Operculicarya decaryi, also known as the elephant tree, is a beautiful and unique-looking indoor plant that can be propagated. Elephant trees are easy to maintain, and they should give you many years of joy by following some simple guidelines.
Operculicarya decaryi or elephant tree can be propagated with seeds or cuttings in a few easy steps. The elephant tree is a low-maintenance plant but needs suitable plant care, including optimal water, sunlight, and soil conditions.
In this article, I’ll explain the correct care guidelines for the elephant tree and provide some helpful tips to ensure your plant thrives. Let’s jump right in!
How To Care for an Elephant Tree
When caring for your elephant tree, you’ll notice that it’s not a high-maintenance indoor plant. If you follow the guidelines I’ll outline below and ensure your elephant tree receives the correct amount and type of light, water, soil, and pruning, it should thrive.
Here’s how to care for your elephant tree:
Watering
As a succulent, an elephant tree doesn’t need a lot of water and can easily withstand dry spells. How often you water your elephant tree depends on the season. During the hottest months of the year, you’ll need to water your elephant tree more frequently.
To determine if your elephant tree needs watering, check the soil. If it’s completely dry, you should water the plant.
Since elephant trees can handle drought, it’s better to underwater than over-water them. If you notice the leaves turning yellow, this is usually a sign of an issue with how much or how little water your plant is getting.
It’s good practice to water your elephant tree more during the growing season in the spring because it needs more hydration during this time. During the winter, your tree will enter a dormant period, and you should water it less often. Once every two to three weeks should suffice.
If your elephant tree is in a planter, make sure there are enough drainage holes because waterlogged soil can cause it to develop root rot.
Sunlight
The elephant tree originates from Madagascar, where there is plenty of year-round sunshine. You should place your elephant tree in a place where it can receive several hours of direct sunlight daily.
If your elephant tree gets 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight daily, it will be fine if the remaining hours are spent in partial shade.
If you notice your elephant tree growing or leaning in one direction, this could be a sign it’s not getting enough sunlight.
The ideal location for an elephant tree is near a sunny window or out on a deck or front porch where there is plenty of sunlight.
Temperature
Elephant trees are tropical plants and prefer warmer temperatures. Even though they’re relatively tolerant of different temperature conditions, they don’t do well in cold temperatures.
If you have an elephant tree outside in a pot, move it indoors when the temperature drops below 50°F (10°C).
During the winter, your operculicarya decaryin will go dormant. You may also notice leaves dropping from the plant or some turning a darker red or brownish color, both a normal part of the dormancy process.
Soil
Using a suitable soil type for your elephant tree is essential. Soil with a pH not below 5.5. or above 7.5 is ideal for an elephant tree. Anything outside this range can result in a nutritional deficiency, which can cause your plant to grow slowly and have dull-colored leaves.
Operculicarya decaryi also prefers well-draining soil that contains ingredients such as pumice, perlite, or expanded shale.
Pruning
Pruning an elephant tree is relatively simple and usually just involves removing dead leaves. This helps to promote new bud growth and healthy new leaf development.
If you want to improve your elephant tree’s growth, consider pruning it more aggressively. You can neaten the tree by pruning back the branches as the tree matures.
Young elephant trees don’t require pruning aside from removing dead leaves or damaged parts. If you heavily prune a young elephant tree, it may negatively affect the tree’s growth.
In addition, always remember to use sterilized pruning shears when cutting your elephant tree, as this will protect it from becoming infected with bacteria or viruses.
Root Rot
As a tropical plant that prefers well-draining soil, the elephant tree can easily develop root rot if it sits in waterlogged soil for too long.
An excellent way to avoid root rot is to ensure you don’t overwater your elephant tree and place it in a suitable planter with adequate drainage holes. If your plant develops root rot, it’s essential to act quickly to save it.
If the root rot isn’t severe, you can save your plant by immediately removing it from the waterlogged soil and allowing the roots to dry out for a few days. After this, plant it in new, well-draining soil and water it after a few days.
For severe cases of root rot, you may need to apply a chemical, such as chloropicrin or methyl bromide, to fight off the root rot.
Elephant Tree Propagation Guidelines
Operculicarya decaryi or elephant tree is relatively easy to propagate from seeds or cuttings. When using seeds, you’ll need a male and female plant.
Many prefer seed propagation because the plant is more likely to develop better, stronger roots. Additionally, many seedlings exhibit traits from their parent plants. Therefore, seed propagation is the best option if you want the new plant to be similar to the parent.
However, elephant tree propagation by cuttings still does very well and involves cutting off a large piece of the root, namely the tuberous root. The tuberous root is large and fleshy, with smaller roots growing from it.
After planting the root, new ones will soon sprout and the cutting will grow into a new plant. New growth will begin to emerge from the root piece after a few weeks.
Make sure you use the correct type of soil and water the cutting regularly to ensure proper growth. Also, it’s best to propagate in the spring or summer, the growing season for elephant trees.
The best type of soil to use is one suitable for bonsai trees because the elephant tree is considered a bonsai plant variety. This type of soil has more rocks than regular potting soil, and allows for better water drainage. Soil mixtures that contain perlite and other well-draining materials are always a good choice.
When watering a cutting or seed, make sure you don’t overwater it, and give it time for the soil to dry out. If not, you could kill your elephant tree before it has the chance to sprout good roots.
Conclusion
Operculicarya Decaryi, or elephant tree, can easily propagate through seeds or cuttings. Seeds grow stronger roots and show specific characteristics from the parent plants. However, cuttings do just as well but may be challenging.
The elephant tree is easy to care for and needs regular, season-dependent watering and occasional pruning. Since elephant trees are tropical, they are healthier in warmer temperatures and go dormant in the winter.
Elephant trees prefer full sunlight and well-draining soil with perlite material. Soil made for bonsai plants is always a safe choice. This helps prevent root rot, a potentially life-threatening condition for elephant trees.