Master bud-pinching and pruning techniques for the elephant bush (Portulacaria afra), and it will grow like crazy into a big old trunk in half a year

The elephant bush (Portulacaria afra) has high ornamental value and has become very popular among many flower lovers in recent years. Its stems and leaves are succulent, and the plant is lush and quaint. Because its sprouting ability is especially strong, it can be shaped into whatever form you like. But to make it become a big old trunk in half a year, you need certain skills for bud-pinching and pruning. Today Hua'er will share them with everyone.

In particular, the elephant bush has an especially high sprouting ability, which causes nutrients to be over-dispersed, making it unfavorable for the stems to thicken and become a big old trunk, and in severe cases it can even cause poor plant growth. So during the peak sprouting period of the elephant bush, you must pinch off buds in time, removing some weak, excessive, or unattractive new buds, and concentrate the supply on the retained new buds and stems so they grow quickly and thicken.

Besides bud-pinching, if you want the elephant bush to become a thick, large old trunk, what cannot be ignored is pruning. You need to remove apical dominance so the stems quickly thicken and become a thick old trunk. Every month you should top the relatively long branches, and when topping you should prune off 3-5cm, completely removing apical dominance and promoting the sprouting and growth of lateral buds. In this way, the elephant bush can grow more robustly.

Plant growth requires sufficient nutrients. The elephant bush grows relatively fast, so it needs more nutrients. During the vigorous growth period, apply diluted fertilizer liquid once every 7-10 days. You can water it with fermented rice water, fish intestine water, soybean cake water, etc.

The elephant bush also likes base fertilizer. Every 1-2 months you can bury some bone meal or fermented soybean residue into the potting soil to increase soil fertility, promote root absorption, make the plant more lush with branches and leaves, and quickly become a big old trunk.

That's all for the care of the elephant bush. If flower lovers have other additions, you can share them with everyone in the comments section below. If you want to learn more about flower-growing knowledge, you can follow Huajianke!