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elephant food succulent

elephant food succulent Buy Elephant's Food Phoenix, AZ | Portulacaria afra

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elephant food succulent Buy Elephant's Food Phoenix, AZ | Portulacaria afraThe Best Drought Tolerant Privacy Shrub for Phoenix & Scottsdale Elephant's Food (Portulacaria afra) is Phoenix's #1 choice for a fast growing, ultra low water privacy shrub that delivers lush, year round structure with virtually no maintenance. This South African native reaches 815 feet tall with dense, succulent foliage on eye catching reddish brown stems creating a thick, living wall that thrives in the most punishing Arizona heat. Whether you're

The Best Drought-Tolerant Privacy Shrub for Phoenix & Scottsdale

Elephant's Food (Portulacaria afra) is Phoenix's #1 choice for a fast-growing, ultra-low-water privacy shrub that delivers lush, year-round structure with virtually no maintenance. This South African native reaches 8–15 feet tall with dense, succulent foliage on eye-catching reddish-brown stems — creating a thick, living wall that thrives in the most punishing Arizona heat. Whether you're building a privacy screen in Scottsdale, a poolside backdrop in Chandler, or a sculptural accent in Mesa or Gilbert — Elephant's Food delivers outstanding results on minimal water and care.

Elephant's Food Plant Details

Attribute Detail
Scientific Name Portulacaria afra
Common Names Elephant's Food, Elephant Bush, Spekboom, Porkbush
Mature Height 8–15 feet
Mature Width 8–15 feet
Growth Rate Fast — 1–2 feet per year in Phoenix conditions
Sun Full sun to partial shade. Thrives with reflected heat from walls and hardscape.
Water Very low once established. One of Arizona's most drought-tolerant shrubs.
USDA Zones 9–11 (Phoenix is Zone 9b–10a)
Soil Well-draining. Highly adaptable to Arizona caliche soils.
Foliage Evergreen — small, round succulent leaves; reddish-brown stems year-round
Bloom Color Pink (small star-shaped flowers in spring)
Native Region South Africa (proven performer in desert climates worldwide)

Elephant's Food Uses in Phoenix Landscapes

Privacy Hedge and Screening

Elephant's Food is one of the fastest ways to build a dense privacy screen in the Phoenix Valley. With its thick, succulent foliage and upright growth habit, it forms an impenetrable green wall that blocks sightlines from neighboring homes, streets, and pools. Plant 4–5 feet apart for a fast hedge, or 6–8 feet apart for a looser screen. Density guide: 20 ft fence — 5 plants / 40 ft fence — 10 plants. Pair with Texas Sage or Desert Spoon for a layered desert look that's both beautiful and functional.

Poolside Planting

Elephant's Food is one of the best plants for pool-adjacent landscaping in Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Tempe. Its succulent leaves don't drop in ways that clog filters, it handles reflected heat and water splashing without complaint, and its root system is non-invasive. The reddish stems and green foliage create a lush, tropical look that makes pool areas feel like resort-style retreats. It pairs beautifully with Ruellia or Bird of Paradise for a bold, colorful poolside planting.

Sculptural Accent and Modern Desert Design

Few plants offer the sculptural quality of a mature Elephant's Food. The twisted reddish branches and dense round leaves create striking architectural interest whether planted as a single specimen, used as a backdrop, or trained into a multi-trunk tree form. In modern desert landscapes across Chandler, Peoria, and Glendale, Elephant's Food is increasingly used as a high-impact focal point surrounded by decomposed granite or black gravel. For a bolder statement, pair it with a giant agave or sculptural cactus.

Wildlife-Friendly and Eco-Landscape

Elephant's Food is a proven wildlife magnet in Phoenix yards. Hummingbirds, native bees, and butterflies flock to the small pink spring flowers, and birds use the dense canopy for nesting and shelter. It's also one of the most carbon-sequestering plants on the planet — Spekboom forests in South Africa are celebrated for their ability to capture CO₂ at rates rivaling forests. If you're building a pollinator garden in Gilbert or Mesa, Elephant's Food belongs on your list.

