P. Afra hit the deck

Joe1980

15 years ago

Ok, so as my subject line implies, one of my portulacaria afras hit the deck.....literally. I had them on the railing, and when I got home, I found one had fallen or been knocked off of the railing, and fell to the deck. The pot was broken and the plant broken in half. The rootball was intact yet, but because it was in gritty mix, it was loose and a lot of the mix came off. I don't know how long it was baking in the sun, and when I say baking, I mean BAKING. Today is the hottest day so far, in the upper 90's, and supposed to be that way for a while yet. I promptly repotted it into a new pot, same size, and cut it down below the break. So, with that said, do I now put it back outside in the heat, or should I keep it inside in the A/C?

Also, before this incident, both this p. afra and my other one, weren't looking all that hot. The leaves were a bit dull, and there were brown spots on the leaves. The other one has been dropping leaves as well. They are being watered when they dry out, which is every other day lately. My desert rose also has lost ALL of it's mature leaves after yellowing out. It only has the new leaf whirls left now. I only water that when the caudex loses its hardness. All are in gritty mix. I wouldn't think it's too hot for them, but it is VERY humid. I did have some aphid issues on some potted peppers right next to them, so I suspect maybe the aphids got to these guys too.

Joe

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Comments (8)

greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
15 years ago
I'm sorry to hear it, Joe.

I've had a couple plants hit the deck, literally.

I'd say leave the P. afra outside in bright shade for a few days, then more sun.
I keep my P. afras (green and variegated) pretty moist during the summer, same with my Desert Rose.
And I also noticed that aphids found my Desert Rose earlier this season....courtesy of my potted peppers ;-)
Last winter, even my P. afras were hit by aphids indoors.

Everyone says to treat Adenium like a tropical when it's growing - water and fertilizer.

Josh
jojosplants
15 years ago
Hi Joe,
I'm sorry to hear this too! I've had a few disasters here and there due to our monsoons right not. And poor Josh has had his share of fun with critters.

I'm with Josh.
I think bright shade would be the best for it. And maybe a little more water. I treated mine rough, and on the dry side and lost a lot of leaves too.

Same with my Desert Rose. I would wait to water when the caudex was soft, and it would lose leaves! I just moved it outside yesterday, we'll see how it goes.

Josh,
Put your peppers to work! I've read a spray made of peppers and garlic will keep anything away! LOL!

The only problem with aphids right now is on our sunflowers.

JoJo
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Joe1980
Original Author
15 years ago
So waiting for the caudex to get a bit soft on the desert rose is waiting too long? I am still a bit paranoid of overwatering, so I was being cautious. Maybe I'll just water it every day then, versus every other. What I'm finding is that the gritty mix is drying out WAY too fast in the summer heat, so this time, my p. afras went in turface alone. I am having a way better experience using either plain turface, or a turface/grit mix. I am done with the hydrophobic pine bark.

Joe
meyermike_1micha
15 years ago
Hey Josh, Jojo, and Joe:-)

I just wanted to say I am sorry about that Joe. I hope it returns to good health in which I am sure it will with all the support here.

Good luck

Mike
jojosplants
15 years ago
Hi Joe,
Yes, letting the Desert Rose get soft is a little too long in between watering. They can take a little more than most succulents.

I have mine in gritty mix, but I am very bad about watering on time, so I can't say how often. It was in a room with no cooling, so even though it was inside it was a very warm room!

Were around 105 these days... 110 easy in june.

I just set it outside and am going to try and remember to check it daily with a bamboo skewer to see about how long in between watering.

I killed my p. afra's from waiting too long to water, so not much help with those. :-(

JoJo
Joe1980
Original Author
15 years ago
I quit with the skewer method for the most part. I've gotten used to knowing when to water, and I always just check the top inch or 2, depending on the pot size, and if the top is bone dry, I water. I now keep my pachira in gritty minus bark, at a 2:1 turface to grit ratio. I am finding that I LOVE this turface stuff, and so do my plant, and plants of ALL types. The turface works better for me, because especially now, with my veggie garden rolling, I am lacking time. Mike, thanks for the reply, and I can say this about all the help here: So far, for all my Q's, everyone has been spot on, and everything has been good.

Joe
cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
15 years ago
I don't know about you, but each time I read the title of this post I imagine a strafing attack in a WWII story. Other than that useful bit, I have nothing useful to add.
Joe1980
Original Author
15 years ago
A little humor is always useful....