How to grow Elephant Bush

Propagation is by cuttings. Take a 4 to 6 inch cutting with a clean sterilized razor blade. Remove the bottom leaves, leaving a 2 to 4 section of the stem bare. Dip the bottom 2 inches of your Portulacaria afra in rooting compound. Leave it to heal in a well ventilated area and form a callous for a few days to a week. Plant your Portulacaria Afra in four parts sand or perlite with one part potting soil. The container should be a 4 inch pot and the soil should be firmed down to level the surface.¹

Good for xeriscaping, containers, bonsai. Prefer porous soil. Water when soil is dry to touch, but be careful not to overwater in winter especially. Prefer full sun/bright light. Reportedly blooms close to the equator.

Prefers dry soil, but can survive even well-watered flower beds².

Spekboom or porkbush is usually propagated from cuttings as the seed is not often available. Cuttings or truncheons strike root easily and can even be planted directly into the ground where they are to be grown. Alternatively cuttings can be taken in the normal fashion and allowed to dry out for a day or two in a cool dry place and then planted in washed river sand and kept in a shady position until they are rooted and ready to be planted out. Cuttings root quickly and can usually be planted out after four to six weeks.

As Elephant bush is half hardy, ensure temperatures are mild enough to plant out - wait until after your last frost date to be on the safe side.

These estimates for how long Elephant bush takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.

The name Portulacaria is composed of Portulaca + aria suggesting a similarity to that genus. The word afra refers to the fact that the plant occurs in Africa.

One of the common names, “elephant food” or “elephant bush” refers to the fact that elephants in the Addo National park (Eastern Cape, South Africa) consume the plant’s leaves as part of their regular diet. They knock off small branches when they do, and those root in the ground to form new plants.

It has been shown to be effective in carbon sequestration (binding atmospheric carbon which is responsible for climate change), in semi-arid landscapes and thicket vegetation it is also being used for restoration purposes².

In traditional African medicine, it is used to increase breast milk by lactating mothers². The leaves are used to quench thirst, sucking a leaf is used to treat exhaustion, dehydration and heat stroke². Crushed leaves can be rubbed on blisters and corns on the feet to provide relief². The leaves are chewed as a treatment for sore throat and mouth infections while the astringent juice is used for soothing ailments of the skin such as pimples, rashes and insect stings². The juice is also used as an antiseptic and as a treatment for sunburn². It is also recorded that a small sprig of porkbush steamed with a tomato bredie (a traditional Cape Malay stew) imparts a delicious flavour². The honey made from the flowers of porkbush is said to be " unsurpassable in flavour and texture" by one reference³.

Elephant food, Elephant plant, Miniature jade plant, Spekboom, Small leaf jadeporkbush, intelezi (zulu), Isidondwane (zulu), Isambilane (zulu), Indibili (zulu), Isicococo (zulu); igqwanitsha (xhoza), Dwarf Jade Plant

Misspellings: Portulacaria afre

¹ How to propagate Portulacaria afra

² Portulacaria afra on PlantzAfrica

³ :Roberts. M. 1990. Indigenous healing plants. Southern Book Publishers, Halfway House.