Small P. Afra / Spekboom

[W3rk]

My first knowledge of bonsai was all only the very high end stuff at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. Then I discovered that bonsai was, in fact, an approachable, back yard hobby/pursuit. And I discovered all kinds of less traditional trees and styles. When I first saw Portulacaria Afra I said that I didn't like it, dismissed it and moved on.

I was wrong. We bought our first one last October and it overwintered really well in less than ideal circumstances. It stayed healthy and put on some fair growth over the course of the winter. I just repotted it, changed the planting angle some, and cut off the longest runner (which I'll see about rooting). Since then I also picked up a couple of similar starter P. Afra. I really like these guys and they seem quite versatile.

 

[Housguy]

That is a succulent tree?

 

[Colorado]

Yes - p. afra is a succulent.

I like that they are basically indestructible, so long as they’re planted in VERY free draining medium. I’ve been known to pass these along to any friend that shows even a remote interest in my trees in hopes of getting them hooked ?

 

[Housguy]

Yes - p. afra is a succulent.

I like that they are basically indestructible, so long as they’re planted in VERY free draining medium. I’ve been known to pass these along to any friend that shows even a remote interest in my trees in hopes of getting them hooked ?

Nice, I like them too, especially a corking Jade!

 

[LanceMac10]

…..some cool afra's at a nearby nursery in 2016...

 

[W3rk]

Holy cow, those first 2 are fat! And that first one is amazing. I used to live up there, what/where is the nursery? Maybe I could check them out on a future visit.

 

[Joedes3]

Just purchased my first Afra.

 

[fredman]

I just took this pic quickly today. This one I got from a guy that had it a garden pot filled with soil for 15 years. It was water logged every winter. They are extremely hard to kill.
First two pics is just after I replanted it 6 years ago...
Umbrella shaped African savanna tree is the objective.

 

[LanceMac10]

Holy cow, those first 2 are fat! And that first one is amazing. I used to live up there, what/where is the nursery? Maybe I could check them out on a future visit.

Bonsai West in Littleton Mass...….photo from '16, though. Might not be there any longer. Pretty impressive for a succulent, right?

 

[fredman]

Pretty impressive for a succulent, right?

They get so big and bushy in the wild, that elephants dissapear in them.
They get so woody, you can make a fire with it...

 

[fredman]

Got this from Google. This one is in flower..
They do stand isolated, but mostly grow as huge and vast thickets.

I always grow a smile when they're referred to as tropicals....they're actually the furthest thing from it.

 

[just.wing.it]

I like spekboom.
Its my only tree left from my first year of bonsai.

 

[Colorado]

I always grow a smile when they're referred to as tropicals....they're actually the furthest thing from it.

Right! I had no idea until this year that p. afra can withstand temps down around 37-38 F and even a surprise hail storm while I’m at work

 

[fredman]

Right! I had no idea until this year that p. afra can withstand temps down around 37-38 F and even a surprise hail storm while I’m at work

Yeah they thrive in scorching hot and down to freezing temps. Even a wild fire don't do much to them....if not to intense that is.

 

[It's Kev]

I took a 1 inch cutting from a parent tree in the Southern Hemisphere, smuggled it to the north, and it rooted within a week in a glass of water.

 

[Housguy]

Here is a corking one.

 

[Stormwater]

My 8 year old bought one at a bonsai event I dragged her to. Cat constantly breaks branches off and I root them in glasses of water (which the cat knocks over sometimes). Her little tree needs to be trimmed a bit, but I’m not allowed to touch it. So I put it on the sill the cat sit on, so it knocks branches off. The circle of life.

I hated these plants at first. But damn man, they are kinda cool and amazing. Would love to see a wild native somewhere .

 

[fredman]

root them in glasses of water

Why water? Its a succulent by definition. They root by lying on top of dry soil.

 

[Colorado]

Yeah, you might as well just save a step and just put it in growing medium from the beginning. It’ll root easily.

 

[Carol 83]

Why water? Its a succulent by definition. They root by lying on top of dry soil.

I have a goofy little forest made from scraps I keep at work. One of them fell over and before I paid it any attention it rooted itself like a raft.