Pickup, Delivery, and Shipping Options/Policy
Local pickup is free in the Columbus, Ohio area, or pickup is also available when I road trip, especially to bonsai shows around my area of the Midwest. Delivery is also free if not more than 15 minutes out of my way from home or on any of these trips. See here for the most updated list of pickup sites/delivery routes I will be making in the coming months.
If you would like to have any of my products shipped to you, see my Etsy page invivobonsai.etsy.com (almost all prices include shipping) or contact me if the item is not listed on my Etsy and I'll look into a cost estimate. Contacting me can also get you a cheaper price than buying through Etsy as there will be fewer fees and shipping multiple items can be combined.
Dwarf Jade / Elephant Bush Bonsai Available in Columbus, Ohio from In Vivo Bonsai
Last updated, 11/15/2025
Sections:
- Species Info
- Basic Info
- Watering
- Lighting
- Varieties
- Sale Info
- Regular Dwarf Jades (Portulacaria afra)
- Mature Starters/Workshop Trees (not in ceramic pots)
- Sold Example Gallery + Pruning Tips
I. Species Info:
A. Basic Info
Portulacaria afra aka dwarf jade or elephant bush is a beginner-friendly tropical succulent that can be styled as a bonsai due to the woody appearance of its stem. Because it is tropical, it can be grown indoors year-round or outdoors in summer and indoors in winter to avoid freezing. The advantages of this species include its hardiness, ease of propagation through cuttings, and rapid growth rate in ideal conditions such as when placed outside over summer. Also, unlike the unrelated but similarly named jade aka Crassula ovata, elephant bush has naturally miniature leaves and becomes highly dense with frequent pruning. Also, the plant is called elephant bush because it is a favorite food source for elephants. It is also edible for humans and the leaves have a slight lemony flavor.
B. Watering
I water my jades 1-2x/week in the winter, depending on the light intensity of their spot in the home. You can assess if the tree needs water by holding the leaf in your hand and feeling its turgidity. If the leaf is firm, it does not need water. If the leaf is soft, it is because the plant needs more water to properly fill its volume. The thick, waxy cuticle on the leaves as well as the regenerative and propagative properties of this species are evolutionary traits that the species obtained in their native desert environment of South Africa-Mozambique
C. Lighting
The plant thrives in full sun or under intense grow lights, but it also can survive in winter with only the light from a window. Although, because the light from a window is so much less, leaves will drop over time, so I'm sure to put them back outside each summer or under a grow light to keep them healthy.
D. Varieties
There are a few varieties of elephant bush but I only have the wild type, varigated, and a weeping variety available. I am propagating all of these varieties. Inquire directly if you don't see your variety of interest pictured below, I may have some available. Care wise, all these dwarf jade varieties are treated the same.
II. Sale Info
These jade beginner-friendly bonsai starters I sell quickly for a low price so the stock is always rotating. This makes them not great to put online since that is a time-consuming process but some available are pictured below. If interested in buying one, please feel free to contact me for pictures of the latest options. So far, I do not provide dwarf jades to my In-Person Bonsai Partner locations because they are a little higher maintenance (light and drought tolerance-wise) than other succulent species.
A. Regular Dwarf Jades (Portulacaria afra)
DJ1 - Slanted mame dwarf jade XS
Photographed Summer 2025. It is growing more dense now since its initial pruning and potting. $15.
DJ2 - Slanted mame dwarf jade XS
Photographed Fall 2025. It is growing more dense now since its initial pruning and potting. It could get another pruning soon to continue developing dense branches. $30.
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| Photographed November 2025. |
DJ3 - Two tree slanted shohin dwarf jade forest
Photographed Fall 2025. It is growing more dense now since its initial pruning and potting. The pot is a 20th-century antique with a drainage hole added. $35.
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Photographed November 2025.
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DJ4 - Slanted shohin dwarf jade in terra cotta pot
Photographed Fall 2025. It is growing more dense now since its initial pruning and potting. It could use a more interesting pot but that can come after some more growth and trunk development, or use this as a tree in a forest as is. $10.
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Photographed November 2025.
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DJ5 - Slanted mame dwarf jade XS
Photographed Fall 2025. It is growing more dense now since its initial pruning and potting. $30.
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Photographed November 2025.
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DJ6 - Young dwarf jade forest (5 tree)
Photographed Fall 2025. It is growing more dense now since its initial pruning and potting. $25.
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Photographed November 2025.
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DJ7 - Octopus/raft form dwarf jade prebonsai - recovered from deer herbivory and ready for a creative styling/new pot!
Photographed Fall 2025. Ready for styling! It could get another pruning soon to continue developing dense branches. $45.
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| Photographed November 2025. |
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Photographed November 2025.
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DJ8 - Slanted shohin dwarf jade in mug with drainage hole
Photographed Fall 2025. It is growing more dense now since its initial pruning and potting. $15
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| Photographed Sept/Oct 2025. |
DJ9 - Slanted mame dwarf jade XS pot
Photographed Fall 2025. It is growing more dense now since its initial pruning and potting. $15.
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| Photographed Sept/Oct 2025. |
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DJ10 - Slanted mame dwarf jade XS
Photographed Fall 2025. It is growing more dense now since its initial pruning and potting. $15.
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| Photographed Sept/Oct 2025. |
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DJ11 - Upright shohin dwarf jade in mug with drainage hole
Photographed Fall 2025. It is growing more dense now since its initial pruning and potting. $15.
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| Photographed Sept/Oct 2025. |
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B. Mature Starters/Workshop Trees (not in ceramic pots)
Typically, I propagate my tropicals in shallow pots as this saves space and not all cuttings survive (although for dwarf jade, branches are a near guaranteed success). Then, either in workshops or on my own, I separate the mature ones into individual pots, but I've found that after ~1 yr, the jades do not have a very developed root system, so lately I think additional time in their own pots will improve the ease of their use for workshops. So I am starting to separate my workshop trees/prebonsai into individual plastic containers before using them in bonsai pots. Smaller prebonsai will need another year in these pots before being recommended for workshops or being made into beginner bonsai, whereas more established prebonsai can be used straight away.
- Smaller prebonsai dwarf jades generally ~$5/each.
- Larger/more established prebonsai jades generally ~$10 each.
- Smaller prebonsai variegated dwarf jades ~$10/each.
- Larger variegated ones not yet available.
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| Small dwarf jades photographed November 2025. |
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Small dwarf jades photographed November 2025.
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Small dwarf jades photographed November 2025.
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Small dwarf jades (among other species) photographed November 2025.
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| Larger examples of dwarf jades. Photographed November 2025. |
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Small variegated dwarf jades photographed November 2025.
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III. Sold Example Gallery + Pruning Tips
As I get more mature examples and organize my pictures, I will add them here. The styling techniques are pretty basic and similar to other broadleaf species. Cut branches after 2-3 internodes so dense branching is formed. This also gives you the chance to use clip and grow to alter trunk/branchlines. Wire will work to some extent but because these are succlent, the bends cannot be too severe or they will snap.
<examples coming soon>
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