Could you please help me identify this plant?
Advice on how to care for it would also be very much appreciated :)
Thank you!
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Good question and helpful illustrations; if could include if plant currently seems to be doing well, average daytime & night time temperatures, humidity, current watering amount & frequency, current nutrient amount & frequency, and if some coarse gravel in the bottom and a hole in the bottom for good aereation & drainage, could also be helpful. We encourage you to take the Tour, and browse through the Help center, to learn more about how the site works! Thank you! Welcome to the site!– M HCommented Nov 16, 2020 at 17:44
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1 Answer
It is a Portulacaria afra macrophylla plant, a subspecies of Portulacaria afra. Common names for the species include: Elephant Bush, Elephant’s Food, Spekboom (in South Africa), or Miniature Jade. It is not closely related to jade plants, it simply resembles them.
I liked learning about your plant! It is very interesting and seems very versatile: it can grow very large, but it is easy to prune to maintain an indoor house size. According to the Garden Beast site below, the Portulacaria afra speicies is a an amenable plant to grow as a bonsai. Garden Beast also describes the plant as a good companion plant: you could put other succulents in a bigger pot for an attractive display. It is sounds like it is also easy to propagate so you could experiment with that as well.
There are many adventurous opportunities your plant can provide, but it will also be very easy to care for if you place it in a southern window and water it infrequently, but deeply. The Garden Beast site gives more in-depth detail to watering if that would be helpful. Multiple sites below suggest cutting the watering significantly during winter months when it will not receive as much sunlight.
Directions for care from Mountain Crest Gardens:
"Easy to grow indoors. Pick pots and soil with great drainage and place the plant near a sunny window. Protect from frost and heavy rain. The stems are easily pruned into your desired form or can be left to cascade from a container. Water deeply but infrequently, and keep dry during winter dormancy. In warmer months, try your hand at propagating stem cuttings ([more info][1]). No elephants required."
Sources and more information: https://gardenbeast.com/portulacaria-afra-guide/ https://mountaincrestgardens.com/portulacaria-macrophylla-large-leaf-elephant-food/ https://shop.cacti.com/landscape-succulents/portulacaria-afra-macrophylla/ [1]: https://mountaincrestgardens.com/blog/planting-succulent-cuttings-a-visual-guide/
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