But I hit a little snag as you know this winter. First prepare your pots by filling them with potting mix, water then make a hole in the middle with your finger. This variegated form is slower growing & stays smaller than the other varieties of Portulacaria. section then place in a pot filled with potting soil. (Paid link). Everything on this site is free for home use. I would dread for that to be. Why I Repotted My Elephant Bush. Perhaps vermiculite in your soil would work better than having to water twice a week. In summer, I will wash and treat that planter with alcohol and a week in hot sun inside a black plastic bag. Once the cooler weather sets in, it’ll green up & some of the leaves will be tinged with pink. Growing Hens and Chicks or Biddies – RIP Mrs Hen. Do you have many house plants? Roots will develop within two weeks during warm weather and up to 2 months in cooler weather. I topped it with worm compost & a bit of compost. My solid green Elephant’s bush hangs & grows upright. I water it once a week in the summer & once every 2-3 weeks in the winter. The clerk was assigned to that department for today, yesterday was the paint department, so I couldn’t…, In Ohio, it is time to start worrying about frost, so I am trying my best to get all of my tender plants inside for the winter. I’m currently using Worm Gold Plus. This post may contain affiliate links. pot dry out before watering again as they don’t like to be waterlogged. She will have a new lease on life, right? Too much water = root rot. You can order similar pots here. Because it’s a succulent, make sure the mix you use is loose & well aerated. existing plant creating more of this striking succulent. Plant out into their final position when you see new growth appear. Oh, I love to create so you’ll find a bit of that in the mix along with lots of videos too. The stems seem clean and free of white spots, and have their “shine” back. and in this case, I think perlite is the best choice. Hope that helps! I will have to film a house plant tour and some more shopping trips. The elephant bush will survive frosts, are drought tolerant and How did you get the Elephant bush to form trails? Ingredients. Here’s why I like it so much. It wasn’t pot bound at all but I wanted a better plant to replace the Spider Plant. interesting backdrop or feature plant in a cactus or succulent garden. If yours is a houseplant, using all a good quality succulent & cactus mix is just fine. This one is east facing also. Read more about houseplants and succulents below! Firm the soil down around the cutting then set in a position that will be protected from frosts. This guide shows how to take elephant bush cuttings from an Your email address will not be published. I sure do. It’s pale green because of the heat & the sun. One of my plants that I filmed earlier this year, Crassula capitella “Campfire”, is so colorful that I just hate bringing it inside. It’s almost all trailing now. The soil around the roots just fell away showing me how loose and “free” the soil was in that planter. When I went into our local garden center, they didn’t even know what I was talking about. Are you looking for a present for a cactus lover? Works for me. I could paint or treat them to get more color variations. This plant easily came out of the pot by squeezing the sides, turning it upside down & pulling it out. I amend regular potting soil with a lot of perlite or, if I am using cactus soil anyway, I will use a good portion of perlite or turkey grit ( which is crushed granite) in order to make the soil easy for the roots to move through. The solid green one gets more sun & is on drip. I also live in Tucson, and mine is located on my east-facing balcony. We will never sell your address to third parties or send you spam. ), Hoffman’s (this is more cost-effective if you have a lot of succulents but you might have to add pumice or perlite), or Superfly Bonsai (another fast-draining 1 like Bonsai Jack which is great for indoor succulents). I have had this elephant bush plant in the Styrofoam container, I call it Almost Hypertufa, since I paint and texture it to look like hypertufa, but I decided to pull it out of the planter and put it into something else. Take the Cuttings. Are you a homebody? Most of the moss had changed to an orange color and had long strings hanging up off it. So its roots were able to roam through to seek moisture and nutrients easily. I really think the new pot is going to be great for my plant. fire resistant making them the perfect specimen for a hot dry climate. I hung it in the spot near the front door where the Spider Plant had been growing. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 09/18/2019. When I make this recipe, I add lettuce and swap the avocados and onions for feta and olives, which works just as well. It is large enough to be a statement plant somewhere inside, but not large enough as a floor plant. This is how we are able to provide this information for free. I am certainly going to have a lot more if all my new babies grow! have started growing roots. Try this indoor cactus and succulent garden kit from Amazon. If you find a decent sized bush you may find that branches laying on the ground © 2020 Joy Us Garden | Care, Propagation, and Pruning About | Contact | PRIVACY POLICYDesign By Viva la Violet, Mother Nature Inspired Christmas Ornaments, « Ponytail Palm Care Outdoors: Answering Questions, Inspiring Quotes About Plants and Flowers ». succulent