MY SCHEFFLERA

Help. my scheflerra is big( 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide)! Alot of its bigness is because some of its branches are long(longer than the majority of the other branches) and lanky. I don't know how to put pictures on the computer or i would send u one to see. But i feel if i could prune it , it would make its appearance more appealing. Can u prune these kind of plants? thanks, u guys have been great for helping me in the past and it is greatly appreciated!

Shefs are easy to trim up and sprout. I trimmed mine a few weeks back and put what I had trimmed off in pots and they are showing signs of growth. I will sell these at my next garage sale :)

just stick the branch in soil?

That is what I did and it worked great.

hmmmm ... I know I posted here last night and thought I included a photo too. Must be gremlins in my computer again.

Anyway, I have been growing Scheff's for a long time. I cut them back and like planolinda and swampguy says you can just stick the branches in soil and they should root. Just don't overwater or they will rot. I use a rooting hormone powder and that seems to speed up the rooting.

I have two huge Scheff's that were originally houseplants and years ago I planted them in the yard. BIG MISTAKE! Those things are Monsters. One Is planted next to our screened pool enclosure and the root system is cracking the cement deck! We are going to end up cutting it down next spring and trying to get the roots out so it doesn't grow back. It's going to really be a job because the roots are not easy! I will probably use some of what we cut down to root for house plants. Here's a photo of one of them in my backyard. I pulled all the bottom branches off so that the stuff growing in the flower bed below could get light! You can see that this guy is taller than the house! Down here in the South, some plants just take off and never stop growing. If we have frost or a hard freeze this thing gets knocked back to the ground but always comes back in spring. It is rare for us to have freezing temps lasting more than a night or two at a time in winter.

Wow, Lin!
Sorry to hear that baby has 'wreaked havoc', but nonetheless...it's FABULOUS!

You'd have a great looking 'standard' plant if you used one of those trunks as a houseplant.

LOL Nan ... I'd have to chop it back for quite aways for it to fit inside the house. We only have the standard 8'? ceilings, but I hope to get quite a few nice plants from this Monster when we take it down! There's another one over the other side of the screen enclosure in the backyard too ... almost as big as this one but not quite. Still going to be a job trying to get those roots out. We need to have our pool and deck re-surfaced. Whenever we decide to spend the $$ on that we definitely don't want these trees staying to have those roots crack the deck again! I don't have a clue what posessed me to plant them where I did. They wreck havok with their root systems. I've even heard they will crack and damage the cement foundation of a house if planted close enough! And, one of ours is right up next to the house!

Well, I didn't mean the *whole* trunk! LOL!!

But wouldn't a standard Scheff look great with a big fat trunk - you know, like Bonsai BIG TIME!

What a shame about the roots -vs- the deck and possibly the foundation!

Oh, that would look neat! I have a little ficus benjamina that I bought last spring at Wal-Mart that is growing like a Bonsai. But, wouldn't a huge Scheff Bonsai be neat?

OK. Here's the problem I'm having, not just with the Schefflera, but in general.
Compare these sites:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/715139/ [DON'T OVERWATER]

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/716/ [DON'T ALLOW TO GO DRY]

I find this kind of stuff all over the place. Seems like there should be a verifiable watering standard, no?

Thanks,
Bill, confused

(Ü)You'd think so, but that would definitely have a lot to do with the environment the plant is growing in. (The warmer the temperature and the more light the plant is receiving - the more water it needs.)

That post by 'sunshine12' did say that they need a lot of water 'during the summer', and he/she goes on to say
"Yellow, falling leaves- This is often the result of too much water, or water that has been left in saucer below. It does NOT like "wet feet"! Let it dry out and water less in the future. Empty that saucer!!!"

When I tried to grow this Schefflera at home it was suffering from leaf loss, and I know I didn't overwater - the problem for me was not enough light. The plant I bought (this was years ago) stated that it needed 'medium' light - HA!!
I've found it needs quite bright light when speaking of *indoor* growing, with just a few windows (no skylights, no greenhouse, no sunroom, etc. - just windows).

I brought all of mine to work where there is a large unobstructed window facing east that also gets some light from the south and they're growing quite well - thought I'm not usually one to water by a 'schedule', I do water these once a week - on Friday before I leave for the weekend.

There is a whole lot of conflicting cultural information out there on a lot of plants, isn't there?!

Well, I don't think you'd want to OVERWATER any plant because it could cause root rot and fungus diseases. There are many plants that like to be kept real wet and others that need to be on the dry side.

Now, when something says DON'T ALLOW TO DRY OUT ... LOL, I have so many plants and in the summer time it is so hot a lot of things dry out before I can get to them to water them. I think that statement really means that you shouldn't let them go for a long period of time without watering .... don't let them get so dry between waterings that they get so stressed that they can't recover.

Now, if you look at the ground around this Scheff in my backyard, you will see a LOT of yellow leaves! This tree gets water with the irrigation system that is on twice a week but we have been real dry here for a year and this tree has continously had yellow leaves and branches. Down here in Florida so many plants grow monstrous in size. For this area of Florida, this is a smallish Scheff.

p.s. Apologies to everyone who has seen this photo a zillion times!

edited to say: I forgot to add ... plants will do differently for different people depending on the growing conditions in their homes too ... some have very dry conditions with heat in the winter that makes plants dry out pretty quickly. Here in the South where I live, we have so much humidity year round that plants don't dry out as much.

This message was edited Oct 24, 2007 1:19 PM

Hello everyone, I have a mystery plant. I think it is a Scheff but I'm not sure and it was given to me. It was in rough shape when I got it and in worse shape now. PLEASE HELP! What size pot should it be in? How often should I water it? Can it be saved? Is it a Scheff?
HELP

Looks to be in poor shape. I think it is a Schefflera from what I see but it does look like it needs a lot of TLC. The soil looks very, very dry on top. Do you know if it has any moisture an inch or two below the surface? I would take it completely out of the pot and inspect the roots. If it is root bound you should repot in a larger pot. It wouldn't hurt to give it fresh soil. You should water it well and you can cut back those branches to see if you have any green wood, or if it is all dead. I would keep cutting until you see green wood to be sure it's still alive.

Here's info in Plant Files for the Schefflera: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/37035/

Thanks Lin. what type of soil should I use? Should I use some sort of fertilizer? if so what/
I checked the soil and there is no moisture within the top inch or two. I was originally told that these don't like water and to water it about once every 2-3 weeks? Should I still repot and cut it back? Water it well and should it be near sun or shade?

This message was edited Nov 19, 2007 8:08 PM

I just use Miracle Grow Potting soil because that is what I find locally. I just add perlite to the mix to help in drainage. A 20-20-20 fertilizer or anything specifically for house plants would be fine .... I would just use half strength.

Good luck with your plant, I hope it can be saved and that it will grow and thrive for you!

Thanks for your advice Lin but it was too late :( my plant is dead