Best Time to Plant Elephant's Food in Phoenix

Fall (October–November) is the ideal planting window. Warm soil temperatures encourage rapid root development, while cooler air temperatures reduce transplant stress. A fall-planted Elephant's Food gets 6–8 months of root establishment before its first Phoenix summer, setting it up to thrive for decades. Spring (February–April) is the second-best window. Avoid summer planting if possible — if you must plant in summer, provide afternoon shade for the first few weeks and water more frequently until the plant is established.

How to Plant Elephant's Food

  1. Dig wide, not deep — excavate a hole 2–3 times the width of the root ball and the same depth. Wide holes encourage lateral root spread.
  2. Check for caliche — break through any hardpan caliche layer to ensure water can drain freely. Poor drainage is the #1 killer of Elephant's Food in Arizona.
  3. Backfill with native soil — Portulacaria afra thrives in lean soil. A light 20% organic amendment is fine, but avoid heavy compost or peat.
  4. Spacing — 4–5 feet apart for a dense privacy hedge; 6–8 feet apart for a looser screen; 8–10 feet apart for individual specimens.
  5. Water basin — build a 3–4 inch raised ring of soil around the outer edge of the root zone to direct irrigation water to the roots during establishment.
  6. Mulch — apply 2–3 inches of bark mulch or gravel around the base to retain moisture, regulate soil temperature, and suppress weeds. Keep mulch 2–3 inches away from the trunk.

Watering Elephant's Food in Phoenix

First Year Watering Schedule

Consistent watering during the first year is critical to successful establishment, even for a drought-tolerant plant like Elephant's Food:

  • Weeks 1–2: Water every 1–2 days, deep and slow (20–30 minutes per session)
  • Month 1–2: Reduce to every 3–4 days as roots begin to spread
  • Month 3–6: Every 7–10 days (increase to every 5–7 days during peak summer heat above 110°F)
  • After Year 1: Every 10–14 days in summer; every 3–4 weeks in winter. Established plants handle long dry stretches with ease.

Drip Irrigation

Place drip emitters 18–24 inches from the trunk and use 1–2 GPH emitters per plant. Run for 30–45 minutes per session to ensure deep penetration. Once established, Elephant's Food requires very little supplemental irrigation in Phoenix and can often survive on rainfall alone in non-peak months — one of the most water-efficient large shrubs available in the Valley.

How fast does Elephant's Food grow in Phoenix?
In Phoenix's warm climate and full sun, Elephant's Food typically grows 1–2 feet per year. With regular water during the first two years, some plants can grow even faster, reaching 6–8 feet in just 3–4 years.

Is Elephant's Food truly drought tolerant once established?
Yes — once established (typically after 12–18 months), Portulacaria afra is one of the most drought-tolerant large shrubs available for Phoenix landscapes. Its succulent leaves store water, allowing it to withstand extended dry periods. It may drop some leaves during extreme drought but will rebound quickly once watered.

What's the difference between Elephant's Food and Elephant Bush?
They're the same plant. Portulacaria afra goes by many common names — Elephant's Food, Elephant Bush, Spekboom, and Porkbush are all the same species. At Three Timbers, we also carry a Variegated Elephant's Food with cream and green leaves, which is a slightly slower-growing variety with the same tough characteristics.

Can Elephant's Food handle Phoenix's reflected heat?
Absolutely. Portulacaria afra is native to the harsh, rocky hillsides of South Africa and was built for intense sun and radiant heat. It thrives planted against stucco walls, along south-facing fences, and in areas that would stress most other plants. It's one of the few large shrubs that can handle Phoenix's worst west-facing exposures.

Does Elephant's Food work near pools?
Yes — it's one of the best pool-adjacent plants in the Phoenix area. Its succulent leaves don't create significant litter, its roots are non-invasive, and it handles water splash and humidity without issues. It's a popular choice for creating resort-style poolscapes in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley.

