hi, I got a Portulucaria Afra plant a few months ago. At first it was doing great. Then a few weeks ago there were little mushrooms growing in the pot, I got rid of them. Then there were gnats. I've gotten rid of most of them just by removing dead matter. Leaves have been dropping like crazy, there are almost none left. I thought maybe the problem was overwatering (though I didn't feel like I was watering it a ton, it was moist a few inches down), so I stopped watering it entirely -- haven't given it any water for at least 3 weeks. The leaves haven't gotten yellow, when they drop they are either green and really delicate or, lately, they go brown and drop. I'm worried about root rot. I'm using cactus soil, but maybe the plant hasn't drained well, dunno. Is there anything I can do to save the plant? Thanks immensely for any help you can provide. Lily

I'm no expert but it looks like a plant that likes lots of light. Fungus gnats love plants under stress. I'd recommend putting it under a grow light if you have one but if not any light you can give it will be better than little light.

Get some 6500k cool white bulbs, the higher the lumens the better and break of the defusers for more direct light. There are many options for cheap alternative grow lights or put the plant outside.

The pot is way too big. It leads to watering issues. You must not overwater this plant!!
I use a mixture of one half potting soil and one half gritty sand. The soil must drain rapidly! Your soil to me in my opinion does not look like cactus soil. That soil should "never feel moist a few inches down"!!! You are overwatering it.
The mushrooms sprout with too much moisture. The fungus gnats thrive with soil moisture. You need to put it in a smaller pot with adequate drainage holes and mix in coarse sand or 50% cactus soil.
It is not a high light plant. I grow mine in a West window where it is fairly dull all day and just brighter for a few late afternoon hours. It does not get direct sun.

Thank you so much. This is really helpful. Once I put it in a smaller pot, etc, is there anything I should do with dead-ended branches like this one (the shorter one in the photo)? Should I prune them or just let them do their thing?
Thanks a million.

Let them do their thing. They will die back some, but eventually they might sprout new leaves and branches.

Thanks for all these helpful suggestions. After putting the plant in a smaller pot two days ago, the soil dried and gnats disappeared. Yesterday the soil felt totally dry. But today, oddly, I feel the tiniest bit of moisture again (really faintly, but somehow it's there, a few inches down). I haven't watered the plant at all, so I'm not sure where that comes from, but basically I'm wondering, when should I water the plant again? I haven't for about a month and the room it's in is very dry. It has no leaves right now, but a few tiny buds. Should I wait for the soil to get bone-dry, assuming it will?

Just the top 1/2" or so. Those pesky gnats prefer moist soil.

I have one growing with my two hoyas. I water them when I remember. Sometimes it's ten days, sometimes it's three weeks. Not one of them seems to suffer.