Take a cutting from a Portulacaria afra (elephant bush) and it will grow on its own; with this care routine it becomes a large old trunk in one year

Portulacaria afra (elephant bush) is a houseplant loved by many flower lovers, with fleshy stems in purplish-brown or light brown, and round, emerald-green leaves of a certain thickness; it easily develops into an old trunk and has very high ornamental value.

Many people see very beautiful Portulacaria afra (elephant bush) on the market and spend money to buy it. In fact, Portulacaria afra has vigorous vitality and is very easy to grow, so don't spend money on it anymore. Just pinch off a small branch, care for it this way, and in one year you can grow a "large old trunk"!

Choose a healthy, semi-lignified branch, keep the length at 15-20cm, cut the top into a 45° slant, keep a small number of leaves at the top to reduce excessive water evaporation, then put it in a shady place to dry.

For the growing medium, you can directly use vermiculite or a sand bed. When inserting the branch, you can dip it in some rooting agent to promote rooting, insert it diagonally into the soil at a depth of 1/4-1/3, water it thoroughly, then put it in a cool, bright place where it can get a little scattered light.

During care, keep it moist and replenish water every day. After about 20 days it will produce large white roots, and once the roots grow to 3-5cm, it can be transplanted into a pot.

Portulacaria afra grows vigorously and needs sufficient fertilizer and water. Apply a nitrogen-based fertilizer solution about every ten days, keep the potting soil appropriately moist, and spray some water on the branches, leaves and surrounding area every day to increase humidity and promote the sprouting and growth of new buds.

During the growing period it needs sufficient light to keep the plant emerald green, but in summer it should be appropriately shaded to prevent the leaves from being "baked" by sunlight, which causes them to wilt, wrinkle and fall off.

Because Portulacaria afra has especially strong sprouting ability, it should be pruned and its buds removed frequently to keep the overall plant attractive, grow it into a large old trunk, and increase its ornamental value.

That is all for the care of Portulacaria afra. If flower lovers have other additions, you can share them with everyone in the comment section below. To learn more about flower-growing knowledge, you can follow Huajianke.