Nebari on Portulacaria afra?

Redwood Ryan

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Hi all,

This might be a dumb question, but it's something that's had me wondering for a while. Whenever I see an 'Elephant Bush' as a bonsai, I usually see it lacking one thing, nebari. Usually what I see is a beautiful tree above the base. The base is usually knobby looking. Take for example the tree amkhalid posted (I hope you don't mind!). I would post mine, but it's nowhere near as nice as the one posted in the thread linked below. He discusses the base and layering to create better nebari. So, the question is, why is it that Portulacaria afra with nice nebari seem so rare? Do they just not form those beautiful roots? Thanks for any replies, and I hope you don't mind amkhalid (your tree is beautiful)!

http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?7066-Portulacaria-progression
 

amkhalid

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Hi all,

This might be a dumb question, but it's something that's had me wondering for a while. Whenever I see an 'Elephant Bush' as a bonsai, I usually see it lacking one thing, nebari. Usually what I see is a beautiful tree above the base. The base is usually knobby looking. Take for example the tree amkhalid posted (I hope you don't mind!). I would post mine, but it's nowhere near as nice as the one posted in the thread linked below. He discusses the base and layering to create better nebari. So, the question is, why is it that Portulacaria afra with nice nebari seem so rare? Do they just not form those beautiful roots? Thanks for any replies, and I hope you don't mind amkhalid (your tree is beautiful)!

http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?7066-Portulacaria-progression

Don't mind at all :) Bottom line is the nebari on my portulacaria sucks, and I will be the first to admit that. One reason for sure is that most of them start from nursery stock and they develop a tangled mess of nebari from developing in a tiny pot. It is obvious this is how mine started out. But, as bougie mentioned, it might be also partially the nature of the plant. They just might tend towards developing a few thick roots instead of a nicely ramified radial spread. This is why I am hesitant to layer mine... even the best portulacaria I've ever seen (Jim Smith's, which Mat posted a picture of in my thread) has a very unappealing nebari. Sometimes you just have to take the plant for what it is, though, and focus on its positive attributes.

Namnhi: many people agree with you that they are not bonsai since they are not even trees. They are succulents. I guess I can't argue with that. But I think a well grown one can give the feeling of a good bonsai which, in my books, makes them worth growing.
 

treebeard55

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Besides what's already been said, there's the fact that they don't need a strong root system as much as some other plants do. How many times have any of us seen a fallen piece of Portulacaria stem, with a few leaves, that has been surviving for weeks on just the moisture in the air?
 

edprocoat

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Besides what's already been said, there's the fact that they don't need a strong root system as much as some other plants do. How many times have any of us seen a fallen piece of Portulacaria stem, with a few leaves, that has been surviving for weeks on just the moisture in the air?

Yup, that and the fact that you can root these just by leaving them lay there or sticking it in some sand, they are very much like the common cactus in those regards.

ed
 

Attila Soos

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I hate to bring on the bad news, guys.....

....but my experience shows the contrary, regarding what has been said here about the lack of nebari of these succulents.

In fact, using the proper technique, they can develop quite an impressive nebari. It can even get to the point where they become too exagerated.

It just happened, that yesterday I re-potted a Jade plant that I developed from a giant cutting during the last 10 years. The lower trunk is about 5.5 inches, and the nebari is around 9 inches. The nebari is so big, that almost completely covers the area of the round pot, in which the bonsai is planted. BTW, jade plant is not exactly the same as portulacaria, but they are closely related, and grow the exact same way. I have both.

The reason why people may think that these plants don't develop nebari, is that we prune the roots of these plants, just like we would prune the roots of an elm, or maple. This is wrong. If you want to create a large nebari, you have to cut off the bottom of the root-ball completely, allowing only roots that grow from the base of the trunk sideways, on a radial fashion. No roots growing downward, are allowed. Such an aggressive root-pruning would kill any other tree (except a few, such as olive, tamarisk, parsley aralia, ect), but not the Crassula or Portulacaria.

