sick dwarf schefflera

I have a schefflera in my office. It's still fairly small although it's by no means a baby (2 yrs old?). It sits in a south facing window.

Lately, I've noticed that the new and newer growth is emerging as yellowing leaves with brown spots. What am I doing wrong? I really don't think I'm overwatering and I only fertilize once a month during the non-winter season.

Help!

From my experience I would say you probably ARE overwatering and not realize it. You can pop it out of its container and check to see if the medium is wet, wet, wet or even very dry or if the roots are circled. If they are circled around the bottom the plant needs a bigger pot, untangle the roots as much as possible and repot using all new potting material. Fertilizing once a month seems excessive to me and I think you are probably wasting your time, money and fertilizer. Use a time release fertilizer at 1/2 strength about twice a year or 1/4 to 1/2 strength fertilizer about every 3 months. Hope this helps to some extent and you come out w/a beautiful plant. Remember that just because the top is small the roots probably aren't. For me sheffs grow like weeds and I keep cutting them back as they get too tall and then I root the cuttings (stick them in good soil, water and forget). Good luck!

Ann

I agree on the overwatering--they don't need a ton of water. I think I probably water mine at most once every 3 wks or so. Proper watering frequency is going to vary depending on the size of the pot, temperature, etc and they can probably handle a bit more water than I give mine but it's definitely not hard to give them too much. Before the next time you were planning to water, I'd try sticking your finger down a couple inches into the pot and see how it feels--if it's still feeling damp then you need to wait longer in between waterings. I never fertilize mine either

Thanks, guys! I wasn't planning on repotting until April or so but I think I'll check a little earlier. Mine doesn't seem to grow that quickly, at least not as quickly as yours. I'll ease up on the fertlizer and watering, too.

get a hand lens and check closely for spider mites or scale insects...the mites are about the size of typed period , might see small webs at base of leaves too...the scales would be flat and disc shaped, sometimes plant will be sticky from their waste

Unfortunately nature doesn't really follow a schedule like "repotting in April". When something different happens you really need to act now. LOL Like: you have a cut and it's bleeding but you weren't going to go to the room when the medical supplies are until noon and it's just 9:00. Some things just don't wait. Kind of a big example but ......... Best of luck w/that plant. Let us know how things turned out.

Ann

question on sheffleras: do they handle crowded pots well or do they need repotted regularly. I started mine in a good sized pot in the entry, it's doing pretty well. Don't know much on their growth. That and philo's are the only thing sturdy enough for a large building with a ceiling fan.

Anytime you dump your plants out of their pots (this can be done easily without risking the health of the plant) and see the roots going round and round in a circle or without dumping if your plant suddenly seems to need more water( i.e. the dirt is dry soon after watering) it is probably time to re-pot. You don't repot just because you have nothing else to do, etc. The plant will let you know when to go to the next size pot. Like they say "Don't mess w/Mother Nature".

Ann

thanks. this shefflera is in a 12" wide, 16" deep [app] ceramic pot with no hole. I remember putting gravel in the bottom because it sits on a wrought iron stand so weight doesn't matter. It sits by a north window which gets no direct sun. How are they for sun loving?

I think the gravel on the bottom is not good - I know it used to be the thing to do but that practice changed years ago. You can also root prune it, chop the tops hard if you want to keep it on the smaller side too (like bonsai). Root the tops in water or soil if you want more.

They can take lots of sun or be in shade from what I've seen both at home and visits to tropical places.

It seems to me that I learned somewhere that plants will search for water. So, if you have no drainage hole but gravel in the bottom the water has no place to go except into the plant. As a result your plant is virtually sitting in water. That's not good. You need to put your plant in a pot w/drainage and use your present "pot" as a cache pot - a place for keeping your flower pot but not so you can see it. The cache pot hides the flower pot. I think that your plant would do better for you like that.

Ann

geez-I wish I'd thought of the cache potting. I will repot this soon because I love to repot stuff. Thank you all for the great tips.

I would definitely repot right away--having no drainage hole is definitely not good for a plant like Schefflera that doesn't need a ton of water, and the gravel in the bottom actually hurts rather than helps.

I finally repotted it today. We had an office lunch n learn hosted by me and we all brought our office plants to be repotted. FUN!!!

The roots on my scheff looked fine so I'll keep an eye on my watering to make sure I don't overdo it.

Thanks for all your advice! I'll be back here if things aren't going well. :-)