lopsided schefflera

I have the job of caring for the plants in our office at work. We have a very lopsided schefflera with two stems. About a year ago I repotted all the office plants in Miracle grow potting soil. I had hoped that the short stem of the schefflera might catch up a little to the tall one but no such luck. It seems to be very happy in its new pot and soil but is now an even taller lopsided plant. One stem is over 3 feet tall and the other is about half that. The stems are about the thickness of a adult's fingers. Can I cut back the tall stem? If so how far back would you recommend?

If I do cut it back can I root the piece I remove? I'd appreciate advice.

Yes, you can cut back the taller stem. I would cut it just about the same height than the shorter stem. I have cut mine back severly at least 3 times and it has always re-grown to a full-sized plant.

I don't know what to tell you about rooting the piece you cut off. I think plants with 'woody" stems do better with air-layering.

I am sure someone else will give you more advice.

Gita

Do you mean it is lopsided because it is leaning or lopsided because one branch is taller than the other? If you have two separate rooted trunks, you can plant them each up separately. A lot of times there are two or three planted in a container and sold at garden center's as one plant. I find them to be very easy to propagate by rooting the cuttings. I sometimes use rooting hormone but have rooted many cuttings by just sticking them in a pot of soil. There are ten listed in Plant Files: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=scheffflera&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search&searcher[genus]=Schefflera

I have a Huge one planted in the ground in my back yard. This used to be a house plant many years ago. This photo is from a few years ago and the tree is much larger now: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/161029/

Oh, wow is that beautiful. Couldn't do that here up north though.

It's lopsided because one stem is more than twice as tall as the other. I don't know if they are two separate pieces. I never thought of that.

I think I will cut back the taller stem. It's really hard for me to cut off that beautiful growth but I know the plant will be much more attractive if I do. I'm encouraged to hear that I might be able to root that piece. I'll check out the PlantFiles first to see what I can do to save it.

Thanks for the help.

You could take it out of the pot, shake off the soil and see if you have two separate trees there and if so, pot them up in two separate pots.

Keep us posted!

They grow the small Scheff 'Trinette' with the variegated foliage as hedges in some areas down here too. I have a couple of those in containers. They don't get real huge and make nice house plants.

Here's the link to Plant Files for "Trinette": http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/153712/

As soon as I can remember to take my camera to the office I'll take a picture and post it. Then you can all tell me if I have the plant identified correctly. I really want to do what's best for the plant so I appreciate everyone's help.

I wish I'd known to check to see if it is two plants when I repotted it last year. Maybe I can dig down a little into the soil and see if the two stems are joined.

Chris,

I would never dig up and divide a mature Houseplant! Let it be! There's nothing wrong with 2 stems of anything growing in one pot. Prune back as needed, that's all.

I just think that it would not recover from this, as I am sure the roots are intertwined, and you would lose the whole plant. Up to you, though.....

Just my opinion! Gita

hmm ... I've divided Schefflera's as well as other plants many many times, but I live in a very warm climate with a lot of humidity all year round and have been doing this for thirty some years, without any problems.

If you are happy with the looks of your plant with two stems/trunks in one pot, as Gitagal said, there is no reason to dig it up and separate them, you can leave it alone and just prune it to the desired height. You can root the pruned branch/branches for additional plants.

It's fine with two stems. It's not a huge plant. It's just so out of whack with the one stem so tall and the other less than half as tall. I think it will be much more attractive if it's more balanced. I guess I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and cut back that tall stem.

Now in the last three weeks or so a few of the lowest leaves have been turning yellow. it hasn't done that before as far as I can remember. Do you think I just need to fertilize or does this happen naturally as the branches age?

Gosh, I feel dumb. I do all my gardening outdoors - can't grow houseplants because I have cats that will try to eat anything green (even fake plants sometimes). And the sad part is that I am considered the plant expert in the office. I am a once a week volunteer at the office and I have come in after a vacation and all the plants are drooping pathetically from lack of water. No one even seems to notice that the poor things are dying. Aargh!!!

Now I have taken to assigning someone to water when I know I'll be gone, usually another volunteer.

Anyway I appreciate everyone's advice. I did look up some info online but it seems to help me more to hear person to person advice like you've all given me.

Thanks

Chris,

Scheffleras like to be on the dry side. If you water too much, they will start dropping leaves.
Water only once every couple of weeks--depending on how big the pot is. The bigger the pot--the longer the soil will stay wet.
Now--when you DO water--water well! None of this surface watering.....The water never makes it down to the roots if you do not water deeply. Wait until the surface is dry as far as you can stick your finger in the soil to water again.

Don't know about the yellowing.....Might be just an older leaf? Not enough light? ???
Scheffs. like bright light.

