My poor schefflera :(

I keep looking at my thumbs longing for them to be green but, alas, they are not lol :) However, I'm not giving up!

The leaves on my schefflera were curling, turning brown, dropping off... so it seems I overwatered it... I figured that much out. So I've let it dry out now and the leaves look a little better, but still (like all my houseplants) not flourishing. They're not turning brown, but the're still kind of curled and the whole plant looks droopy.

So, I'm wondering if it's time to water again. The soil is powdery...not packed at all. It's dry as a bone about an inch down and then just barely barely moist if I stick my finger all the way down (still not packed though). I'm not even sure if it's moist. It feels a little colder and just maybe barely moist. So I want to water it, but last time I watered it, it got worse. I can't seem to get the knack of this! Also, does it matter if I use tap water? My schefflera thanks you in advance :)

I bought a Schefflera that was totally waterlogged and in horrible shape. It was 25c, so I couldn't resist. Anyway, I brought it home, repotted it and barely watered it at all. Then I let it dry out, but did not leave it dry for any length of time. I checked it everyday til I was convinced it was dry, then watered it. When I watered it, I put Hydrogen Peroxide in the water, 10 parts water to 1 part peroxide, but I did not fully water it, just enough to moisten the top inch or so of soil. I did that same thing everytime I watered til I saw new growth. If it were mine, and I suspected that the soil might be still moist, I wouldn't water it. Now I realize that Scheffs are not supposed to dry out, but I've found that most plants can handle underwatering much better than they can stand being overwatered.
I use plain tap water on most of my houseplants. Some people will suggest that you draw up water and let it sit out overnight so the chlorine can evaporate. If you choose not to water it today, then go ahead and let it sit. Can't hurt. I water whenever I have a spare minute, so mine get tap water and seem to do alright with it.
You might wish to wait and see if someone else gives you different advice and do whichever sounds better to you. Whatever you do, I wish you the best of luck with it! Keep us posted on how it does.

I let my Schefflera dry out all the time and it does just fine. I would recommend repotting in new soil and cut out any roots that appear to be dead, then the hydrogen peroxide suggestion is also good. The roots probably started to rot a bit when the plant was previously overwatered, and the fungus is still in the soil and any more moisture (even if it's not technically overwatered) will increase the chances that the roots can continue to rot. I've always had better luck resurrecting overwatered plants when I've repotted them in fresh soil and removed the damaged roots.

Scheffs are very prone to both scale insects, and red spider mites. Check for stickiness or webs, and look carefully at the leaves and stems with a magnifying glass. I have found that systemic poisons do the best job at killing the unwelcome critters.

Susan in Minneapolis

Thanks Susan, I'll check it out.

I checked it again and it seemed really dry so I went ahead and watered it today just a little. If the leaves start turning brown again, I'll repot it and cut off the bad roots. I thought I'd give it a try the easy way first before repotting it. Thank you for all your advice. I'll keep you posted :)

Ok, I just came in from this Texas heat and I'm about ready to have a heat stroke trying to save this poor innocent plant lol :) I should have documented the entire thing with pictures, but I didn't so I'm going to try to explain this and see if you think there's hope... or to let me know what I might have done wrong. I've never really even looked at the roots of a plant so I just winged it :)


I took it out of the pot and noticed that the dirt around the roots felt moist and very packed, but when I started digging into it, it was dry as a bone... like sand... all around the roots. And, the roots were all thick and brown.

So, I shook it and got all the dirt out from around the roots and repotted it with fresh dirt which I put below, around and on top of the roots and I gave it a lot of water and it's sitting on my balcony draining.

As it is now, there are 4 stems coming up and they all look green. I pulled a 5th one out because it had turned brown. There are a lot of branches on the stems all the way up the stems, but they are all drooping down instead of standing up. And lots of leaves, but the leaves at the bottom are curling.

But hopefully all the branches will start standing up again and the leaves will perk up now? Is there hope? Oh, one more thing... the branches all look really long. Longer than they were when I bought it and longer than the ones in pictures I see.

It sounds like it is on its way to recovery - good advice to repot it with fresh soil. If the current form is bothering you, you can cut off some limbs & stick them into the soil to root. They root easily, & then the original plant can be reshaped. Be sure to keep it in the shade when outdoors - excess sun may burn & further stress the plant. New growth often droops, as the leaves have not firmed up yet. Scheffleras are notoriously tough plants! My guess is that once it bounces back, there will be no stopping this plant :)
Julie

One more thing...

It seemed like it was in a pot that was too big, although when I bought the plant it was a lot bigger and bushier. But anyway, there was a lot of dirt in the pot that seemed completely disconnected from the clump of dirt that was surrounding the roots. So I put it in a smaller pot. So it was like the water wasn't reaching the roots or something.... hmmmm..............

I have seen this when the soil becomes too compacted - perhaps from extreme drying out/waterlogging cycles. You have probably saved this plant by repotting - it will reward you with lush new foliage soon-
I have a spare Schefflera if you would like another to add to your plants :)

Julie, thank you so much for your encouragement and also your offer to add a schefflera to my collection. I think I'd better make sure I don't kill this one before taking on another :)

One thing I want to clarify. The drooping branches I'm referring to.... it's not the new growth. It's the old growth that used to look compact and stand up straight. Now every branch is longer and droops way down. There aren't any branches standing facing up. It looks like a very sad plant :( As for new growth.... I wish! :)