You May Also Like

Variegated Elephant's Food — The same tough, water-wise species in a striking cream-and-green variegated form, perfect for a brighter, more decorative look.

Dwarf Elephant's Food — A compact, slower-growing variety that tops out around 4–5 feet, ideal for borders, containers, and smaller spaces.

Texas Sage — A native desert shrub with silvery foliage and purple blooms that pairs beautifully with Elephant's Food in privacy hedges and mixed borders.

Desert Spoon (Dasylirion) — A bold, architectural accent plant that complements the round, soft foliage of Elephant's Food with dramatic spiky structure.

Ruellia (Mexican Petunia) — A low-growing, prolific bloomer that pairs well at the feet of Elephant's Food hedges for a colorful, layered effect.

How Many Elephant's Food Do I Need?

For a fast privacy screen, space plants 4 to 5 feet on center. For a looser informal screen or where you want each plant to show its sculptural form, use 6 to 8 feet.

Screen run length Dense hedge (4 ft) Loose screen (6 ft)
20 ft 5 plants 4 plants
40 ft 10 plants 7 plants
60 ft 15 plants 10 plants

As a single specimen or multi-trunk feature, give it 8 to 10 feet of clearance so the twisted reddish branches can spread.

Elephant's Food Season-by-Season in Phoenix

  • Spring (Feb–Apr): Strong growth flush and small pink star flowers that draw bees and hummingbirds. Best second planting window after fall.
  • Summer (May–Sep): Peak growth in extreme and reflected heat, even on west-facing walls. Very low water once established. Monsoon humidity poses no problem for these waxy succulent leaves.
  • Fall (Oct–Nov): Prime planting season. Growth continues in the warm soil, giving roots months to establish before winter.
  • Winter (Dec–Jan): Evergreen and steady, but frost-sensitive. Tips and leaves can burn below about 28 to 30°F. In low desert cold snaps, cover young plants or expect cosmetic tip damage that flushes out again in spring.

At a Glance

✔ Evergreen   ✔ Drought-Tolerant   ✔ Heat-Loving (Reflected-Heat Tolerant)   ✔ Pool-Friendly (Low-Litter)   ✔ Pollinator-Friendly   ✔ Hummingbird-Friendly   ✔ Low-Maintenance   ✔ Edible

Plant It With

  • Variegated Elephant's Food: the same tough species in cream and green for a brighter accent in the same bed.
  • Dwarf Elephant's Food: a low, spreading form that layers neatly at the feet of the tall hedge.
  • Texas Sage: silver foliage and purple blooms for color contrast along a privacy screen.
  • Desert Spoon: spiky architectural form that plays off the soft round succulent leaves.

Is Elephant's Food Right for Your Yard?

It thrives in full sun and brutal reflected heat, drains-happy caliche, and needs almost no water once established, making it one of the best fast privacy shrubs in the low desert. The one caveat is frost: it is tender below about 28 to 30°F, so in cold pockets plan to cover young plants on hard frost nights or accept some tip burn that regrows in spring. Not the best fit for a spot that stays wet or poorly drained, since soggy roots will rot a succulent like this.