Gita

As regards watering, I water once a week and the pot is always totally dry when I come the next week. It sits on a table over a radiator - which I'm sure dries it out in winter, and it is also in front of a large west facing window so it gets lots of sun in summer and dries out. I always water until I see that water is coming out the bottom of the pot, because I know it will be dry by the time I get to it again. My options for where to place it are pretty limited.

Do you think I should put it in a bigger pot. I did put it in a larger pot when I repotted last year but maybe I should have gone bigger? It does seem to be doing well (except for the recent yellow leaves).

Chris

Scheffs. do not need big pots. The can stay happily root-bound...
Maybe the radiator and the heat is responsible for the yellowing leaves?

You did not say how big a pot it is now?

I have had one for close to 20 years. It started out in a 4" pot and then a 6" pot when I was still working for the Grower. because it had sat smushed up against the plastic of the Greenhouse, it was all crooked. I asked if I could have it, and he said--OK! It has now lived in a 14" pot for about 10 years. In the Summer, I take it outside (I take ALL my plants outside!) and put it in pretty good light. It grows and grows. I have totally cut it back twice, and in one season, it will re-grow in a big plant.

It NEVER has any problems or "issues"....A really easy plant to have.

Gita

If it was just a leaf or two it may be nothing to worry about--every once in a while my scheff will drop a leaf or two for no apparent reason, but as long as it's just a couple leaves and it looks happy otherwise and leaves don't continue to yellow and drop then don't worry about it. If it's continuing to happen though maybe you could post a pic of the plant and someone will probably be able to figure out what's going on.

Hello Chris_h.
Here's a picture of a schefflera the I've had since 2004, I think it's about the same size as yours. I've repotted and pruned it twice. I like the height that the taller stem gives the plant but since I took this picture last month, the taller stem is growing so much that it's not as pretty as the picture, so, I'm going to prune the taller part and try to root it. The last time I tried to root the cutting, it didn't make it, maybe this one will. Good luck with yours.

Hey plantladylin, that's a beautiful tree!! I wish I could plant mine outside but I don't think it would last through the cold months.

Here's the plant. You can see what I mean by lopsided. I do think a little imbalance can be kind of artistic but this is too much. In fact the right hand branch barely seems to be growing at all.

And here's a close up of those yellow leaves. I removed two last week and these are two more and there appears to be one just starting to turn on the back side of the plant. I'm sure hoping this isn't going to continue.

Chris

Oh wow, I see what you mean. I started pruning my plant when it was smaller and that helped it to put out branches that gives it a more balanced look. As suggested in earlier replies, looks like you're going to have to do some serious pruning and watch the watering to get rid of those yellow leaves. I use a water meter to help me determine when it's time to water. It's one of the best investments I've made for my plants. I would go ahead and remove those yellow leaves, it'll make the plant look better.

I had problem with my schefflera because potting mix didn't drain very well. I even lost two plants out of four about one year ago. So I repotted them in a mix of 1 part regular potting soil and 1 part orchid bark, and it is doing fine ever since. I let it sit dry for a while between waterings. It seems that these plants can handle dry conditions very well, but really dislike being wet for too long.

Thanks. I did remove the yellow leaves after I took the picture. Does my pot look about the right size?

It was odd but today when I went to water the plants this one was still quite damp. I don't think that has ever happened before. It usually seems to be bone dry. I asked if anyone else had watered it and no one had. I'll start watching the water more carefully. Maybe it's not drying out as completely as I've been thinking. I'll dig down a little further the next time it looks dry before I decide how much to water.

And I'll be taking my pruners next week and cut back that tall stem.

By the way, how much, if at all, do you fertilize a schefflera grown as a houseplant?

Thanks to everyone for the help.

P.S. to LHicks - I want my plant to look like yours!

This message was edited Mar 18, 2008 11:01 PM

Based on information I've read in several books, I feed everytime I water using 1/2 the amount of plant food recommended on the package. I use Miracle-Gro in the powder form. If the plant is not showing any active growth, I use plain water and I don't water as often as when the plant is not growing.

Also in reference to watering, get familiar with how heavy the pot feels after the plant has been watered and how light it feels when the plant needs water. I use this method with my orchids and smaller plants. But for larger plants (like my umbrella tree), I use my water meter.

In reference to your pot size, it's hard for me to say. I go by how big the root ball is rather than how big the plant itself is. I like to leave 2-3 inches of space between the root ball and the pot.

Good luck with your pruning. It's definately the way to change the look of a plant. If you're not sure where to prune, take your plant or a picture of your plant to a nursery for some good advise on pruning.

chris,

A general observation.....
If your plant has stopped absorbing the water as it has done-usually, I would suspect that some of the roots may have become rotten and cannot absorb water any more. Perhaps this would also explain the yellowing leaves. You said that it seemed wet even though it was time for watering. This, to me, is a dead giveaway that something is wrong with the roots.

