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Cacti & Succulents

leaf drop on Portulacaria afra and Aeonium Kiwi

17 years ago

I have had the Portulacaria afra variegata for some years but it just started growing well on a north window sill. I got 2 Aeonuium Kiwis this summer and they were doing well on a west window sill. Suddenly this month all 3 plants dropped all their leaves. All the other plants in the same location are doing very well.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what might have happened?

Elizabeth

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Comments (11)

dufflebag2002
17 years ago
Elizabeth, may I email you privately? Norma
dufflebag2002
17 years ago
Okay I'm sorry I asked. Portulacaria afra love the hot sun. I just found out that it needs to be a female in oder to flower. Finally someone told me the secret. If female it will flower about April-May depending where you live. Norma
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The variegated form like yours isn't as tolerant of continual direct sun or of drying out for long periods of time compared to the regular green type. When dry for too long they are prone to leaf drop. I do have one myself and dare I say it, it's growing well, it lives permanently in the g/h and rarely drops a leaf. It gets watered when the pot feels light, fed when the other inhabitants do and gets whatever sun the UK climate throws at it. Temps rise in there to 90-100f and can be as low as freezing point during the winter months, so it has a lot to contend with. In its natural habitat in the S African Karoo it would also be subject to similar, even greater variations I would think. Mind you, mine don't get munched on by many elephants...being confined to the g/h! Here's mine in Nov 2015, it's grown since then. It's in a mix of gravel, bark chips, perlite and c/s mix in equal parts, the brown gravel is just a top dressing. I regularly pinch out the tips to make it bush out better. What is yours planted in? It does look rather weak and struggling. I would be very tempted to unpot, clean off all the old mix and repot into a smaller pot with a different type of mix, but we'll wait to see what yours is composed of first. As it's already struggling, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain IMHO. Oh yes, where are you situated, is it humid? Gill
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There are a few ways to go about it. The first is to select a single plant from a pot of cuttings, and then pot it small, and pinch it to shape. Then, wait many years as the cramped plant develops into a stunted, interesting form. I'm guilty of doing this to the plant I posted above. It has virtually zero root-room, it's growing in pure Turface, and I seldom fertilize it. When the branch-tips extend in the Winter, I pinch them back. This method will take a long time, but it's also very convenient for fitting the plant on a windowsill. The faster method is to put the plant in a larger container of fast draining mix, give it lots of morning light, then water and fertilize copiously during the Summer. This will grow the plant larger and create a thicker trunk in a shorter period. Essentially, let it grow rampant, but keep an eye on the future branches and where the trunk will be chopped. Once you've gotten that trunk, prune, wire branches in place, pinch tips regularly, and eventually pot down into an appropriate bonsai container. Josh
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dufflebag2002
17 years ago
Elizabeth, Aeoniums like cool weather, if you have the heat on in your home that is too hot they will drop leaves. They just love this time of year and startingt to grow and I'm starting Aeoniums from leaves this time of the year. They go dormant in hot weather, well So. Calif. inland they do anyway. Norma
lizabet39
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks Norma, I tried emailing you direct, but I guess it must have gotten lost in Cyber space.

The 2 Aeoniums have completely died, the Portulacaria has one leaf left and the stems are OK. It is just so weird since the plants were in 2 different locations and they all developed symptoms at the same time.

Elizabeth
webkat5
17 years ago
Hmmmm...my Portulacaria afra is also dropping leaves...did we figure out what is causing this for that particular plant?
mfyss
17 years ago
I have nothing to offer about leaf drop, but need to check on the comment about flowering in P. afra. A 25 year old plant here, growing inside, has never blossomed, and I gather this may not be unusual. The flowers are described as bisexual, so that all flowers would be female and male, and I assume both would be functional at the same time.

Perhaps someone has firsthand experience with the flowers and will share their observations of the sexual nature of the flowers. Yale
nhhoney
17 years ago
I have the same problem with mine.Iam interested in the solution too
dufflebag2002
17 years ago
Don't water when it is dormant, or hot. The plant does not like heat, and water when it's dormant. Norma
moogiemama
16 years ago
I have Portulacaria afra and Portulacaria afra variegata. They all dropped most of their leaves. I looked up when certain succulents are dormant and found that portulacaria are supposed to be summer dormant! It's very confusing for me because I don't want to stress or kill these plants. I notice the ones for sale in the nurseries and green houses look great and don't have leaf loss. I have one in a sunroom and another in a west window. Other than the leaf loss, the plants seem healthy. Has anyone else experienced this problem and had the plant regrow its leaves when the days grow longer and warmer?
dufflebag2002
16 years ago
Yep, try switching their locations. Here in Calif. my Portulacaria afra, is not doing well, I have it outside, and it's unhhappy. Mine is also variegated. I do have it in a Western position. The Aeoniums, are really smiling, they like it cool, and I have pulled leaves off the plants to start new ones, I plant to cut the head off as well, and restar so it will be larger. One is in flower so it will die, too late to save it now. So I'm trying the leaves, if you keep cutting the heads every year, they will grow larger and think they are a teenagers again, and will not go to seed. Do not attempt this during the summer. I hope I'm making myself understood.
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
16 years ago
Good tips! My sister has a Schwarzkopf aeonium that she's been keeping in a warmish kitchen. Norma, I'm in northern California, foothills above Sacramento, and was wondering when the head of the aeonium should be cut?
Thanks,

Josh

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