How Well Do Porticularia Afra Do Indoors Under Grow Lights?

[Isilwen]

I feel you, all about making the best with what you have available. That will absolutely provide more energy to the plant but as SRT mentioned it will still be a fraction of the light that the sun puts out. My advice would be to use your current set up for a few months and if you like it and want to continue then look at getting a bigger/better light. You can always use this light for seedlings or other trees.

I've been trying my hardest not to just throw a bunch of money into bonsai as I'm learning. I've got a handful of plants and I've spent this time watching them grow and learning how they react to small changes like watering, fertilizer, sun exposure, etc. You gotta remember that bonsai is a marathon not a sprint so enjoy your setup and your plants and learn for now.

Probably what I'll do. We don't plan on being in this apartment forever. Between Covid, my child support going up, and inflation, that has put a damper on my and my fiance's plans to get a house.

 

[rhawes]

For whatever reason, it seems my screened balcony for our apartment is not good for bonsai. I'm thinking it just doesn't get enough sunlight. I have always thought it got at least four hours of morning sun, but now I'm thinking more like two, maybe two and a half hours. After the two hours an oak tree blocks the sunlight and then the sunlight gets blocked by the roof. None of our windows gets good sunlight either.

So, I was looking for something I can do indoors. One species that keeps popping up in searches is portulacaria afra.

Is this a good species for indoor keeping with LED grow lights?

What I was thinking about getting something from Lowes and creating something from what I get.

Something like this: https://www.lowes.com/pd/2-5-Quart-...k146EQtxLhhKwTSyBQUaAubiEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I use the barrina grow lights the white and my jade grows awesome under these lights!!!

 

[Carol 83]

I use the barrina grow lights the white and my jade grows awesome under these lights!!!

Mine too, but they go outside for the summer.

 

[Lilliput]

Ports can be very happy inside with enough light and in soil with good drainage. They are a really fun plant to grow, plus the leaves are edible and delicious. You should check out Little Jade Bonsai on Youtube, he has really stunning trees and my Ports are much happier since I watched his videos. In this video he talks about the kind of plant you have, a Portulacaria afra minima 'Lilliput'.

 

[Srt8madness]

Ports can be very happy inside with enough light and in soil with good drainage. They are a really fun plant to grow, plus the leaves are edible and delicious. You should check out Little Jade Bonsai on Youtube, he has really stunning trees and my Ports are much happier since I watched his videos. In this video he talks about the kind of plant you have, a Portulacaria afra minima 'Lilliput'.

He is doing a demo at Houston Bonsai Society tomorrow. I wanted to do the workshop but I know my kiddo won't last 6 hours for the meeting, break, and workshop lol. Still looking forward to it.