Remember, that these plants can live on just a few roots. In fact, for quite a long time, they can live without any root, since they are like a water-storing tank. So, if there is ANY root that is growing downward, there is no reason for the plant to grow radial roots, which are needed for nebari. This is why one can rarely see good nebari on them.

People who start with a plant purchased from a nursery, are reluctant to cut off the entire rootball, for fear of killing it. This is why they will NEVER will develop a decent nebari.
I, on the other hand, started with a giant cutting, so all the roots came out sideways. So, it was by accident, that I came upon this knowledge. In time, these radial roots fused together..

So, if you would like to grow a nebari, just saw off the whole root-ball,except the few roots that grow radially. If you have no such roots, no problem. Treat your tree like a cutting. Size doesn't matter. It can be as big as your biceps, or larger. Plant the tree in 100 pumice (or something equivalent), to avoid rotting. In the first couple of weeks, the leaves will shrivel a bit, and they may even fall off. But then, as the plant pushes new roots, new leaves will grow fast. This has to be done in warm weather (or indoor conditions), in order for the roots to grow.
In a few years, you will have the perfect nebari.
 
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Redwood Ryan

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Thanks for your replies everyone!


Attila, wow! Thanks so much! That is great news to hear, not bad news. Would you mind posting some pictures of the nebari on your Jades/port.? I'm used to sawing off the rootball to nearly non-existence with Willow Leaf Ficus, but I didn't know you could treat these the same way, good to know.
 

amkhalid

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I hate to bring on the bad news, guys.....

....but my experience shows the contrary, regarding what has been said here about the lack of nebari of these succulents.

In fact, using the proper technique, they can develop quite an impressive nebari. It can even get to the point where they become too exagerated.

It just happened, that yesterday I re-potted a Jade plant that I developed from a giant cutting during the last 10 years. The lower trunk is about 5.5 inches, and the nebari is around 9 inches. The nebari is so big, that almost completely covers the area of the round pot, in which the bonsai is planted. BTW, jade plant is not exactly the same as portulacaria, but they are closely related, and grow the exact same way. I have both.

The reason why people may think that these plants don't develop nebari, is that we prune the roots of these plants, just like we would prune the roots of an elm, or maple. This is wrong. If you want to create a large nebari, you have to cut off the bottom of the root-ball completely, allowing only roots that grow from the base of the trunk sideways, on a radial fashion. No roots growing downward, are allowed. Such an aggressive root-pruning would kill any other tree (except a few, such as olive, tamarisk, parsley aralia, ect), but not the Crassula or Portulacaria.

Remember, that these plants can live on just a few roots. In fact, for quite a long time, they can live without any root, since they are like a water-storing tank. So, if there is ANY root that is growing downward, there is no reason for the plant to grow radial roots, which are needed for nebari. This is why one can rarely see good nebari on them.

People who start with a plant purchased from a nursery, are reluctant to cut off the entire rootball, for fear of killing it. This is why they will NEVER will develop a decent nebari.
I, on the other hand, started with a giant cutting, so all the roots came out sideways. So, it was by accident, that I came upon this knowledge. In time, these radial roots fused together..

So, if you would like to grow a nebari, just saw off the whole root-ball,except the few roots that grow radially. If you have no such roots, no problem. Treat your tree like a cutting. Size doesn't matter. It can be as big as your biceps, or larger. Plant the tree in 100 pumice (or something equivalent), to avoid rotting. In the first couple of weeks, the leaves will shrivel a bit, and they may even fall off. But then, as the plant pushes new roots, new leaves will grow fast. This has to be done in warm weather (or indoor conditions), in order for the roots to grow.
In a few years, you will have the perfect nebari.

Thanks Atilla. I guess I may as well bite the bullet and saw my portulacaria off, making it a large cutting. Hopefully my growing season proves long enough to allow recovery. Its a risk worth taking, imo, since the tree will never improve past a certain point with its current nebari.

Thanks again.
 

