Portulacaria Afra

Portulacaria Afra thrives in dry soil and should be watered sparingly. Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.

Portulacaria Afra requires abundant, bright and direct light. Place it less than one foot from a window to ensure it receives enough light to survive 💪. Select your region to see how the current weather in your area affects the placement in your home 🏡.

Portulacaria Afra is not known to cause harm to humans or pets. Regardless, if you, a family member, a cat, or dog has ingested any plant material, please consult a doctor or a veterinarian.

Portulacaria Afra prefers dry environments. Providing extra humidity or misting your plant allows water to linger on leaves, which can create the perfect environment for harmful types of fungi.

Portulacaria Afra is very sensitive to wet soil, so choose a potting soil that drains very well and doesn’t retain too much moisture. A good soil will have lots of perlite or vermiculite for drainage and some organic matter for nutrition. A few handfuls of perlite added to regular store-bought cactus soil will do the trick!

Portulacaria Afra grows very slowly and doesn’t require added fertilizer. Replacing your plant’s potting soil once a year should provide them with more than enough nutrition. Remember, plants get their energy from sunlight, not fertilizer!

It’s common for Portulacaria Afra to go dormant in the summertime and you may notice their growth slow down. Waterings should be spaced out more during this time.

Portulacaria Afra is native to Southern Africa.

Portulacaria Afra produces flowers in the wild, but does not flower when kept as houseplants.

Portulacaria Afra grows vertically and new growth will emerge from the top of the plant.

USDA Hardiness Zone
Portulacaria Afra can be grown outdoors in USDA Hardiness Zones 9-12b. Find your local hardiness zone here.

Portulacaria Afra can be propagated by the stem method. To propagate:

• Make a cut just above the node. The node is the break in the stem where the leaf emerges.
• To get the cutting to root, you can either:
  
  • Place the cutting in water until roots emerge and are ~2” long and then transplant into well-draining soil, or
  • Place the cutting directly into well-draining soil and water when dry.

Overwatering is a likely cause of issues with Portulacaria Afra. These plants are very sensitive to wet soil so if you notice your plant becoming squishy or translucent, overwatering is the likely culprit.

Cut your plant just past where the rot ends and allow it to callus over for a few days before replanting it in fresh, dry soil. Download Greg to make sure your plant never gets overwatered again!