Just bought a Portulacaria afra and it keeps getting worse? Try a more laid-back approach to care

I have a buddy who is a Leslie Cheung fan and especially loves the movie "He's a Woman, She's a Man." A few days ago he came back from the flower and bird market and bought a Portulacaria afra. Seeing how gnarled and vigorous it looked, he liked it very much, and it also counts as a tribute to Leslie Cheung's movie. But not long after bringing it home, this Portulacaria afra started dropping leaves and looked much older. He basically did nothing, so what was going on?

The reason is that plants grown in ordinary flower shops are kept under fairly good temperature and moisture control, and the plants have already adapted to the plant shop. After my buddy brought it home, he was extremely careful with it. He watered it twice a day, and because he worried the Portulacaria afra was not growing well enough, he also fertilized it several times.

This plant is fairly sensitive to temperature, humidity, and nutrients, and it needs some time to adapt. Under my buddy's "careful" care, the Portulacaria afra dropped its leaves.

Actually, if he had just taken a laid-back approach and watered it occasionally, that would have been enough. This Portulacaria afra had just been brought home and was still in its adaptation period, so suddenly giving it so much "love" was more than it could handle. So how do you help a Portulacaria afra adapt to its new home?

First, stop fertilizing. It is better to wait until the Portulacaria afra has gotten through its potting adaptation period before fertilizing; fertilizing now will only increase the pressure on it. Second, you need to control watering. My buddy definitely watered it too much. When watering plants, it is best to follow "water thoroughly only after the soil has dried out": wait until the moisture in the soil is completely gone, then water thoroughly all at once. You can use a plant and flower moisture meter to test the water content in the soil before watering, which is more precise and scientific.

To solve the problem of a Portulacaria afra not adapting to its new environment, all you need to do is stop fertilizing and control watering. In short, you need to be a bit more laid-back and not spoil your plant baby too much. Once it adapts to the new environment, it will naturally show its original gnarled and vigorous state. If you have other plant questions, you are welcome to leave a comment and discuss, so we can improve together.