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Description
jade plant safe for pets Elephant Bush Succulent PlantBotanical Name: Portulacaria afra Common Names: Elephant Bush Dwarf Jade Porkbush Spekboom Mini Jade Plant The Portulacaria afra 'Elephant Bush' delights with its vibrant green, perfectly round succulent leaves that create a lush, tree like appearance while requiring virtually no care to thrive. This charming South African native features thick, glossy jade green leaves densely packed along sturdy brown stems, creating an adorable miniature tree
Botanical Name: Portulacaria afra
Common Names: Elephant Bush • Dwarf Jade • Porkbush • Spekboom • Mini Jade Plant
The Portulacaria afra 'Elephant Bush' delights with its vibrant green, perfectly round succulent leaves that create a lush, tree-like appearance while requiring virtually no care to thrive. This charming South African native features thick, glossy jade-green leaves densely packed along sturdy brown stems, creating an adorable miniature tree effect that brings year-round greenery and natural sculptural beauty to any indoor space with remarkable drought tolerance.
This exceptional drought-tolerant beauty combines vibrant green elegance with unmatched low-maintenance care, making it perfect for busy plant lovers, beginners, frequent travelers, or anyone seeking a resilient plant that thrives on neglect. Enjoy year-round lush green foliage that stores water efficiently while maintaining its charming tree-like form - all with complete confidence around your beloved pets and family members.
Complete Care Guide
Light Requirements ▼
- Bright, indirect light promotes healthy, vibrant green growth
- South or west-facing windows provide ideal growing conditions
- Tolerates direct sunlight and adapts to various light levels
- Some direct sun enhances the glossy green leaf color
- Extremely adaptable to lower light conditions indoors
Watering Instructions ▼
- Water deeply but infrequently - allow soil to dry completely
- Extremely drought-tolerant and thrives on neglect
- Can survive weeks without water once established
- Overwatering is the only real threat to this hardy succulent
- Water even less frequently in winter months
Humidity & Temperature ▼
- Low humidity: 30-50% - thrives in dry conditions
- Temperature range: 65-85°F (18-29°C) with excellent heat tolerance
- Tolerates dry indoor air exceptionally well
- No special humidity requirements needed
- Avoid temperatures below 50°F (10°C)
Potting & Fertilizing ▼
- Use well-draining cactus/succulent potting mix
- Ensure excellent drainage with pots that have drainage holes
- Feed sparingly - monthly during growing season only
- Prefers to be slightly root-bound for best growth
- Repot only when severely overcrowded, every 3-4 years
Propagation & Maintenance ▼
- Incredibly easy to propagate from stem or leaf cuttings
- Cuttings root quickly in dry soil or even just sitting on top
- Can be pruned and shaped like a bonsai tree
- Remove any dead or yellowing leaves as needed
- Fast-growing and extremely forgiving of mistakes
Styling Ideas for Your Elephant Bush
Bonsai Styling
Perfect for pruning and shaping into miniature trees
Succulent Gardens
Beautiful centerpiece for drought-tolerant collections
Bright Windowsills
Thrives in sunny spots where other plants struggle
Low-Water Displays
Perfect for busy lifestyles and frequent travelers
Shipping & Potting Information
Your plant ships in its current nursery pot and will need to be repotted into a decorative container of your choice. The beautiful ceramic pot shown in the product images is for styling inspiration only and is not included with your purchase. This allows you to select the perfect decorative pot that matches your home's unique style and décor.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Elephant Bush different from Jade Plant?
While they look similar, Elephant Bush has smaller, rounder leaves and grows faster than traditional Jade plants. It's also more drought-tolerant and easier to care for, making it perfect for beginners who want the jade plant look with even less maintenance.
Can I really neglect this plant?
Yes! Elephant Bush is one of the most forgiving plants you can own. It actually prefers to be forgotten about and can survive weeks without water. The biggest mistake people make is overwatering - this plant thrives on neglect.
Can I shape it like a bonsai tree?
Absolutely! Elephant Bush is excellent for bonsai-style pruning and shaping. It responds well to trimming and can be trained into beautiful miniature tree forms. Regular pruning encourages bushier growth and maintains the desired shape.
Is this plant safe around pets and children?
Yes! Portulacaria afra is completely non-toxic to cats, dogs, and humans, making it a perfect worry-free choice for families who want to enjoy its vibrant green foliage and low-maintenance beauty safely throughout their home.
How fast does Elephant Bush grow?
Elephant Bush is a relatively fast-growing succulent that can develop into a substantial plant within a year or two with proper care. Its quick growth makes it very satisfying for beginners who want to see results relatively quickly.
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4.3 ★★★★★
Based on 1434 reviews
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Deftly weaving stories of her life into solid biblical teaching on love, grace
Format: Hardcover
The Gospel Comes With a House Key may be one of the most thought provoking books I have read in the last year (and I read a lot). It is part memoir, part biblical theology, part polemic about the use God wants to put our homes to. Deftly weaving stories of her life into solid biblical teaching on love, grace, mercy, personal sin, and, yes, hospitality Rosaria Butterfield kept me compulsively turning the pages. It’s not just that she is a deep thinker with a thorough grasp of how to convey ideas clearly and compellingly. She is an excellent story-teller who also is an excellent writer; and those two do not always go together. She drew me in to one story in particular that she did not finish until toward the end of the book, but rather than finding that frustrating it led me deeper into her broader story, and subtly, her broader argument that I need to radically rethink how I view my home and my time. After all it is all God’s and I am meant to find my ultimate joy in service to Him and in His love.
