Elephant bush is an easy - care , low maintenance houseplant – and there are many unlike types to opt from !
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Also known as “ spekboom , ” “ porkbush , ” or “ baby jade , ” this nonpoisonous evergreen succulent can have a trailing or upright growth habit , with foliage that is emerald - immature , yellow , or variegate , depending on the variety .
P. afra
We ’re move to search eleven different options so you may select the type that will both fit your pauperism – and agree your fancy .
Here ’s a snitch peek at our leaning :
11 of the Best Types of Elephant Bush
Before we get started , if you ’d like to critique the care needs for this houseplant , be sure to check our completeguide to growing elephant chaparral .
1. Afra
The specie flora , Portulacaria afrabears emerald - green leaves that are half an in long .
plant have an upright , sprawling growth habit , and reddish - brown stems .
Portulacaria Afrain 1 - Gallon Nursery Pot
you could purchase aP. afraspecimen in a one - gallon nursery potfrom the Plants for Pets Store via Amazon .
2. Aurea
Also known as “ yellow rainbow bush , ” “ amber elephant bush , ” or “ xanthous elephant food , ” ‘ Aurea ’ is a semi - trailing cultivar with a golden gleaming .
New leaves on this salmagundi are bright yellow-bellied , hold on purplish stems . Mature foliage is light green to blench yellow , on stems that have a prostrate growth riding habit before growing more vertical as they mature .
‘ Aurea ’ in 3 ” Nursery Pot
You ’ll find ‘ Aurea ’ available for purchase in three - in glasshouse potsfrom Winter Greenhouse via Walmart .
3. Bonsai
While any variety ofP. afrathat has an upright growing wont can be shape into bonsai , you could get a start start on this process by choosing a mature specimen that has already been trained into bonsai form .
Group of 5 Baby Jade Bonsai 10”-11”P. AfraTrees
you may purchase a woodland of five elephant bush bonsai trees that are six to nine year honest-to-god and 10 to 11 inches tallfrom Bonsai Boy .
4. Cork Bark
‘ Cork Bark ’ is an excellent cultivar for breeding as bonsai . It has an just increase riding habit , emerald - unripe leaves , and develops jumpy and knotted , grayish bark as it age .
This variety was first discovered in a nursery in the sixties , where its unique bark was guess to be the symptom ofa fungous infection .
Bonsai partisan have since determined that there is , in fact , nothing incorrect with ‘ Cork Bark , ’ and that it makes a wondrous bonsai .
In 2015 , this cultivar was introduce to mart via the Huntington Botanic Garden ’s International Succulent Introduction .
5. Lilliput
‘ Lilliput ’ is a flyspeck cultivar that has petite , emerald - green leaves .
This vertical , dwarf variety is well - suit for utilization as a bonsai or in a small succulent planter . It ’s a dissolute agriculturist with compact foliation .
‘ Lilliput ’ is a naturally go on mixture that wasdiscovered in a plant nursery in 2013 , and patented by Altman Specialty Plants in 2019 .
6. Macrophylla
Going from the smaller to the large end of the spectrum , ‘ Macrophylla ’ is also known as “ large folio elephant food ” and has more healthy leaf than the coinage plant .
Emerald - green leaf reach an inch long , are concord on upright plant , and are more spaced out along the stems , bearing a closer resemblance tojade industrial plant ( Crassula ovata ) .
This variety is also experience as ‘ Limpopo . ’
7. Manny
‘ Manny ’ is a variegate cultivar that has coin gullible leaves with dabs of cream , and royal - outlined leaf margins sustain on deep , upright stems .
Leaves are thick and rounded , with some being slightly scallop towards the edge , giving the leafage of this plant more texture than other varieties .
‘ Manny ’ is a of course go on variety that was establish in a nursery in California in 2014 .
8. Medio Picta
‘ Medio Picta ’ is a variegate cultivar , also eff as “ midstripe rainbow bush , ” with foliage that has cream centers and green margins .
While most of the foliage is variegated , some leaves may be all cream with pink margins , and some all - green leaves can appear as well . New folio bud are pinkish .
Also known as ‘ Kaleidoscope , ’ the foliation of this cultivar is held on shiny pink to red radical .
‘ Medio Picta ’
You ’ll find ‘ Medio Picta ’ in two- , four- , or six - in nursery hatful available to purchasefrom the Succulents Depot via Walmart .
9. Prostrata
‘ Prostrata ’ is a downhearted growing , spreading salmagundi ofP. afra .
Also fuck as “ groundcover jade , ” this is an excellent type of elephant bush to pick out if you would wish to grow itin a hanging basket .
This variety is sometimes called “ dwarf elephant food . ” Its leaves are small than the species plant but larger than those of ‘ Lilliput . ’
Also called ‘ Minima , ’ this industrial plant can also be used as a ground cover in a mixed succulent planter .
‘ Prostrata ’ in Hanging Basket
You ’ll feel ‘ Prostrata ’ available for purchase in a six - inch hanging basketfrom Altman Plants via Walmart .
10. Skyscraper
‘ Skyscraper ’ has a narrow-minded , good growth habit .
Emerald - green leaves are half an column inch long and develop on ruddy - brown stems that continue dark even when fledged .
This variety is also called “ narrow-minded elephant ’s food . ”
11. Variegata
A variegated cultivar , ‘ Variegata ’ is like to ‘ Medio Picta ’ but with reverse coloring .
This sort , known as “ rainbow bush , ” has mint gullible leave-taking with pick - colored margins that are sometimes edged in pink .
New growth is cream one-sided or cream with pink margins , exhort the other name for this cultivar , ‘ Tricolor . ’
This variegated form ofP. afrahas a compact , upright growing habit and display slower growing than the metal money plant . It is also less patient of of direct Dominicus .
Variegata Rainbow Bush in 2.5 ” skunk
Purchase a rainbow bush in a two - and - a - half - in potfrom Hirt ’s Gardens via Walmart .
Learn more about growing and care for rainbow bush in our pathfinder . ( coming soon ! )
A Handsome Herd of Elephants
Youherdit here first , there are enough unlike types of spekboom to produce your own collection .
Whether you are look for a specimen for a hanging field goal or an vertical type to create a beautiful bonsai , I bet you found one or two baby jades that made you feel like trumpeting with pleasure !
If you ’re up foran prolonged stay on the lush side , here are some extra articles that are sure to keep you enthralled :
Photo by Kristina Hicks - Hamblin © take the Experts , LLC . ALL right RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . Product photos via Altman Plants , Bonsai Boy , Hirt ’s Gardens , the Plants for Pets Store , the Succulents Depot , and Winter Greenhouse . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
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Kristina Hicks - Hamblin
