Umbrella Tree...Problems, Care

Watseka, IL

Hello, I have a small umbrella tree...it's kind of out of control, and I'm not sure what to do with it. This tree and I have been on a roller coaster as far as its general appearance/health seem to be. I got the tree about 1.5 years ago, and it was just a tiny sprout when I got it. This past winter I noticed it was having a tendency to get a nearly yellow appearance and was very wilty. Once this spring hit, I transplanted it to a larger pot and put it outside up until very recently. Up until about two weeks ago, it was doing fabulous. Admitedly, once placing it outside, I had a tendency to neglect it. I live in IL (if that is any climate indication). I noticed that it has some dark brown spots on it and some leaves have a wrinkly appearance (even though their color is good). Some of the leaves are starting to yellow. I'm not sure if I somehow scorched it (it's been pretty hot lately and has probably gotten more sun than it should), or if I've over/underwatered it. The pot its in has drainage holes. My main question is, should I or do I need to prune it, if so, how, and why are the leaves turning funny? I have inspected it closely for bugs, and haven't found any. I have brought it back inside so I can give it closer attention and TLC. Also, how much water is "too much"? About how many times a week should I water it? Also, today I gave it some miracle grow plant food (a blue powder you mix with a gallon of water). I hope I didn't just seal its fate....please help!

Thumbnail by ashla85
Rolesville, NC(Zone 7b)

I'm not going to be a whole lot of help because I can never seem to keep one of these alive (although I'm pretty sure all of mine rotted from too frequent watering). But I will give you some general advice. First of all, most plants do not like the sudden change from indoors to outdoors (or visa versa) especially if the sunlight exposure is changing dramatically. It's best if you can slowly acclimate them to their new location. Second, houseplants such as schefflera like to be a bit root bound so potting them up into a container that is too much larger than the rootball can do more harm than good. Next, if you have a plant that is stressed out for unknown reasons, fertilizer is not the answer and can sometimes make things worse (especially Miracle Gro which is junk food for plants, but that lecture is for another day).
It's hard to tell what's causing the spots on your foliage. Yes, it could be sunburn but it could also be fungal. A close-up of an affected leaf would help.

Hull, United Kingdom

Hi ashla85,there is a thread on the beginner houseplants on how to prune a Shefflera plant,with a whole lot of other helpful info on Umbrella plants,there maybe something on there that may answer your question.Hope this helps.

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