The elephant bush, on the other hand, needs support because it appears to droop and is unable to maintain its heavier leaves.
If you’re wondering where this succulent got its name, it has quite obvious origins. Juicy leaves and stalks of the plants are enjoyed by many animals, including elephants and goats. 80 percent of an elephant’s food in the wild comes from this plant. Tortoises may eat from this unusual succulent as well.
This hardy plant can thrive in USDA hardiness zones 9 through 11. This succulent’s reddish-brown stems shoot upward and reach an average height of 8 to 15 feet. The likelihood is that it will only grow to a height of a few feet, though, considering its sluggish rate of growth.
How frequently should an indoor elephant bush be watered?
The Portulacaria Afra needs a succulent soil mixture that drains well. There shouldn’t be too much moisture in the mixture.
Use a pot with holes for drainage. Perlite is another option for your potting soil mixture. The correct airflow in the soil is made possible by perlite, hastening the drying process.
What are the Sunlight Requirements of the Elephant Bush?
Place your elephant bush where it receives some direct sunlight and some partial shade throughout the day.
The Portulacaria Afra or Elephant Bush requires at least six hours per day of direct sunlight. Avoid spending a lot of time in direct sunlight. Otherwise, keep in some shade.
Heat intolerance exists in the elephant bush in miniature. It might be more prone to sunburn than its larger sibling.
What is the Humidity Requirement of the Elephant Bush?
A succulent is not required by the elephant bush for humidity. It does well in humidity at room temperature.
The portulacaria afra needs average indoor humidity. Spraying it with water to wet it is not recommended because it can result in unreasonably high humidity levels.
How Should I Water the Elephant Bush?
Elephant bushes don’t store a lot of water because their leaves are thin. In the summer, it has to be watered once a week. In the winter or during the milder summer months, water it every 1.5 weeks.
Simply because the Portulacaria has thin leaves, don’t overwater it!
How to Fertilize the Elephant Bush?
Little fertilizer is required by the Elephant Bush. You can use the one designed for cacti. Give a drop each month from spring to fall, when the plants are actively growing.
In the winter, succulents scarcely need to be consumed. That is more akin to their free time. When it’s cold, water with fertilizer will make them unhappy!
How to Prune the Elephant Bush?
The Elephant Bush can be pruned for shape in addition to removing dead sections!
Before pruning, the Portulacaria Afra needs to be dry. Before you start pruning, make sure your knife is clean and sharp. Offsets and dead stems must be immediately cut.
The Elephant Bush plant can also be styled by pruning. Make cuts in the desired shapes for your Portulacaria Afra. You can even create a Bonsai tree in small size if you like!
You’ll need water and bleach. Pour some bleach into a 90 percent water solution. Before you cut the plant, thoroughly rinse your blade or knife in the mixture.
How to Repot the Elephant Bush?
The Elephant Bush takes a while to mature. Only when the plant outgrows its pot will you need to repot it. You shouldn’t water the Portulacaria Afra for at least seven days after repotting.
General Care for Portulacaria afra “Elephant Bush
You should include Portulacaria afra in your indoor or outdoor succulent garden. Although it goes by the moniker “Miniature Jade,” this succulent is not linked to Crassula ovata. Additionally, there are tiny and striped varieties of elephant bush. The non-variegated variety can withstand more heat.
Watering
“Elephant Bush requires the same amount of water as other succulents do. You should utilize the “Use the “soak and dry” method, letting the soil to dry out in between waterings. When in dormancy, Portulacaria afra requires less frequent watering.
Portulacaria afra can withstand more frequent waterings than other succulents since its leaves are so thin.
Additionally, make sure to get our FREE watering cheat sheet to learn how to determine whether your succulents are receiving too much water (and how to save them if needed).
Where to Plant
Because Portulacaria afra is not cold hardy, it is advisable to grow this succulent in a container that can be moved indoors if you reside in a region that has temperatures below 30 F (1.7 C). It thrives in full to some sun. Plants should be placed in a garden area with six hours of direct sunlight each day.
Put it in a sunny window if you’re planting indoors. If not given enough sunshine, this succulent has a tendency to stretch readily, albeit the stretching is less obvious than with other succulents.
Cuttings
Use a sterilized, sharp knife or pair of scissors to propagate Portulacaria afra “Elephant Bush from cuttings. Take a stem from the main plant and place it on well-draining soil after letting it callus for a few days. When the soil is fully dry, add water.
