Portulacaria afra #1 on 5-1-09, #12-49.
Elephant Bush, Miniature Jade, Spekboom, etc.
Portulacaria afra
por-tew-luh-KAR-ee-uh AF-ra
Synonyms of Portulacaria afra (9) (Updated on 12-16-23 from Plants of the World Online): Crassula portulacaria L. (1762), Crassula portulacastrum Harv. (1862),Haenkea crassifolia Salisb. (1796)(nom. superfl.), Portulacaria afra f. macrophylla H.Jacobsen (1955), Portulacaria afra f. microphylla H.Jacobsen (1955), Portulacaria afra f. variegata H.Jacobsen (1955), Portulacaria portulacaria (L.) Graebn. (1915)(not validly publ.), Claytonia portulacaria (L.) L. (1771), Portulaca fruticosa Thunb. (1800)(nom. illeg.)
Portulacaria afra Jacq. is the accepted scientific name for this species. Both the genus and species were named and described as such by Nicolaus (Nicolaas) Joseph von Jacquin in Collectanea in 1787.
As of 12-16-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online by Kew lists 7 species in the Portulacaria genus. It is a member of the plant family Didiereaceae with 6 genera. Those numbers could change as updates are made on POWO.
THERE ARE A FEW LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.
Portulacaria afra (Elephant Bush) on 8-7-09, #27-51.
I bought two pots of Portulacaria afra from Lowe’s in Greenville, Mississippi in 2009 while living at the mansion in Leland. #2 was a little smaller and it never did grow near as well as #1.
Portulacaria afra (Elephant Bush) #1 on 9-3-09, #31-41.
USEFUL INFORMATION:
Family: Didiereaceae (formerly in the Portulacaceae)
Origin: Africa
Zones: USDA Zones 9a-11 (20 to 40° F)
Size: 4-6’ but much smaller in pots
Light: Sun to light shade
Soil: Fast-draining. Good quality potting soil amended pumice (50/50) or additional perlite and chicken grit (2-1-1).
Water: Regular watering during the growing season, barely in winter.
Propagation: Leaf or stem cuttings
Portulacaria afra (Elephant Bush) at 11″ tall x 22″ wide on 12-16-09, #53-13. (The date stamp is wrong.)
I put the potted plants in the two sunrooms on the first floor (there were 3 more upstairs), the den, kitchen, butlers pantry, and my bedroom during the cooler months. If the day was warm I moved the plants to the 40′ wide front porch.
Portulacaria afra (Elephant Bush) #2 at 9″ tall on 12-18-98, #54-35. (The date stamp is wrong.)
Portulacaria afra are not hard succulents to grow. They like regular watering during the growing period and not as much during the winter. When I was a succulent newbie the succulents were watered as usual. I lost quite a few succulents because of that, but the Portulacaria afra didn’t seem to mind.
Portulacaria afra (Elephant Bush) #1 on 5-10-10, #55-44.
We made it through our first winter together at the mansion. As you can see, #1 was MUCH larger after only one year.
Portulacaria afra (Elephant Bush) #2 on 5-10-10, #55-45.
#2 was a different story… Still very small.
Portulacaria afra (Elephant Bush) #1 on 9-15-10, #59-29.
I decided to put #1 in a much larger pot. The backyard at the mansion received plenty of sun in the morning and only part of it all day which is where the garden was. This plant really seemed to like the afternoon shade where it was most of the time.
Portulacaria afra (Elephant Bush) #1 at 17″ tall x 28″ wide on 8-1-11, #68-33.
Portulacaria afra is a native to Cape Provinces, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Mozambique, Northern Provinces, and Swaziland in south and southwest Africa. They like the heat, are drought-tolerant, and can handle cool nighttime temps as long as they don’t get a frost.
They aren’t really that particular about their soil as long as it is well-draining and it must dry between watering. Well, unless it is during a rainy period and they seem to understand.
#1 measured 17″ tall x 28″ wide when the above photo was taken on 8-1-11.
Portulacaria afra (Elephant Bush) on 6-11-12, #99-42.
Information online says they flower when they are stressed by heat and drought which I didn’t know until recently. I trimmed this plant once and wound up with a lot of plants because the stem cuttings easily root. I’m not sure why I didn’t take more photos of the other plants. It was weird, though, that the cuttings of this plant always grew very well, while #1 never did. I had several lined up on the wall next to the driveway in full, intense sun and they never flowered either.
Portulacaria afra (Elephant Bush) in the east sunroom in the mansion on 11-22-12, #130-21.
I always put #1 in this corner in the east sunroom over the winter and moved it to the front porch if temperatures permitted. It always lost a lot of leaves during the winter but I could hardly tell it. The other Portulacaria afra were on a shelf in the sunroom and in the kitchen.
After I sold the mansion dad wanted me to move back to the family farm in mid-Missouri. I had to give up over 200 pots including this one. I didn’t bring any of the Portulacaria afra with me because I thought I could find one here. I have seen a few but none to my liking. I did bring the Portulacaria afra f. variegata with me but I’m not sure what happened to it. I am collecting again, of course, but I still don’t have any Portulacaria afra.
I hope you enjoyed this page and maybe found it useful. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Please click on “like” if you visited this page. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. 🙂 You can check out the links below for further reading. The links take you directly to the genus and species of this plant.
The Belmont Rooster 