cuttings as they will produce roots without it, however it will speed Hi Noreen – It did that over time. Be sure to watch the video. Try this Homesteading guide. like a hot dry position and grow naturally in rocky outcrops. The elephant bush will tolerate many soil types but they do Cut the branch into sections with roots on each The one I’m repotting in this post and video is Portulacaria afra “variegata”. I have had this elephant bush plant in the Styrofoam container, I call it Almost Hypertufa, since I paint and texture it to look like hypertufa, but I decided to pull it out of the planter and put it into something else. I repotted the 1 you see here at the beginning of April. As you can see, my Variegated Elephant Bush has grown quite a bit in 4 & 1/2 months. In a previous post, I discussed the difference between perlite and vermiculite for soils,What’s It Gonna Be? Subscribe to our fortnightly mailing list to recieve our latest posts direct to your inbox & receive 50 ways to save money at home free. In more temperate climates, you can repot from late winter through early fall. moist but not waterlogged for the first two weeks until the plant settles in. You can read our policies here. This is all about repotting Portulacaria afra including the mix to use, steps taken and the aftercare. Let’s Replant My Largest Hypertufa! Re-Potting Elephant Bush Plant - New Pot for the Mother Plant, I have had this elephant bush plant in the Styrofoam container, I call it, This elephant bush plant will stay inside this year. the roots with a trowel. I had watered the plant in its grow pot a few days before the repotting. The trails are reaching 12″ below the bottom of the pot. The Hypertufa Gardener’s Library of Printables! I like to wait until the temperatures have warmed & the days have gotten a bit longer. It is best to keep cuttings moist but not water logged. Have you heard about or seen those sedum sod mats for sale in your local garden centers? Nell. They have reddish-brown stems with glossy green leaves. Succulents store water not only in their roots but also in their leaves & stems. Prepare the Pots. What’s It Gonna Be? But I am happy to say that, weeks later, I feel that it has recovered very well. Take that, Mealybug!). Not sure if I will even know, but now I think everything will be suspect and be removed in the future. Choosing a white ceramic planter that I was using to store garden tools, I realized that I really like the color against the dark green of the plant. Avoid repotting your Elephant Bush in winter as it’s the time for plants to rest. The soil around the roots just fell away showing me how loose and “free” the soil was in that planter. Portulacaria Afra-’Elephant Bush’ is native to South Africa. Perhaps that even helped it to recover from the mealybugs? Do not set cuttings in a saucer of water. I love my hens and chicks or hens and biddies but I wish they could last just a little bit longer. afra, the elephant bush has thick purple stems with dainty lobe like leaves. Alternatively, you can cut the thicker branch leaving 1 or 2 small stems on each section. Cut the elephant bush stem 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10cm) from the end at an angle. Poor girl has had a rough year. Not real attractive to me and not the look I was going for…, Why do they have to die so soon? What is the best way to prune? One of my easiest plants to root new cuttings/babies from is my Elephant Bush or Portulacaria afra. none during the winter months. You don’t want any plant to be stressed during the process. I am not sure where the first one entered the house, but I suspect one of the new plants I have carried in. This plant really didn’t need repotting as you can see if you watch the video. I now make my own mix but recommend any of the mixes listed right below if you can’t find 1 locally or don’t want to make your own. My collection is growing and hopefully not getting out of control. Heat until shortening melts and sugar dissolves. How to Take Elephant Bush Cuttings. Maybe this year I should try more color in my hypertufa? Beautiful! And now here I am expecting a great show for the Holidays. This succulent can grow from 6 to 15 feet (2 to 4.5m) tall If you want it to trail, start by prune down some of the upright branches. Note: We may earn a small commission from the companies mentioned in these posts. ( I’ve removed it from the planter just in case there was a Hermit Mealybug hiding in the tiny crevices of that old Styrofoam. by Jacques Erasmus for Woolworths Taste . Thanks for supporting my website. Good luck with your homesteading, stay safe and I hope you enjoy this site, Caron. What About In Soil? That way I can still enjoy everything inside when we have rainy days or snowy days. They serve as food for elephants and other wildlife in their native habitat and can grow up to 20 feet tall. What to replace it with? This pot measures 14″ wide x 8″ deep. The method and materials listed below apply to all the Portulacarias, not just the variegated one. Nell, […] Repotting Portulacaria Afra (Elephant Bush) […], Your email address will not be published. I think I could be satisfied with fields and fields of sempervivums, but these wonderful drought-tolerant plants are what is called monocarpic. Although it only gets 2 hours of the direct morning sun, it’s very intense here in the Tucson desert. It was very early spring so I didn’t have to worry about this newly planted fleshy succulent burning.