Flowers and Fragrance
The small, glossy green leaves that emerge from the reddish brown stem of the elephant bush succulent give it away.
However, they will produce flowers in clusters and in hues of white, pink, or purple if given the right growing conditions.
Light and Temperature
To grow and thrive, the Portulacaria afra plant needs a lot of bright light and a warm atmosphere.
The tiny jade plant’s leaves will scorch and fall off if it is transferred from indoors to direct sunlight outside.
The Rainbow Elephant Bush can endure brief periods of light frost and temperatures as low as 25 degrees Fahrenheit.
Growing Afra in a container will allow you to bring this succulent indoors during the colder months if you live in an area with icy winters.
Watering and Feeding
The Elephant Bush Succulent is a drought-tolerant plant, therefore it doesn’t require a lot of water to survive. It can withstand hot and dry weather.
In general, a developing Elephant bush plant requires more water in the hotter, drier summer months than in the milder winter months.
To make sure you are not overwatering this succulent plant, wait until the top layer of soil has slightly dried before watering it once again.
Use a diluted indoor plant fertilizer at a 50 percent strength to feed plants in the early spring or the late winter.
Potting Soil and Transplanting
With very little soil, trailing elephant bush succulents can thrive. The plants are top-heavy due to their thick branches and succulent foliage.
Plants may need a rock or stake when they are first planted to help stabilize them until they are well-established.
A well-draining potting mixture, such as a cactus mix or sandy succulent soil, is required for portulacaria afra.
Pots require drainage holes, so adding more perlite for more drainage also helps.
Avoid letting the soil become soggy since overwatering can quickly harm the plant.
To make sure the plant is receiving enough soil nutrients, repotting should be done every two years or so.
To ensure that the plant receives an adequate supply of nutrients, make sure the potting mix in the new container is fresh.
Elephant bush—is it a bonsai?
Elephant bush, Portulacaria afra, is a South African perennial succulent shrub that is grown in succulent gardens all over the world. In our region of the world, it is simply planted as a seasonal accent plant or low-maintenance houseplant. It is a rocky outcrop or slope that can be found from the Little Karoo in the Western Cape to the Eastern Cape northward into KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Mpumalanga, the Limpopo Province, and farther north into Mozambique. It is also sometimes called elephant food or elephant plant; dwarf jade, miniature jade, or small leaf jade (but is not related to jade plant, Crassula ovata);
Although it is thought to belong to the Portulacaceae plant family, which only includes species found in Madagascar, molecular phylogenetic studies indicate this genus belongs to the Didiereaceae. According to recent studies, P. afra is a superior “carbon sponge” that can efficiently absorb more carbon from the air than most other plants (since it can grow using both normal and CAM pathways despite challenging climatic conditions) and remove more carbon from the atmosphere than an equivalent amount of deciduous forest.
In mild regions, this upright, multi-stemmed shrub or small tree with soft woods can reach heights of 8 to 15 feet (hardy in zones 9- 11). Round to oval-shaped, fleshy, virtually sessile (lacks a discernible petiole), 1/2–3/4 inch long leaves are flattened and thick. The tapering branches and brittle, fleshy, reddish-brown stems that support the opposing, glossy leaves eventually turn a grayish color. The branches and trunk have a woody inner tissue despite being succulent. If not clipped, the stiff, disorganized branches will develop into a thicket. In the event that heavy branches break, they frequently take root where they land and start new plants. Jade plant-like in appearance, but with much smaller leaves that are typically closer together on thinner stalks.
The leaf was once employed as a medicine for a number of minor diseases. It is edible and is frequently consumed in southern Africa, mainly in salads or soups to provide a sour flavor. Because of its capacity to stay succulent through periods of scorching heat and dryness, it is commonly consumed by domestic and wild animals and is a favorite diet of tortoises. Elephants do consume the plant, leaving behind the lower, spreading branches and numerous broken twigs when they strip the branches of the leaves. These roots eventually help the colony to grow and thicken, giving rise to new thickets called “spekboomvelds.”
The plant cannot survive because other animals, including goats, devour it from the ground up. Except in places like parks or reserves where non-native browsers are restricted, overgrazing and inadequate regeneration are causing elephant bush populations to decline. This is because P. afra seed has a difficult time germinating in its native habitat.
