PORTULACARIA afra ‘Variegata’
PORTULACARIA afra ‘Variegata’ Jade Plant
Variegated Elephant Bush, Miniature Jade
Almost foolproof and beautiful, indoor bonsai. Easily trained, succulent shrub can be kept happy for years in a sunny window.
Sprawling, very slow growing succulent with attractive reddish-brown stems and a variegated cream and green ¾ inch leaves.
A very easy to grow succulent that works as a great bonsai plant, can also be placed in hanging baskets or even a hedge in frost free climates.
In nature they will reach 12 feet in height with an equal spread. Wow , that would takes years at least in my zone , I am seeing that it is a slow growing but that could be also because I have it in a cool area and provided I have it in a container.
In containers, they will stay much smaller and their size is easily controlled with selective pruning and pot size. The stems of this scandent shrub will thicken very fast giving the plant an old appearance at a young age.
The pink flowers are seldom seen. The knobbed tan-reddish stems makes a nice foil in the landscape. Use in a xeriscape garden where it is drought tolerant once established.
Cold hardy in USDA zones 10-11 , Grow in good lighting , sun window if indoors
A native of South Africa.
This is one of my favorites and I have them growing in my patio, soon to be basement under lights.. I love the variegation of the leaves and this jade plant does not fuss at all..
Happy Gardening
Diane Mumm
This entry was posted on Saturday, January 30th, 2010 at 9:03 pm and is filed under Diane's Post, Drought Tolerant, Houseplants, Succulent, Unique Plants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