Attila Soos

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Thanks Atilla. I guess I may as well bite the bullet and saw my portulacaria off, making it a large cutting. Hopefully my growing season proves long enough to allow recovery. Its a risk worth taking, imo, since the tree will never improve past a certain point with its current nebari.

Thanks again.

Yep, just make sure that its nice and warm, and the fastest-draining medium possible (pumice). The combination of cold and wet leads to rot very fast.
 

reg-i

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these are not finished trees so no grief please. I have alot of work planed for them once it warms up. The shorter one has a fat nebri and i've seen some with nice neb's but then again i'm in Florida
 

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Attila Soos

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these are not finished trees so no grief please. I have alot of work planed for them once it warms up. The shorter one has a fat nebri and i've seen some with nice neb's but then again i'm in Florida

Yep, your first picture clearly shows the very nice nebari.
 

amkhalid

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these are not finished trees so no grief please. I have alot of work planed for them once it warms up. The shorter one has a fat nebri and i've seen some with nice neb's but then again i'm in Florida

Thanks for the pics. That is a nice nebari for a portulacaria. But what I am wondering is if they can achieve a finely ramified nebari like most woody plants can. Spreading roots are key, but they need to branch to make a truly "great" nebari.

Atilla, does your tree's nebari have ramification?
 

reg-i

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when I root branches or cuttings I put them in a big rectangular styrofoam box with good drainage and a lot of perlite and I keep the soil shallow so the roots have to spread then you get a nice radial nebri to start with
 

Attila Soos

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Atilla, does your tree's nebari have ramification?

Good point. Ramification with this plant depends on the way you prune the roots. Every time you cut the root, it will fork into several direction at the place of the cut. Then, you cut it again, and you will get further ramifications. You keep repeating the process.
On their own, the roots will not achieve the ramification that you would like to see. They do ramify, but not well enough. So, you may end up with "pipes", growing in radial direction (by the way, some ficus does the same thing, if you don't prune the roots often enough). This is why you need to create those ramifications by pruning. The great thing is that you can always make corrections and add more ramification by shortening a certain root, no matter how old. There is no such thing as "old wood". You can achieve a few degrees of ramification in a single season.

When I post the picture of the nebari of my tree, we can look at these details.

I am off to Phoenix today, and back on Monday. I will take a picture as soon as I am back.
 
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treebeard55

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OK, after reading Attila's first post, I stopped and thought back. (Must remember: think first, then answer. :eek: ) While what I said is true, and a Portulacaria can survive fine with few roots, my own daughter's tree shows the start of a decent nebari. And Attila, thanks for the tip on how she can refine it!

BN Daughter's Portulacaria.jpg BN Portunebari closeup.jpg
 

Cypress

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Atilla thanks so much for your initial in depth explanation. Makes complete sense. I recently bought a tiny little pot of Portulacaria afra... which really had about 5 separate plants in it. I cut off all of them ad the sail line except for the one with the thickest stem. I pretty much removed all the spil from the roots, which were only little feeder roots, and repotted it spreading the roots radially about 1 centimeter beneath the soil surface.

After I had chop all the rest down to the soil line and then took all of the roots mass/soil out of the pot thats when I really realized it was actually 5 separate plants... which I kind of figured. But I took two of the bigger cuttings, dabbed a bit of rooting hormone on, and sttuck them right into some relatively dry soil (mix of about 60/40 perlite to potting soil since these guys like it airy and dry).

But I'm absolutely sure these guys roots will take. I have a regular jade and have just taken cuttings that I cut right there, plopped em in the soil, and a couple weeks later they're growing like nothing ever happened.

But thanks Attila for pointing out the necessity of removing any downward growing roots! That will really help me out with developing these little buggers!
 

KayaMooney

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This is a rather old thread and I didn't get a chance to read through everything so my mistake if someone has already mentioned this. There's a guy in my club who takes sphagnum moss and puts it on top of the small surface roots that form near the top of the soil to improve the nebari. Those roots would normally dry up and die away but the sphagnum moss shades them and allows them to thicken up and over time you get a decent nebari.
 
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