After a dry winter without irrigation, plants in their natural habitat (or in regions like Southern California where they can be planted in the ground) produce a profusion of small, unnoticeable pink or white blooms in late spring or early summer. The flowers are difficult to cultivate. At the tips of the branches, clusters of flowers are created. Five pointed petals and conspicuous stamens are features of the star-shaped blooms. Tiny, clear to pink, berry-like dry fruits with one seed each follow pollinated flowers.
Elephant bushes thrive best in hanging baskets, as part of mixed succulent dish gardens, or as delicate bonsai specimens in the Midwest because of their dense branching, which lends even young plants a venerable appearance. By pinching or trimming just above a pair of leaves, the plant may easily be retained in practically any size or form because it readily generates buds whenever branches or even leaves are removed.
The succulent plant’s compact root ball fits into standard shallow bonsai pots nicely and requires less continual care because it can tolerate drying better than more classic bonsai subjects like maples or evergreens. To add contrast in color and texture, stage plants in containers alone with other potted plants. However, despite the fact that they may grow in very little soil, because of their top-heavy succulent leaves and stems, plants may need to be anchored with a rock or stake until they are well-established. The stems’ crimson hue works well as a color echo with plants with red, purple, or dark foliage, and the medium-fine texture of the foliage contrasts nicely with wide-leaved annuals or perennials like coleus or heucheras. To thrive, Portulacaria afra needs exceptionally well-drained soil and bright light. Avoid using a lot of sand since the particle size tends to be small and will fill pore spaces more quickly than other materials. Instead, use cactus mix or a bespoke potting medium with generous amounts of small pea gravel, poultry grit, pumice, or other non-porous minerals. The best pottery to use for better moisture evaporation is unglazed pottery. Typically, a south-facing window inside is the best option, but eastern or western exposures are also suitable. Too much direct sunlight may burn the foliage or cause the tips of the leaves to turn yellow or red, which some people love. To locate the best position for optimum growth, some location-testing may be necessary. After all threat of frost has gone, potted plants can be brought outside for the growing season. If a plant is suddenly relocated from inside a house to full sun outdoors, the leaves are likely to become burnt. Instead, gradually adapt the plant to the new environment. When the nighttime temperature falls below 40°F, go back inside. If there is less light indoors than there was outdoors, it can lose some leaves when it transitions.
Elephant bushes are quite drought resilient, yet with enough water, they develop more quickly and have lusher foliage. It is vulnerable to root rot in constantly damp soil, so take care not to overwater it. Winter irrigation should be minimized. Withhold water until the lower leaves start to shrink, which could take several months, unless the indoor climate is extremely light and warm. Once the day lengthens in the spring, begin watering sparingly once more, waiting until the soil has dried to a depth of one inch before doing so. Plants in pots need fertilizer every month during the growing season (or more frequently if pruning a lot to grow a dense plant in a small container). Repot the plant when the container is full or when the roots are poking through the drainage holes. Although mealybugs can be a problem, especially indoors, this plant has few pests. It does not tolerate some pesticide applications, like many succulents do. Chemicals with a petroleum base should be avoided, or tested on a small number of leaves first to ensure that the material won’t harm the leaves.
This plant can be grown from seed, however cuttings are the most common method of propagation. Within 4 to 6 weeks in any kind of potting medium at mild temperatures, stem cuttings can easily root. The optimum times to take cuttings are in the spring or summer, and the cut areas should be given a few days to callus before being placed in the rooting media. They can also take root in liquid. Even leaves that are broken off by accident while trimming or performing other tasks have the potential to take root.
There are many different kinds, but the majority of them can only be found at specialized nurseries. It is conceivable that some mislabeling occurs, which could lead to the sale of identical plants under several labels. The green varieties are typically larger and more robust than the variegated varieties.
- ‘Aurea’ is a compact type, and in full sun, the young leaves are a vivid yellow.
- Because of its fissured, corky bark, “Cork Bark,” chosen by a bonsai expert, is coveted for bonsai.
- The slow-growing variegated variant “Foliis variegatus” is perfect for container culture.
- The leaves on “Limpopo” are substantially bigger. It is the species’ most northern native form (P. afra forma macrophylla).
- The variety known as “Medio-picta” has red stems and green leaves with pale patterns radiating from the center.
- Low-growing varieties that are good for use as ground covers are “Prostrata” and “Low Form.”
- Variegata has a more compact, upright form, lighter-colored leaves with pink accents and white or cream edges than the species, although it is less tolerant of direct sunlight.