Wow @purpleinopp yours sure have been busy! Thanks for the update! My scheffs. have been constantly putting out new leaves from March to now. Along the way though I've been periodically spraying with neem oil which may be hindering the rapid growth I've seen in the beginning of the season. Still it's necessary though b/c I believe I may have an unseen nibbler.



I first notice this when the new leaf in the bottom left of the pic started to loose its petals then the growth became stunted all together like it never even budded in the first place. Once I began the neem oil regimen back in May or June all was fine until recently.




Though it continued to grow fuller, toward the middle of July I noticed yellowing of the bottom leaves of both branches. Then the leaf petals would begin to fall. So I'd get rid of them immediately, remove from the other nearby plants, and begin spraying and carefully watching again.

I know the yellowing is sometimes normal and the dropping of leaves too as newer ones form. However what worried me was how where the place the leaf dropped from turned brown as if it was chewed off by something. Today I'm a little less worried as the condition seems to be more under control. But I am now considering (before further loss) the lack of nutrients in the soil or presence of salts or even compacted soil/lack of oxygen.

Here's one of the scheffs. today after the loss of about 3 to 4 leaves on each branch. The last dropping: about 3 1/2 weeks ago. Notice the bottom leaves/new branches (once "chewed off") now forming again after 3months time




Again thanks for your update and interest @purpleinopp. Stay tuned for the update on my other Schefflera turned bonsai. Perhaps you can help.

Thanks! Fun update! Your plants look pretty normal to me & have grown well over the summer. As the trunk ages, it will lignify (turn brown, woody, hard.) As that happens/progresses, the older leaves will be lost.

This schefflera has not been as successful.



In brief, sometime ago I noticed tiny white bugs in soil and immediately acted. Uprooted, removed soil, cleaned roots and repotted. The plant thrived. I later pruned to induce more branching. But soon after found little dark grey-ish bugs crawling 'round the saucer (perhaps entered through window). Again started in with neem oil. Didnt worry too much as I soon found these type of bugs dont hurt the plant but instead like decaying material in the soil. Later when I'd lift the pot from the saucer or esp. water it, I'd see an occasional gnat emerge from the drainage hole as the water became overwhelming for it in the soil. Next I'd see yellowing of the leaves that soon after would drop fr. the plant. As added measure I let soil dry out completely - that anything thriving on moist soil and organic decaying material could no longer thrive. Today there are no bugs present when I lift the pot and I am watering it today for the first time thoroughly in probably a month. This last pic. was taken about a week ago of a yellowing leaf that also looked diseased. Its veins looked darkened (brown) through the leaf while the veins at other parts of the leaf looked normal other than the yellow color. Any ideas?

You want to see leggy? I am baaaaad at trimming. But I did trim this Japanese scheffelera 2 years ago. It looks OK coming up to our front door.


But looking at it directly you can see leggy branches that criss cross. I need to get out they're and stake them. But sheesh! It's so badly misshapen that every single branch needs a stake!

Something else that could do with a good haircut, Cheryl. Perhaps you just life the leggy-look.

You gotta admit it looks better than it did 3 years ago. see Post #343111. I did trim it. I told you I am skittish about trimming trees. This one started out badly. It has had base branching more like a Crepe Myrtle . I am thinking if getting a nice trellis and training it to grow flatter against the wall like an espallier


https://upload.wikimedia.org/w...

Scheflera get to be huge trees, unless the Japanese one is some small hybrid.

Mine is not so huge, considering I have had it for 15 years. Besides, it will make me trim it up regularly to keep it's shape if I can make it an espalier.

I used to grow these. Every now and then someone asked for one. They are so easy to start from cuttings, I could have grown them by the hundreds. Eventually I lost interest in them and just let them grow, and grow, and grow. Three years ago, every one I had was so large I had no room for them inside, so they all were left out. They all froze. I haven't had one since.

Tajuan, whenever I find some kind of critters living in soil, I usually repot (remove old soil, rinse roots if critters had prompted the repotting, replace with new soil into new pot or cleaned old pot.) Having gotten completely dry recently could cause some premature leaf loss.

Cheryl, I look forward to seeing your plant trellised/epaliered!

Ken, such a sad story! :(```

Not really sad, Tiffany. Don't forget I always have approximately 1000 tropical plants on hand. Plant-interest grows and declines, as you well know. I can't tell you the number of large plants I have lost to cold: Aloe Vera, Jade, Peace Lily, Dracaena, Rubber Tree, Scheflera, and many others. I seem to be able to grow far more plants (number and size) than I can over-winter. I wish we had a mom & pop nursery here that I could donate those plants to, but unfortunately, all those nurseries have (long ago) disappeared.

First attempt at trellising this crazy leggy Japanese Schefflera just using twist ties for now. I think epalier-style is more suited to a young plant that you can train to grow. I could trim this one back and train the new branches to grow sideways. Stlll deciding...It looks better through.

It does look better in my opinion, Cheryl. I think you are on to something here.

Absolutely! Have fun with it, make the most of what it has to offer!

Here's daytime pic. I'm liking it very much. It fits in the cove on the porch just right. It's not your run-of-the-mill look for a Japanese Scheffelera, that's for sure! I'll replace the twist ties with garden tape as soon as the weather cools down. It's going to take some time.

I'm a novice indoor plant fan... have had many for years w/o much attention paid to them. My indoor Schefflera is about 10 ft tall (very old) but the bottom 5 ft has no leaves or off-shoots... What can I do to start leaflets closer to the bottom? I've heard you can cut into the side of the stem a bit to start a new off-shoot... True? Any ideas?

@imjamco I have tried that technique, and have had absolutely no success doing so. If this were my plant, and I have had dozens of these plants over the years, I would cut the plant 6-12" above the soil-line. That will encourage new branching on the rooted section and you'll have a much smaller plant. I would then take 6" cuttings all the way up the stem until you get about 12" below the leaves. Root all those 6" cuttings and the top section with the leaves. Scheflera cuttings root fairly easily.

@ShadyGreenThumb looks great Cheryl! 👍👍

We have this plant which has grown considerably, been reading on helping it get fuller. Now do I just cut as indicated by the post of drdawg and various others. Just a bit leery, do I root them w/rooting pwdr which I have on hand or w/o. Have tried doing the leaves with no luck even when roots are started in water. This plant has grown well over 3ft in since 2017. Help

@oliveoyl - Please post a photo of your Schefflera.