Need help for Portulacaria afra variegata
My P. afra has been struggling for a while now. It keeps dropping leaves, even when I lightly brush against it. There is growth on the bigger one but the smaller one keeps having yellow and disfigured leaves as seen on the second picture. The pot is kinda big for the plant but it is well draining and I checked the roots and they seem alright. Just regular flesh colored roots, not black and mushy. There was also an instance when the stem was shriveled and soft. I water this plant once a week and the temperature here is around 30 deg C on average. It is on a balcony that receives sunlight for 5hrs more or less, depending on the weather. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Comments (10)
greenclaws UK, Zone 8a
7 years agoThe 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
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Portulacaria afra variegata
Comments (6)Sun: Protect from high UV and heat transistioning aim for bright more indirect sun to protect it all season from higher UV rays Water: Depends on the soil you use and the climate but would suggest cooler times of the day of early Am or after sunset PM & sometimes both times of day Soil: Tuff one depending on what you have on hand any mix from grits ading to the mix some other organics to the sometimes suggested C&S ammended with perlite soil. Watering part two would be the same but also in respect to the soil you choose and plant location usuall for me for a watering indicator is a fair amount of foliage looking slightly wrinkled on the top side of foliage. Dont need to explain, I'm not certain why you would want to repot it now as repotting would cost some of the season for plant to soil recovery If by chance you are skilled to repot now I grow my Porta afras in pumice (with humus as the organic) poultry grit and sifted for a wider range of sizes courser composted granite. Would would also heavily water it a soon as repotted allowing to settle in inside one of the trusty holding tray on the cooler sun set side of house for a few days....See MoreMy Portulacaria afra (Elephant's Food, Elephant Bush) Is dying. P
Comments (28)Post a picture, Rosemary. Without sunlight, these plants will struggle. Also, they need to be kept moist or they will drop leaves. I made that mistake when I started growing these. I treated them like other succulents, withholding water indoors during the winter, and mine dropped all their leaves. It wasn't until I began keeping them consistently watered that they thrived indoors. Josh...See MorePortulacaria afra, picture thread
Comments (50)Right - leave a little stub at the cut and don't let anything grow off of the stub. You want it to dry up and fall off - sort of like a scab. If you're going to root the cutting, after it's separated, clean it up with a straight edge razor blade or fresh utility knife blade. Be careful not to use anything that will crush the vasculature of the plant - like loppers, anvil or even bypass pruners when you rem ove the cutting from the rooted part of the plant. Use a fine tooth saw and make sure there is nothing ragged hanging from the proximal end of the cutting - that's where the rot (fungal infections) start and why you clean up the proximal end of the cutting with something very sharp. Also, right after preparing the cutting but before the cut dries or calluses, dip the end in flowers of sulfur, cinnamon, or another antifungal preparation suited to your application - and prune any branches you leave on your cutting back hard. Last tip: There is nothing that says your plant must rise from the soil perfectly perpendicular. In fact, if you want movement in the trunk, it should not exit the soil perfectly vertical and then transition to a trunk with movement. Figure out what angle you want the cutting to exit the soil at, then make your basal cut so it's horizontal. IOW - it won't be cut 90* to the trunk axis. Al...See MorePortulacaria afra in nothing but pumice (or turface, or...?)
Comments (35)I noticed some wrinkling starting on the leaves of one and just went ahead and watered them all. Each stem is in it's own 4" nursery pot (the kind with lots of good-sized holes on the bottom)s i had been putting the pots on various saucers to catch the water that came out of the bottom, but to try to clean up the area I put down a double layer of bounty paper towels and transferred them to that. To my surprise, the paper towel began sucking what seemed like an awful lot of water out of the pots. Since they had stopped drop-draining a while ago I assumed they were pretty fully drained but the paper towel told a different story. So now my question is, should I keep putting the containers on a paper towel or is this pulling too much water out of the soil too quickly?...See Moregreenclaws UK, Zone 8a
7 years agogreenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
7 years agoHere it is, Gill.
Needs to be fertilized, and brought into the house for the Winter.
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
7 years ago
aaypua
7 years ago
greenclaws UK, Zone 8a