Apparently my home can be a powerful tool for me to feel His love and to convey His love to others. Want to know exactly why? Want to see how that works out in the context on one family in one particular instance with broad application for all Christians? Then by all means I invite you to Butterfield home to eat with them, play with them, pray and read the Bible with them, to weep and struggle with them, just as they invite everyone they know to do the same.
Thank you Rosaria. You’ve given me and my wife a lot to think about and a needed challenge; that actually looks like a lot of fun!
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Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2018
★★★★★ 4
Helpful Book
Format: Hardcover
Rosaria Butterfield shared her story of conversion in her memoir The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. It impacted me so deeply. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her second book, The Gospel Comes With A House Key.
Rosaria Butterfield, former lesbian and English professor, converted to Christ in 1999. She is now a pastor’s wife, a homeschool mom, and a writer and speaker.
In The Gospel Comes With a House Key, Rosaria addresses the topic of hospitality. For so many, the word “hospitality” is scary. We start picturing beautiful homes and Instagram-worthy charcuterie boards. But Rosaria says that biblical hospitality is a call to something different. It’s a call to so much more.
Rosaria illustrates what ordinary hospitality looks like. She uses personal stories and life experiences to show how hospitality can be a lifeline for lost friends and neighbors. Her testimony becomes her ministry. Rosaria makes room at the table for all kinds of people: young or old, wealthy or poor. She talks to people who think differently and act differently than her.
While reading through the book, the one question I had was about the abundance of personal stories. Yes, they added a personal touch and were quite powerful. But the sheer number of them overshadowed any biblical exposition of the theme of hospitality. A balance of story and exposition would have placed the spotlight directly on the work of Christ and opened up more possibilities for the reader to practice hospitality, even when it looks quite different from Rosaria.
This mild quip aside, this book will be a breath of fresh air for Christians as they realize that their everyday messy lives can be shared with others. Hospitality isn’t about entertaining people. It is about using the gifts God has given us: our homes, tables, and lives to show an unbelieving world who Jesus really is. Hospitality shows a skeptical world what faith really looks like.
Both of Rosaria’s books have expanded my thinking on hospitality, and I am so grateful she had the courage to share her story.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2021
★★★★★ 5
The How and Why and Wow of Hospitality
Format: Hardcover
In a changing world where Christianity is losing credibility in so many ways, the only avenue for the gospel is quickly becoming authentic relationship. That's why when I saw this book, I could not order it fast enough. Rosaria comes alongside the reader and kindly and clearly walks through the multi-layered process of how to love a neighbor in this complicated society of ours. How does a relationship evolve from casual introductions while walking dogs to that same neighbor eventually crossing over the threshold and joining the family to eat a meal and linger long in conversation? Rosaria shows us how with compelling, victorious stories that underline what God does when we give Him room to work.
By the time I read to the very last word of the Acknowledgements, I had been assured of the hope that nothing we do for our neighbors is wasted in the grand story God has for each of person involved, particularly if we don't give up praying, serving as opportunity arises, surrendering our reputations of association, and keeping our children in God's hands, not our own. Some reviewers said they didn't know what was so extraordinary about such a simple plan. This hospitality is extraordinary in two ways. First, the fact that she actually lives a lifestyle of hospitality to a wide variety of people is extraordinary in comparison to most of the rest of us. Second, such hospitality invites God to show up and what God does is always extraordinary.
As much as I appreciate the book for showing me how to love my neighbor, what I love most about Rosaria is her repentant heart. One reviewer mistakenly said this book is about "Love the sinner; hate the sin." Rosaria specifically says, "...love the sinner and hate your own sin." (32) She is painfully aware of her own sin, repenting of it daily, as we all should be. Therefore, she does not see any distance between herself and any other image bearer of a holy God who also needs Jesus as much as she did. This fundamental biblical perspective allows her to draw near to all with the message of Jesus. He is all she has to offer. This is true for all of us, but Rosaria knows it.
Rosaria is gutsy, brave, repentant and honest, and she practices radical hospitality with her neighbors daily. If you stare at verses like, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Mark 12:31) and don't know how to live that verse out on a practical level, or if you stare at this incredibly changed world and no longer have the skill set to engage with it, this is the next book to read.
© 2018 by Oaks Ministries. All rights reserved.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2018
★★★★★ 5
Inspiring!
Format: Kindle
Rosaria’s hospitality is a hard act to follow, but her advice and examples give the inspiration to make a difference. May people find the Lord - know Him, know Him better - while sitting at my table.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Am almost done reading
Format: Hardcover
This book came recommended by a very hospitable friend. I'm almost done reading and wanted to drop by here to leave a positive review.
Lots of good useful ideas in this book and it has an engaging writing style. I think the author is specifically gifted in the area of hospitality - not everyone can live like she and her family do, but there are a lot of practical tips if you're hoping to grow in that area of your life.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2025