*Correction: 1 part MG cactus mix, 1 part Perlite, 1 part bark

What you have there is a Portulacaria afra variegata, common name "Elephant's [Food] Bush," called Spekboom in South Africa where this plant (along with Crassula ovata) originate.

Shaping: Yes, wait until Spring/Summer before doing any more work. Winter is tough on these plants, and mine typically shed a lot of leaves. Give the plant as much light as possible, rotate it so that the light hits all sides, and keep the medium moist but not wet. The leaves are more delicate than Jade leaves, and the plant won't tolerate drying out as much as a Jade plant.

A diluted dose of fertilizer will do the plant good, as well.

Great specimen.

Josh

This post was edited by greenman28 on Mon, Jan 13, 14 at 18:55

Lovely plant!

FYI - it's odd that when I click on the picture it opens a shot that is right side up! Guess there are still quirks with posting pictures.

Thank you Josh & Crenda!! So I will wait until spring. Do you suggest just trimming back to the dripline of the dish, or cut back more than that in spring? Also, after acclimating it, is there such a thing a too much light for a Portulacaria or I should just find the warmest, sunniest spot possible?

The plant is from rocky hillsides with full exposure in South Africa, so there Is no such thing as too much light. However, *in a small bonsai pot* it is possible to get the roots too hot. In that regard, you may wish to shade the container itself, while still keeping the foliage in direct light.

As far as shaping goes, that'll be a personal decision. If you want a perfectly rounded canopy, you can shear the foliage to the drip-line. But if you want the plant to develop into a more natural tree shape, you may begin selecting certain branches to work on.

You're in luck because we have some Portulacaria afra growers at this Forum that are great at what they do, and I'm sure they'd offer specific advice when the time comes, when you can take close up pics from various side of the plant, and when you can figure out how to post properly oriented images ;-)

Al (Tapla) and Tom (Tom Termine) are the two guys I would contact for bonsai advice.

Josh

Beautiful Port. afra!! Best of luck with your plant

Thanks puglvr1 ! And thanks Josh for all the helpful info, I really appreciate it. :) Everyone tells me my pics are sideways, but they always look correct on my iPhone. I've been told it's something about mobile uploading.

I like the idea of leaving 'the canopy' a little bit natural so I will keep that in mind when trimming it up in a couple months.

I have it in a southern exposure window so hopefully that's good enough until I can get it outside. The bonsai pot had a considerable about of room for root growth, how rapidly will it grow in a summer with appropriate fert and full sun? Only a couple inches? Just curious because I don't want to cut it back too drastically if it really does grow painstakingly slow...

Matt

Could you tell me a good source for this variety of plant, preferably as a pre-bonsai.
Beautiful speciman

Matt,
this variegated form does grow more slowly than the straight green species....but it'll still put on a couple inches of growth (at least) with fertilizer, water, and sun.

Josh