IF this is the case--you would now need to unpot the whole plant and examine the roots. Shake off all the soil and trim away any that are dark and mushy until all you have left are healthy, white roots.
Then get rid of all the old soil, sterilize your pot (soaking it in water and Chlorine) and repot the plant in fresh potting mix, making sure that you DO NOT change the depth the plant was growing at before! This is a very common mistake. ALWAYS replant a plant so it sits at the same level it was before--adding any extra soil to the bottom of the pot as needed to achieve this. Top-dressing with about 1/2" of fresh soil is OK.

Your pot looks an appropriate size to me.

Gita

I've never had this plant stay moist for a full week like this time. I'm really going to focus in on the watering. I'll see if I can lift the plant out of the pot without disturbing the roots just to see what's going on. I'll try to get that issue resolved before I start any feeding.

Thanks

chris,

If there are root problems--focusing on the watering will be, by now, useless.
And--you may have to "disturb the roots" to see what shape they are in. Be brave! Take off some of the soil and prune away any rotten, mushy roots. Believe me and please do as I say.

Never feed a plant that is sickly--or is having problems. Nothing will be gained from feeding it. Try to find out WHAT is wrong first. Then--try to correct it and then let the plant "BE" for a while to see if it will recover. Give it some R&R.

As you assess the problem--or the recovery--do not fertilize! Do not put it in any bright light! Keep it somewhere "protected" for a few weeks. Let it "heal" and recover.

Think of a person recovering from a major illness or surgery. You would NOT take that person out to a steak dinner! You would not take him/her for a weekend on the Beach! You would let the person rest comfortably on a couch--or in bed for a while checking on him every now and then to see if he is all right. When you feel he has recovered--you may start to feed him some solid foods and see how it goes.....slowly.....

It is the same with a plant after you have pruned it's roots or branches---repotted it--sprayed it for some kind of insect infestation, etc....Let it "BE" and keep an eye on it!

Good luck! Gita

I am going to remove it from the pot to see what is going on. I may be back for more advice when I see what's happening in there. Thanks!

Please post any pictures ans you do this, OK? Seeing how something looks is always better than just reading about it.

Happy Easter to you!

Gita

Okay, here are a couple of pictures of the roots. I'm very relieved to say that they do not seem to be mushy at all. They feel firm and plenty of new white roots are visible. I only watered it a very little bit last week and the soil was still damp today (not wet, just damp). Could it just be the season? Leaves do still seem to be turning yellow, however.

And I did cut it back. I'm hoping for the best. Any other suggestions are welcome.

another photo - much the same as the first

I think it is planted too deep. These like to be planted with the top of the rootball just above the soil. They will actually produce aerial roots. Shake the roots loose a bit & put it in a pot about 2 inches larger than the one its in. Don't water it for a few days. Keep us posted.

Chris--
WHEW! Good to see that there is nothing wrong with the roots!--other that it does seem quite root bound. As teri suggested--it might be a good idea to pot it up one size pot.

Now--see all those roots on the bottom wound up like a ball of yarn? It will help if you can GENTLY tease some of them loose before repotting. Just find the end of one of the roots and gently pull. See if you can "unwind" them and then put the root mass in the bigger pot. Usually, a pot 2" bigger in diameter will also be 2" deeper. Put the extra 2" of soil in the bottom of the pot first and firm it down some, then position your plant so that the level it was used to be growing at will be the same.

Now--dribble the new soil into the pot around the plant roots "thumping" the pot on the table every so often to settle it around the loosened roots. Air pockets around roots is not good. When it seems full, take your fingers and poke them up and down in the soil, all around the edges, pushing it and firming it down. Add more soil mix as needed until everything seems good to you. Water in slightly to settle the soil and then let it be for a few weeks to recover. Keep it out of direct sunlight during this period. DO NOT feed with anything!!!!

Good luck! I know you can do a good job on this plant as, i am sure, you have learned a lot here. Besides---we all will be here for you tro "hold your hand"....:o)

Best---Gita

Being rootbound like that can cause some of the leaves to yellow and drop--when a plant is rootbound it's in pretty much a constant state of water stress, it's very hard for it to get the right amount of water. So if you untangle the roots and get it in a bigger pot hopefully you shouldn't get any more yellowing leaves.

Now I'm a bit confused. Gitagal, you said in an earlier post that Scheffleras can stay happily root bound. I'm assuming that mine is too root bound, right? I will definitely try re-potting in a larger pot following your instructions. It certainly took off like wildfire the last time I re-potted it.

