Portulacaria Afra Massacre (?)

[Mt Goat]

Hi everyone. Ive been reading bonsainut.com for awhile now, but this is my first post. I think it belongs here based on other posts.

I have recently made the decision to become obsessed with develop a healthy well-adjusted hobby centered around bonsai. I have purchased this porkbush (see attached images) and wanted some advice. Port. afra has so many nicknames but I don’t understand why we are not using ‘porkbush’, it is clearly the best.

To be clear: I am a complete novice to bonsai. But have been researching and purchasing relentlessly. This will be my first tree worth referring to as pre-pre-pre-bonsai. I purchased this two months ago, and it appears to be doing well (indoors only so far, south facing windows + grow lights all day). It went through a period of wrinkly leaves, and shedding a bunch of shriveled dried up leaves, but it appears to have bounced back. Plump new leaves and some green shoots. Nothing amazing has occurred in terms of growth, but my guess is that it has survived the transplant and is responding well. I have watered it very little fearing root rot.

I would like to lay out my plan for this guy and get your feedback, and I also have a few specific questions to ask the community.

So the porkbush is essentially a long stick with no nebari and essentially no taper at all. It has a regular array of perpendicular branches (very boring). I was hoping to essentially chop this thing into three trees in an attempt to build taper, develop a trunk, and make new trees! The hope is to leave the minimum amount of branches on the “lowest tree” and bend one upward to create a new leader. For the “uppermost tree” I was hoping to continue what looks like the beginning of a broom-style structure. And for the “middle tree” probably follow the same bend-and-cut to define a new leader approach.

-Do you think it is feasible to essentially take two cuttings (or layerings) roughly where the lines are drawn in the last photo?

- Can I really treat these like cuttings? Just chop them, let them callous over, and plant like a huge cutting? Rooting powder? How long should I let the trunks callous over for? Is air layering better/worse? Easier/harder? Stupid? As compared to cuttings.

-If I were to do this, when should I do this? Should I wait for spring/summer and get the three trees outdoors in full sun (pennsylvania) for the rooting/recovery? Or can I get started earlier indoors under grow lights. I am impatient but want to do what will maximize the chances of success.

-Is there any benefit in doing the two cuts sequentially vs. at the same time. In particular for an air layer.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Welcome to the site!

It is important to note that P. afra is not a woody plant - it is a succulent. As such, it doesn't obey many of the same rules.

(1) Yes, it is very feasible to take cuttings at your two lines. (Layering is a different process).
(2) Yes, treat them like a cutting. With succulents, it is best to let the cut site dry before planting the cutting to avoid rot. No rooting powder. You let it dry until it is dry to the touch and you can't see any wet tissue. No, you can't air-layer a succulent because they don't have the same vascular system as a woody plant (tree/bush).
(3) It is best to do it when you can provide lots of light and warmth. These are succulents / desert plants. They do best in warm and dry conditions with bright light. If you have a decent indoors greenhouse / growing setup they will do fine. Otherwise they will do better in the summer.
(4) In this case, there is no different between doing the cuttings sequentially vs. the same time. Chop away!

When I lived in Southern California I had large P. afras in hanging baskets. Every now and then we would have a big storm and the baskets would swing and some of the dangling stems would break off. I would just stick them in pumice... and voila! They would do great!

Make sure NOT to overwater. I have never known a P. afra to die because you don't water it enough... but they will rot fast enough if you let them sit in standing water or saturated soil.

 

[Colorado]

Go for it now! These things are bulletproof.

 

[Carol 83]

Probably the easiest thing there is to propagate. I don't water until I see some new growth. Welcome to the site!

 

[Mt Goat]

Great. Thanks to all! I don’t have a great indoor setup, but I was hoping to start the cutting inside over winter as long as it is not a risky move. I will test this “bulletproof” theory.

I appreciate the feedback and will be posting another question about my bougainvillea soon.

 

[LittleDingus]

I created this thread:

[Dingus] For fun portulacartia afra progression from a single cell division

I've often claimed jade and fake jade (and many, many succulents!) can be cloned from a single cell. Since covid has me working from home these days, I decided it was time I did a little documentation to back up my statements :) "From single cell division" is a bit of an exaggeration. I...

www.bonsainut.com

because I often claim these guys can grow back from a single cell! They are about as bulletproof as a plant can be...though they do have an Achilles Heel: cold standing water.

 

[Mt Goat]

Oh yes. I have read this, and just about every word of all of the other port afra posts and threads. Thanks for putting this all out there. I was mostly nervous about treating something so thick as a cutting. If you video taped the first part of this process it essentially looks like a grown man accosting a houseplant and leaving it to die. You are all accomplices now.

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

I like the verb side of PorkBush.

Sorce

 

[LittleDingus]

Oh yes. I have read this, and just about every word of all of the other port afra posts and threads. Thanks for putting this all out there. I was mostly nervous about treating something so thick as a cutting. If you video taped the first part of this process it essentially looks like a grown man accosting a houseplant and leaving it to die. You are all accomplices now.

These are succulent so "cutting" has a little different meaning than for a tree.

Plants grow new growth only from undifferentiated tissue (meristem). Where this undifferentiated tissue is found plays a strong role in what type of cutting will take.

Succulents are typically advanticeous: ready to grow as soon as the conditions are conducive. Most have meristem at leaf junctions. Some have meristem even at leaf tips (mother of 1000, for example). Since that meristem is "primed" to grow at a moment's notice, any cuttin with this tissue is more likely to take. Also, since succulents store their own moisture, the cutting pretty muchbhas everything it needs to start on its own...its sort of like a seed in that regard.

Woody plants are different. Meristem tends to be more localized. Meristem may also be harder to trigger into differentiated growth. Plus, most woody plants don't have water stores throught the plant as succulents do. With woody plants you often need larger cuttings to have the strength and resources to wait out the triggers necessary to get the meristem to differentiate. Woody plants often need to be hardened off to have a chance at surviving long enough as a cutting to get growing.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I was mostly nervous about treating something so thick as a cutting.

If you think those are big, you should see plumeria cuttings!

 

[Mt Goat]

follow up question: how viscous of a trunk chop can a portulacaria afra handle? Can I cut it back to a stump (ish) with no leaves at all? Or do these guys need to keep some green on them.

the rootball is underwhelming, and I know they store their water in the leaves...

The reason I ask is the at the trunk is so long and taperless before the first branch.

 

[LittleDingus]

follow up question: how viscous of a trunk chop can a portulacaria afra handle? Can I cut it back to a stump (ish) with no leaves at all? Or do these guys need to keep some green on them.

the rootball is underwhelming, and I know they store their water in the leaves...

The reason I ask is the at the trunk is so long and taperless before the first branch.

They do not need to keep green on them. Expect it to die back to the next node back from where you chop. Sometimes they die back a little further than that. But it should bud no problem from any remaining nodes. It might take a while to bud out if being kept cooler because of winter.

Everything above the chop can, of course, be potted on as well

 

[Mt Goat]

Awesome. Thanks. I spent today making three wooden pots. And now I’m gonna chop this little variegated porkbush into two weird little trees and one sad little stump.