Portulaccaria Afra “deadwood”

[Todaru123]

Inspired by recent posts, I’m testing how much “deadwood” I can get on an Afra without killing it. This stump was an off cut I shoved into a pot a while back. It was growing nicely and as I have a few Afras already in progress I figured why not. It already had a significant amount of rot on one side which I dug out. I’ve also started chipping away at the other side. I’ll let it dry out and then dig a little deeper while encouraging branches to grow and fill out. If it works and I’m pretty sure it will, it will be a very nice little bonsai when the roots fill out and I lift it a little.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Maybe not such great idea. Most man made "dead" wood looks like crap until naturally aged and decayed for years.

 

[JimmyBeefshank]

Portulaccaria Afra is a succulent and is not actually made of wood. The cellular structure of succulents is dependant on its water content to remain rigid and upright and quickly shrivels up and rots if damaged.

 

[Todaru123]

Yes it’s not wood, but on very thick pieces they tend to rot, shrivel and callous over leaving for want of a better word a hard scab. They will continue to sprout around shrivelled areas resulting in a “deadwood” effect.

 

[Nanuk]

Time will tell.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Great! The world needs more potatoes with leaves.