Since terichris thinks it may be too deep I'll be extra careful not to let it get any deeper when I re-pot, but should I try to take a little soil off the top or is it too late for that?

I just thought of another question. You advise carefully teasing some of the tightly bound roots loose. Why shouldn't I cut through the root ball in a few places as is sometimes advised when planting perennials or shrubs outdoors? Just curious.

I guess you can all see I am really a novice with houseplants.

Careful teasing is usually the preferred approach, cutting through the rootball is a more violent substitute for cases where the roots are wound so tight that you can't easily tease them apart. So I'd tease if possible since you damage fewer roots that way.

Chris--I really don't have an answer to your question about the root bound state. I know I said earlier that it can live in this state. What I see "different" in your plant's root-bound picture is that all th roots seem to be in the bottom and they have, tightly, conformed to the shape of the pot. The main root ball does not look root bound at all!
Perhaps (just hypothesizing here) it simply ran out of nutrients at the tight bottom?

Sorry! As I said--I cannot really explain any of this....

NO! Do not take any soil off the top as you will be injuring many, tiny feeder roots that are near the surface. You can shake some off--whatever comes freely and then, after re-potting, "top-dress" with maybe 1/2" of fresh soil.

Cutting through root balls is usually recommended for pot-bound plants like potted Mums and Azaleas. If you were to pull one of them out of the pot and look at the root mass--it would be like fine, matted hair. Solid! No way could you find any roots there to pull apart, so you make about 4 perpendicular cuts through the root ball to give someplace for new roots to come from.

ecrane--what would you think if Chris simply cut off the lower mess of roots from the bottom as there is a second "ring" of roots above it? This would be a bit more drastic!
Even if the root mass at the top is the same roots as at the bottom--this would simply be "root-pruning" the plant. Me thinks it would still recover.......Your opinion?

Gita

Sorry I didn't get back here last week. I was busy planning a bridal shower. Now that's over and I can get back to other things.

Today more leaves on the schefflera are turning yellow. I looked a little more on the internet and actually found varying advice, some of it conflicting. One suggested adding liquid iron a couple of times a year to prevent leaves from yellowing but I'm not sure that's referring to the issue I'm dealing with, as my leaves are yellowing and eventually falling off. I think with iron deficiency the leaves don't actually fall off, right?

Some others mentioned mites, but my leaves seem to be smooth and clean. I'll look carefully next week but I doubt that's the problem.

Another said it might be a sign that the plant is not receiving enough light, but it is right in front of a very large west facing window. I think it get plenty of light especially since everyone also says it does not need a lot of light.

By golly, I'm determined to solve this mystery. I'll be keeping in touch with you all.

thanks

The yellowing leaves from iron deficiency will start with the newest leaves first, and they won't be plain yellow, they'll be mostly yellow but around the veins will be green. Mites usually cause a stippled yellow pattern, it's pretty distinctive once you've seen it once! And with them, you wouldn't just see them on the lower leaves, they'd be on a lot more of them.

Did you repot it already based on the previous suggestions? If you did and especially if you did some root teasing/cutting in the process, that can make the plant go through some transplant shock afterwards, and the yellowing leaves could be a sign of that. Or if you haven't repotted, then the pictures that you showed earlier of it being rootbound combined with the yellowing leaves tells me you ought to try repotting.

Gita--sorry I missed your earlier question...personally I wouldn't cut off that whole mass of roots, I'd just tease them apart as much as possible and put it in a larger pot. Some plants would do fine, but I've never done anything that drastic to a scheff so I honestly don't know how it would respond. Chances are it would recover especially if you prune the top a little bit too, but it puts potentially unecessary stress on the plant.

I haven't repotted it yet because I don't have a pot the right size but I plan to get one this weekend. I will tease the roots apart as suggested here. I'll let you all know if there is any improvement.

I have another question. If I get this plant healthy again, will new leaves grow where the yellowed ones have dropped off?

chris,

NO. New leaves just grow from the tops of the branches. That is why many older plants get to looking like small "trees"--with long, bare stems at the bottom. I am sure a few of the roots will break off as you "tease" them apart. Just wanted to tell you ahead of time that it will still be OK. You have more than compensated losing a few roots by cutting off half of the top. There will be a balance....

You certainly are determined to save this plant! I would have, long ago, canned it and bought a new one. Having worked with houseplants for over 20 years in various jobs, I have no patience with sickly, dying plants. They can always be replaced.....

Good luck, Gita

Thanks for the info, Gita. If this were my own plant I might give up but I feel guilty because it's the office plant and it's been around there for so long. I don't want to feel like I killed it. Time will tell, I guess.