Thanks Josh...very educational. Appreciate the fact that you shared your top ingredients(NASA) no less, with all of us,lol...

BTW, I really like that black tray with the small squares. Mind sharing where you found that at? I could use one of those. Thanks for posting!

Nice Port. afra, I like the tree style you're growing it.

Hey, Nancy!
You know it's my pleasure...I love sharing my projects, and hopefully sharing techniques that might be useful to others.

That black tray is actually just a nursery flat - the kind used to transport plants. They're
usually in a stack near the vegetables. Sometimes they're free, sometimes they're a few cents.
I find that they're perfect for screening bark...

Thanks again!

Josh

Josh, you are so generous on these forums..You are one of the reasons I love coming here..

Thank you for all these pictures and insight..Very educational...I think I will share this with my little niece and get her started..

Hi pug..:-)

I love your plants! My Portulacaria died and I had no idea why...perhaps it just wasn't meant to be.

Great pictures, great plant, great info and I agree; thanks for sharing your top secret ingredients. Always good to think I know something special to make me feel slightly smarter. =P

Don't trust Nasa, their engineers built one of our floats-which broke during the parade and they can't figure out how to fix it. So they are chopping the float in 1/2!!!

I love potulacaria, they tolerate huge amounts of humidity, salt spray, neglect. I picked up an enormous one for $5 from Jimbos the other day, it's in a 5 gallon pot with roots coming out the bottom.

Thanks for the post! Always good to see what you are up to. And not a jade. LOL!
Tally HO!

Hey, everyone, happy Friday!

Mike, I hope your niece will take the plunge!
This is a great plant...very forgiving, very rewarding.

Bunny, you should try your hand at a Port. afra again!

Tally, I wish I could find large Port's out here....
Do you have any pruning plans yet? Large bonsai?

(If you'd like to see what else I've been up to,
I also re-potted my Pachira on the House Plant forum )

Josh

Great tips! Is this the same mix you use for jades?

Hey, Brwndot!
This mix is very similar to the one I use for my Jades!
The only difference is that I'm now using Black Gold Pumice - I found 3 gallon bags for $4.

I should also add that I water my Port's more often than I do my Jades.

Josh

Thanks for the info on the black tray Josh, will see if my local nursery has a couple for purchase.

Hey, Josh!

Now that I'm into Jades again, I went and bought myself a little Porty. For the investment of $.50 I was rewarded with a dried out variegated specimen, to add to the green cutting that one of the kindest members here sent me. After a good soaking, however, my plant really perked up. Hope your plant rewards you for the nice repot.

Christopher

Before:
{{gwi:563171}}

After:
{{gwi:563173}}

Local nurseries often give those black trays away, especially the family owned ones. Norma

Yeah, if you buy a few plants, the nursery generally offers the black tray for transport.

Christopher, an excellent addition!
Last year, I purchased a variegated Port. afra almost identical to the one you've shown.
Over the winter, these lose a lot of leaves, whether I keep them dry or moist. I actually find they do better if they *don't dry out* like Jades. The leaves, if lost, will return with the sun. I move the variegates to my southernmost window for the duration of the winter, but they still look pathetic by January:

{{gwi:563175}}

the one on the right reminds me of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree.....(sorry(-;)

They look great! And the Charlie Brown Christmas tree-like one is my favorite! After getting your advice on Sunday, Josh, I moved my healthiest PAs into a place outside where they get about 5 hours of direct sunlight. They couldn't be any happier. They look like they're exploding with new growth. Indeed they do produce really well. I took a trip to my university greenhouse yesterday and the PAs there are just beautiful.
Josh, since most of mine have been drooping a bit, I'm assuming that the sun will help perk up the branches a bit, right? I'd like to grow a tall, straight tree-like plant. I know these make great bonsais and I'd like to take a few in that direction.
So glad to have benefited from another's enthusiasm for this great plant!
Jose

Thanks!
That pic was taken in January - the Port. afra's look considerably better now! ;)
I actually have them grouped in a tray on my patio table, beneath a large umbrella.
I think some pics might be in order...

Jose, the drooping branches will take a lot of work to rectify. They won't start growing
upward at this point, but new branches from the main trunk will grow upright. For a straight,
tree-like plant, I'd suggest that you start with a nice straight cutting...or you could stake
up or wire a flexible branch, supporting it until it sets in place. I like the look of your
trailing/drooping plants as they are.

Pretty soon, your plants will be so bushy that you'll have many different styling/pruning options.

Josh

First, let me apologize for the dark/shade quality of the images.

I'll have better images eventually. I had to take these because my heart was set on pruning.....
and I needed before and after pics for comparison.

So, after three months of growth, the Port. afra had put on several inches and was taking off in multiple directions -
as seen here:

{{gwi:563177}}


I guess this would be considered the "front" - pre-trimming:

{{gwi:563179}}


And here is the "front" after trimming:

{{gwi:563182}}


Josh

Looks GREAT Josh!! I like the Christmas tree shape its starting to take. Very nice, thanks for the updates and pictures!

