Portulacaria afraElephant Bush

Portulacaria afra, the Elephant Bush or spekboom, is a succulent shrub of the South African thicket, with small rounded fleshy leaves packed along red-brown stems. It strikes from any cutting, clips like a hedge and survives on almost no water at all.

It is used for arid hedging, bank stabilisation, xeriscape mass planting and containers, and it is one of the few succulents that reliably takes a formal trim.

Specifications

• Height2 to 4 metres, or clipped low as a hedge or cover
• Width1.5 to 3 metres
• Native toSouth Africa and Mozambique
• FoliageSmall, rounded, fleshy bright green leaves on red-brown succulent stems; evergreen
• Growth rateModerate

Conditions

• SoilRequires free-draining sandy or gravelly soils and tolerates poor and rocky ground
• LightFull sun to partial shade
• WaterVery low; among the most drought-tolerant shrubs available
• ClimateThrives in hot semi-arid and arid regions and is frost-sensitive

Additional Features

• FormDense, arching, spreading habit that clips readily to a formal face
• UsesIdeal for arid hedging, ground cover and bank stabilisation, xeriscape mass planting and containers
• SpacingPlant 1 to 1.5 metres apart for a continuous hedge or mass
• Low MaintenanceClips readily and strikes from any cutting pushed into the ground
• Pest ResistanceGenerally pest-free where drainage is sharp
• Drought ToleranceSurvives extended rainless periods on stored leaf moisture
• Erosion ControlWidely used to re-establish cover on degraded and eroding slopes

Elephant Bush is the rare succulent that behaves like a hedge plant, and it does it on a water budget close to zero.