Elephant Bush(spekboom, Portulacaria afra) Leggy growth
Starlight Botanist
10 years ago
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greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
10 years agoStarlight Botanist
10 years agoRelated Discussions
portulacaria afra/speckboom/elephant bush
Comments (5)Jay I have no idea how often it rains in Winter where you live. These plants do well abd even flower if treated cruely. No water the right temperatures, lots of heat. etc. It may give you very tiny light lavender flowers. They are great for bonzai, and can be trained for shape. Don't let this plant scare you. Some hang down and others grow stiffly. They can grow in hot sun, or some light shade. Norma...See Moreelephant's food is drooping
Comments (13)Anyone just starting off with Port-Afra will be amazed how fast they grow. I bought this tiny 2-inch pot of port-afra at a lowes-like store two years and it had three small plants growing in it. I planted them in larger pots (10 inches and deep) and they are huge now. I live in Colorado and the amount of sun we get here combined with the intensity of it (roughly 7K feet) get these plants growing like weeds. And unlike jade, my trees drink like sailors. I let them dry out once a week, but every day they get a drink and seem to love it. If you want your port-afras to look like trees (ie bonsai), these are fun to use. One of the three is being styled by pruning, another just go a trunk chop and a branch wired to become the new leader (this promotes a very healthy taper often seen in many older trees in the wild) and the third I have is allowed to grow wild and as it happens, it is taking on a beautiful shape all on its own. Right now it looks like one of those huge trees one might see in the Serengeti that has been pruned over the ages by animals. It is nearing autumn here quickly but I will likely keep these guys out until the first frost threatens to hit. They then go onto a ledge in our basement that is flooded with sunlight all day long. Just for comparison's sake, two years ago I had three 2 inch high port-afras that were no thicker than a pencil. Today all three have bases larger that 2 inches in diameter, all are under 2 feet tall. I love these plants. Ryan...See Morehelp my new Jade, Elephant Bush & Firesticks
Comments (10)Smoochas - if you will put your plants outside, expose them to sun gradually. A shady spot first for 5-7 days, then somewhere that gets morning or late afternoon sun for another 5-7 days, and finally give them more sun after that. Also, keep them dry and protected from rain for the first 10-14 days. Many succulents slow down during the heat of the summer, especially those from S Africa. They lose some color, while growth is slow or non-existent. If you use a very porous soil mix, it is safe to leave a healthy plant out in the rain during the heat. But a weak plant or a soil mix that retains some moisture warrants protection from excess rain. What is too much rain? To me, 2 consecutive days of real rain - not thunderstorms. A sprinkle or shower is generally harmless. The pot dries out quickly when the sun comes back out. Some plants are more sensitive than others, which you will figure out with time. As for the winter, I keep most of my plants cold, dry and dark for months at a time. They do not grow. The sunroom you describe seems pretty good. As long as light is adequate I have no problems with winter growth. If light is poor, growth is weak. Try it out and see how it goes. Keep the plants drier than you would during warmer and sunnier spring or fall conditions. The goal for my plants is to stop growth in the winter because I cannot possibly provide enough light for most of my collection - so instead I keep them in suspended animation. Spring and fall seem to show the best growth for most plants, outdoors in the NY area: April-May-June, and Sept-Oct. July-August growth tends to be slower but not always so. x...See MoreSpots on Portulacaria afra (Elephant Food)
Comments (8)Animals are regenerating systems in that they heal by growing new cells in the same spatial position as those dead, damaged, or diseased. Plants are different. They are generating systems, and grow a tissue type altogether different from the original in the former spatial position of dead/ damaged/ diseased cells. The corky, callus tissue at the site (scabs) where cells ruptured due to excessively high internal water pressure, caused by a physiological disorder called oedema, are as close as you'll be getting to healing. You should be able to reflect on the plant's recent history as you read the short piece I wrote about 'oedema', to determine how to best avoid it in the future. The short answer is - use an appropriate substrate and use a 'tell' to 'tell' you when it's time to water, as opposed to a finger stuck in the soil or an inexpensive "moisture meter" Oedema Oedema is a physiological disorder that can affect all plants. It occurs when the plant takes up more water than it can rid itself of via the process of transpiration. The word itself means 'swelling', which is usually the first symptom, and comes in the form of pale blisters or water-filled bumps on foliage. Under a variety of circumstances/cultural conditions, a plant's internal water pressure (turgidity) can become so high that some leaf cells rupture and leak their contents into inter-cellular spaces in leaf tissue, creating wet or weepy areas. Symptoms vary by plant, but as the malady progresses, areas of the leaf turn yellow, brown, brown with reddish overtones or even black, with older damage appearing as corky/ scaly/ ridged patches, or wart/gall-like bumpy growth. Symptoms are seen more frequently in plants that are fleshy, are usually more pronounced on the underside of leaves, and older/lower leaves are more likely to be affected than younger/upper leaves. Oedema is most common in houseplants during the winter/early spring months, is driven primarily by excessive water retention in the soil, and can be intensified via several additional cultural influences. Cool temperatures, high humidity levels, low light conditions, or partial defoliation can individually or collectively act to intensify the problem, as can anything else that slows transpiration. Nutritional deficiencies of Ca and Mg are also known contributors to the malady. Some things that can help you prevent oedema: * Increase light levels and temperature * Monitor water needs carefully – avoid over-watering. I'd heartily recommend a soil with drainage so sharp (fast) that when you to water to beyond the saturation point you needn't worry about prolonged periods of soil saturation wrecking root health/function. Your soil choice should be a key that unlocks the solutions to many potential problems. * Avoid misting or getting water on foliage. It slows transpiration and increases turgidity. * Water as soon as you get up in the AM. When stomata close in preparation for the dark cycle, turgidity builds. If you water early in the day, it gives the plant an opportunity to remove (for its own needs) some of the excess water in the soil. * Put a fan in the room or otherwise increase air flow/circulation. Avoid over-crowding your plants. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support good root health, which is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to a build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al...See Moregreenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
10 years agoSharon Rae Workman
8 years agogreenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
8 years ago
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)