Thanks, Pug!
I'm very happy with this Port. afra and its progress.
I just wish I'd gotten some better images to share!!! ;)
How are your Port's doing?

Josh

Hey Josh, I'm afraid I don't have any more potted Ports, I gave a few away and what I had left I decided to plant in the ground...they are not my most favorite succulents,lol. I have them planted right up against the house. If I get a freeze I will just throw a blanket over them and hope for the best.
I need to do some light pruning, but will wait till Oct.
{{gwi:563185}}

Ever tried a variegated Port. afra before? ;)

Josh

I have three kinds, I have grown the variegated variety for years, and the upright green also.
Heads Up Did you know that there is also a weeping forum, it hangs at least a foot down over the sides of the pot. So keep on the lookout for one, I have never seen them for sale except at Turner's Los Vegas and they sold out and moved. Norma

I have tried it a few times Josh, haven't had the best luck with them for some reason.

Norma, I haven't seen the weeping form...but I'm sure I won't find them here.

Josh-

Looks awesome! I know that you were not soliciting advice...but if you are looking to achieve a thicker bonsai appearance, you could take the height down by about 1/3 and start a new leader from that point. Unless, of course, you are trying to keep increasing its height. All depends on what you are trying to achieve.

Looks great.

T

Josh, the plant was whisked away, trimmed and in a bonsai pot almost before I got the car unloaded! The joys of living with a bonsai nut. Always buy 2.

Pug, Jim left his out all last winter and they had a heck of a freeze, down in the 20's, these guys weren't protected and suffered very little damage.

Tally HO!

I wonder if the variegated would grow better in the ground for you, too, Pug?
Well, who knows, Santa may put one in your stocking.... ;)

Thanks, Tom, I appreciate the encouragement and the advice. You're absolutely right.
I've been routinely chopping the top 1/3, and I'll lop it again sometime around Halloween.
Your advice is always welcome!

Tally, as long as it was whisked away for bonsai...and not by a hurricane! ;)
These plants are pretty tough, as you note. They are quite woody for a succulent,
and I think that affords the stems and trunk a greater degree of cold tolerance. The
leaves seem a bit more perishable, but they readily grow back.

Josh

Thanks for the info on the hardiness beachplant!

Hi Josh, I'm good...I really need to save my ever shrinking space on my true love...Hoyas and Jades,lol...Like I said these are not one of my faves, and although the variegated is nice, I think I'm done with Ports for now. Just seeing your pictures from time to time is good enough for me :o)

Wow Josh, your ports are amazing. I could learn a lot! What makes the trunk so woody? And how do you decide where to make your cuts? I've got one cutting that's growing up really nice and straight. The guy at my farmers' market said that the reason I'm not getting the heavier trunks is because I'm not fertilizing enough. Your thoughts?
I just made some cuts I'm unwilling to toss into the trash so I'll be potting some more soon. Each one has a great different shape and a lot of character. I'll have to start giving them to friends soon. They're loving the really dry medium though, that's for sure!

Well, I also like the new look of the plant, especially I like the thick trunk.

Thanks for sharing, Josh.

Xuan

blankpages,

you can always use those cuts for experimenting with fertilizer. i use some of my less favorite cuttings for experimenting with such questions.

good luck.

Doug

That's a good idea Doug, thanks. Any suggestions for good commercial fertilizers? And the guy at the market said that he only fertilizes while the weather is warm - once he brings them inside he stops with the fertilizing. Does that sound about right?
Thanks again,
Jose

Thanks, Xuan!

Hey, Jose! I fertilize more frequently and at higher concentrations (half-strength)
during the warm months (April through October). During the winter, I do fertilize - just
very lightly.

The trunks and branches will become woody with time.
As far as pruning is concerned....well, I have a design in mind, and I make cuts that will
encourage that design. I try not to let branches get too long or thick, particularly those
that I plan on removing in the future. When I make a cut, I also try to imagine how the other
branches will grow to hide or obscure the scar.

Josh

Just to show a few pics of Portulcarias around my area (Southern California) that might be interesting...

This is a large plant at the Huntington Gardens.. about 8' tall and several dozen feet in either direction.

{{gwi:563188}}

This is a large section of variegated plant in the same garden.. note that this one is much slow to grow and stays much lower to the ground

{{gwi:563191}}

This last one is my neighbor's plant who the gardeners like to prune like a hedge

{{gwi:563195}}

Dazzling pics!
The red stems of the variegate really catch the eye.
What a treasure hunt it would be to dig up part of that hedge!

Josh

You SoCal guys are so lucky! It seems that every corner of the streets has something cool to watch. I'm jealous. :-)

Awesome...I agree you guys in CA have it made when it comes to growing Jades and Succulents(among other things)
TFS!

Josh, your plant is alsolutely beautiful. You have green thumps for sure. Lzrddr, thank you for taking those pictures. They are so nice ang huge....never see them this big.
marie

8'...I'm gonna need a bigger pot...

Went to Jimbo's last Friday and was forced to buy another one of these. Managed to resist buying yet another dioscorea. At $3.50 for a gallon size port. it's hard to resist.
Tally HO!