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David R. Papke
Massapequa, US
★★★★★ 5
Recommended for All Lawyers
Format: Paperback
Meyer proves his initial point that much of what lawyers do is storytelling, and he achieves his goal of providing a primer on narrative theory for lawyer-storytellers. The book is sophisticated but written in an engaging way using non-technical language. Examples from legal and literary works abound, and they range from courtroom arguments and appellate briefs on the one hand to an essay by Joan Didion and Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five" on the other. Meyer's favorite stories are found in Hollywood movies, and although he seems unaware of the accomplishment,Meyer provides fresh interpretations of such movies as "HIgh Noon" and"Jaws." I strongly recommend "Storytelling for Lawyers" for all law students, lawyers, and judges.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2014
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DoubtfulReader
Belleville, US
★★★★★ 3
Notes on Legal Style by a Law Professor and Experienced Lawyer.
Format: Kindle
BOOK REVIEW: MEYER, Philip N., Storytelling for Lawyers ISBN: 978-0-19-5396638 Read June, 13th-27th, 2017. This book discusses storytelling tools by presenting a series of examples of good storytelling, both in legal settings and in literary works and movies. If theoretical explanations are sometimes a bit dry, the frequent quoting of practical examples conveys fluidity and speed to the book. After an introduction presenting lawyers as storytellers, it deals with the roles played in storytelling by Plots (chapters 2 and 3); Character (4 and 5); Voice, Perspective, Details and Images, and Rhytm and Speed (which relate to Scene and Summary) (chapter 6); Place or Story Environment (chapter 7) and Narrative Time. Focusing maybe too narrowly on legal storytelling before American juries, plot is almost equated with melodrama. Films like Jaws and High Noon are extensively discussed, as Gerry Spence’s Closing Argument on Behalf of Karen Silkwood. The chapters on character offer interesting insights on character classification (“round” characters, with psychological depth, prone to suffer transformation as the story evolves, vs. “flat” ones), while discussing the tools for telling how a character is, as opposed to simply showing the psychological nature of each character’s character through dialogue or the actions the character performs. Examples include Tobias Wolff’s This Boy’s Life and Jeremiah Donovan’s Closing Arguments on Behalf of Louis Failla, in a 13-week trial the Author could scrupulously attend in person. Discussions on Voice, Perspective, Details and Images, Scene and Summary, criticize the basic assumptions of the neutrality of lawyers’ voices, exemplifies how to manage details to suggest ideas and emotions, draw on the distinction between showing and telling, and offers interesting insights into the narrative theory’s concept of stretch (the slowing of the narrative rhythm in relation to the narrated story’s). Environment depiction storytelling tools deals with Joan Didion’s The White Album and the Judicial Opinion in a Rape Case, quoting also from W. G. Sebald’s The Emigrants and the Petition Briefs in Reck v. Ragen and Miranda v. Arizona. Further examples are Kathryn Harrison’s While They Slept and the Petitioner’s Brief in Eddings v. Oklahoma. Finally, the chapter on Narrative Time draws on Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five and explores time, rhythm or speed, discussing more deeply stretch and the relation of time of the narrative itself with the time of the facts dealt with in the narrative. Chronology is discussed and criticized; Analepsis or Flashback is didactically explained and exemplified, both in general storytelling theory and in its legal use; the same holds for Prolepsis (Flash-forward) and Ellipsis (the intentional omission of a part of the narrative, often with the purpose of emphasizing the omitted event. Pacing and Rhythm are discussed in more lenght, with the caveat - repeated somewhat throughout the book - that legal stories are often left unfinished by the lawyer, in order to allow the jurors or judges fill the end with their decision. The Author remarks his purpose was to suggest possible tools and ways of dealing with problems which arise in legal storytelling, and he delivers what he promises.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2017
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Matt M.
Cuba, US
★★★★★ 5
Great book and great professor
Format: Paperback
Professor Meyer is a great writer. I had took his death penalty case at Vermont Law School. He writes for numerous magazines including the ABA. I would highly recommend this book and all of his writings.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2021
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J. Christian
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 4
Interesting book
Format: Paperback
I am not a lawyer, nor a writer, but rather a reader. I found the correlation of legal storytelling with sceenplay, literary narrative quite interesting. Legal trials are theater.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2014
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Classics professor
Birmingham, US
★★★★★ 5
Highly recommended -- not just for lawyers!
Format: Paperback
I'm not a lawyer but a Classics professor looking for modern parallels to (and contrasts with) Cicero's persuasive strategies in Roman courts. This book was just what I was looking for: lucid, informative, smart, and as a bonus, well versed in narrative theory, which Meyer handles as an experienced teacher -- avoiding jargon and needless complication, illustrating the key ideas with well-known cinematic examples.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2017

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