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Species library › Portulacaria › Portulacaria namaquensis
Succulents Well documented

Portulacaria namaquensis

A slow, thick-stemmed dwarf shrub of the hot, arid rocky hills of the Richtersveld, the lower Orange River and southern Namibia, prized as a natural bonsai with a swollen grey trunk. It needs blazing light, a very lean mineral mix and only modest water in the cooler growing months.

Portulacaria namaquensis
Photo: Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Grows on exposed rocky slopes and ridges of quartzite and granite in very dry succulent shrubland, usually fully exposed or wedged among boulders.

Measured sites lie at about 370-930 m; few records carry their own elevation.

Cape ProvincesNamibia

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.