Portulacaria do best with very little water after a repot, until they start growing again. Once it s used to the pot and you are watering regularly, once/week doesn't seem automatically alarming. Of course, that's in a proper-no potting soil- mix. Truly it is hard to tell w/o actually being there to see/feel. With all of the desiccation of leaves, if it were mine and I was sure I was not watering too much, I would be patient; if there is a real chance the soil is moist all the time, I would remove the soil and check for rot. Cut any rot away, let sit out of soil for several days, repot in a gritty mix with zero potting soil, water once then very stingily until growing again, and keep it in a semi-shady place until growing again.

Btw, why are there roots above the soil and big...cracks...in the soil(last picture).

Hi,

Thanks for your help. I am positive the soil is not moist all of the time as I have thoroughly checked to make sure even the center area is dry before watering. I can't seem to get the original soil it was in to bond with the new soil I was given at the nursery. Perhaps I need to pot it deeper? I'm not sure what is going on but there is a definite separation between the old soil and the new soil. Do I need to rake out the roots? You're speaking to a complete amateur just so you know.

Try to use something gentle to remove all old soil, then let sit out of soil for a few days to let any wounds callous over, then repot in the new soil. Repeat the process of watering only when all dry until you see new growth. It's kind of like a game of Chicken with the plant- you want it to grow, it's taking its time and meanwhile leaves are shriveling and falling off, who will blink first? :-]

I have now removed all of the old soil and this is how the plant looks. It seems like it does not have very many roots. Is this normal? Do I need to trim the roots? Do I need to wire the tree down in the pot?

I will leave it out of the pot and in the shade for a few days and then pot it in new soil. How long after re-potting it should I water? I've read that with jade plants you are not supposed to water right after potting them to encourage new root growth. Is this true? Thank you all for your help! I love this plant and want to keep it as healthy as possible.

Oh, man, that's a great way to kill one of these plants!

These do NOT need to dry out, nor will they tolerate drying out, as much as an actual Jade plant. I would get it into a fast-draining mix immediately and water it thoroughly. If you can put it in outdoor bright shade for a few days, that'll help, too. Keep the mix moist.

I imagine that the plant will be dropping leaves....

Josh

So do you think that the wrinkled/shriveling leaves are from under watering?

Yes, I sure do. I actually have one of mine in a drip-tray, and it sucks the water up.
In that small bonsai pot, you'll probably be watering every 2 - 3 days during the Summer.

Back when I started growing these, I thought they needed to "dry out," especially in the Winter. So I'd let them go a week, and I'd notice dried falling leaves. Well, I finally started watering them more frequently, and the leaves stopped falling.

These plants are quite communicative. They'll tell you if they're over or under watered. Yellow leaves falling off equals overwatering; dried leaves falling off equals underwatering.

Josh

I'm with Josh on this.

I don't keep mine dry. I followed the conventional advice & my plant's leaves shrivelled & eventually each time I brushed my hand across it, it would just shatter =/

It's in a gritty mix, so I soaked the pot once or twice a week & it bounced back & started to put on new growth.

I have several now, all from cuttings from the first plant. Only one of them is in a gritty mix, the others are doing very well in a commercial succulent mix cut with perlite 1:1

All are doing well now that I'm not trying to keep it dry but it's easier for me to keep up with the ones not in straight up gritty.

Care sheet from respected site:

http://www.bonsaitoolchest.com/download/dwarf_jade.pdf

Jim Smith pioneered portulacaria as bonsai in this country. A quote from him:

“Allow the soil to become dry before repotting and DO NOT WATER the plant immediately after potting.

The existing leaves may even shrivel before new leaves appear. This is not a problem. If some of the old leaves drop, they will quickly be replaced.”

Read more: http://www.bonsaimary.com/Jade-Bonsai.html#ixzz3eTLsv0jz

These plants tolerate dry conditions more than crassula. 90% of mistakes with them tend to be from too much than too little water. I think I even invented a few of those mistakes...

No, Crassula ovata tolerate dry conditions better than these. The leaf-tissue of Port. afra is much more delicate, and the plant will defoliate far sooner than, say, a Jade plant.

I used to blindly follow the advice to not water....but, truly, that advice is for people who are using inferior and heavy potting mixes, and who may be re-potting out of season. This time of year, when temps are high, plants should be watered into the new mix, and then not watered for 1 - 3 days.

Further, in such small containers, standard advice doesn't quite apply.

Josh

Due to conflicting advice, I decided to re-pot the tree in the fast draining soil I was given at the bonsai nursery and water the plant. It is now back in the south facing window. None of the roots are exposed as in the first pictures and it feels somewhat stable in the pot. It does wiggle some when moved. However, my question above was never answered. Does the root structure look okay? Does it have enough roots? Thank you all for your help! I really do want this tree to make it.

I'd also like to know how to proceed from here. Do I just wait until new growth appears? Should I keep it out of the sun? Should I fertilize? Should I be alarmed if it continues to drop leaves? Will it likely drop the leaves that have already started to wrinkle or will they plump back up?

The root-mass looked fine (healthy, and sufficient amount)....however, if you left the roots exposed for some time, it's possible that the thinner roots died....so, it's hard to say whether the transition will go smoothly from here on out.

Josh

Fertilize in about a week.

The wrinkled leaves will most likely drop.

Josh

The roots were exposed for about an hour to an hour and a half. Is that too much time?

Impossible to say.

Josh

If it has roots and you didn't chop off some thick roots, you can pot it and start watering immediately. They will tolerate a good bit of water in an aggregate medium.

I have to disagree with Josh about their drought tolerance though. I have 8 foot tall ones in the ground and I have 4 foot tall jades in the ground on a southwest facing hillside and the C.ovata definitely show signs of drought first. They both have the same exposure and they are both well established as in decades established.

edit: I noticed Josh mentioned defoliation. Yes P.afra will defoliate before C.ovata in response to drought, but that just makes the plant more drought tolerant.

I've left P.afra barerooted in SoCal heat for a week and then planted it without much trouble.

Nil, I'm a chicken. 3-4 days is all I can stand leaving them out of the soil. I put cinnamon on root cuts as an antifungal, something I learned from a South African friend.

I think, foxe, one could conclude from all this that portulacaria is forgiving enough for some variation in approach. Just know that a lot of people have come to this forum having damaged/killed their succulent through too much water, but not near as many with problems from too little water.

It's not that I'm brave; I'm lazy and can fill trash bins with thinnings.

Nice roots and plenty of them Watering concerns for the crowd: Fact is you've been doing something right in that area. My opinion it's pot bound in that pot ,it may need a bigger pot or you could toy around with some root flaring. Fact is smaller pots dry faster than a bigger pot and even faster on warmer days than on cooler days. I wouldn't leave it dry and out of the pot any longer than a misting cooler night.