4 Year Progression of Schefflera

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Travelling to Hawaii in 2018, I picked up a little potted schefflera in a store on Maui. The schef came from Fuku nursery on the Big Island, and they had these little novelty packages put together, some potted and some in lava rock. I had to purchase one and proceeded to carry it around for the rest of the trip over various modes of transportation. The key was to keep it in the plastic packaging.

Dec 2018.jpg

It stayed like this in this package for the three days I had it, who knows how long it had been in the package before that. Once I got it home, I was pleased with how rooty the little guy already was.

Dec2018 2.jpg

Later on in our visit, I got to actually visit Fuku nursery, but unfortunately the owner was unavailable to speak with. Also, family was hurrying me up. I purchased a larger specimen while there and they mailed that one to me later in the year. If anyone's interested, I'll do a similar thread on that one. Anyway, while at Fuku nursery, he had some that were these massively tall and twisted rooty structures and while I knew I wouldn't achieve such a look in my Tennessee climate, I certainly wanted to try with this particular plant. The first thing I did, once it recovered suitably from travel, was repot it and attempt to raise the whole plant up in the pot.

February 2019:

Prior to repot:
Feb2019_1.jpg

Repotted and raised. For awhile I would use aluminum foil to keep the roots exposed from the soil moist, but I use a different method today.

Feb2019_2.jpg

Now, I'm going to interject here that the better bet would have been replanting into a deeper pot. This was at a time in my hobby where I just wanted trees in "finished" pots and so into a "finished" pot it went.

November 2019:
Nov_2019.jpg

I have a hard time getting aerial roots to grow during the summer growing season in Tennessee, so I use my outdoor time for these plants to grow shoots and canopy and my indoor time to grow aerial roots. Remember how I said I have a different method of keeping roots moist when I raise the tree? That method is basically a terrarium. I have a home made grow setup that encourages my tropicals to push aerial roots in the wintertime. One thing I'll do to help is to slit straws down the middle and guide the aerial roots through them and into the soil.

Tubes 2020.jpg

So, I keep up with this method over the summer and winter, and in 2020 a friend of mine gifted me a Japanese pot she brought back from her time in Japan. I decided it would look much nicer than the square pot for this tree.

May 2020:

Prior to repot:
May12020.jpg

After Repotting (we just get it a little higher each time) :
May 2020.jpg

Finally, we come to today. Slowly but surely I am building up a rooty and interesting base for this tree, and I'm happy with how its coming along. Schefflera are fun little specimens and I encourage anyone to try one! Especially if you can get a good start like the ones that Fuku offers.

December 2021 Repot:

Dec 2021.jpg

January 2 2022:

Today.jpg
 
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Nice progression on this tree. I have 2 of them, one from the store in Lahaina and one from Lowes. They do make nice bonsai.
 

BonScience

Sapling
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Very cool! I just picked one up from a local spot and am trying to figure out where to start. It's a bit short but the canopy is wide and healthy, and i like the idea of continuously raising it up in the pot to get the base roots exposed so i think I'll do something like that. I like the idea of focusing on new shoots in the summer and areal roots in the winter as i also have an indoor grow setup i can use to push that. I was under the impression that some type of "winter dormancy" (i.e. a hot/ humid season and a less hot/less humid season) was necessary for these but i think i'll try pushing it more aggressively and seeing what happens.
 

Michael P

Omono
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I think this is an opportunistic species, growing whenever conditions are good. I have also been told that high humidity and a rather dry soil encourage the formation of aerial roots, but I haven't been able to confirm it.
 

19Mateo83

Masterpiece
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Mine seems to respond to being pot bound and high humidity with aerial roots 410C69E1-ECED-414C-8220-6A1160812100.jpeg
5130064E-2E25-4EC1-8DB0-745DC5757569.jpeg
 
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So what I have found over the years is that these guys almost…almost want to be treated like succulents in their water needs. What I mean by this is that they flourish when their pots are allowed to dry out a fair bit and then become flush with water, either by thorough watering with a wand or submerging in water. I water them as usual in the summer with a wand on the benches and in the winter time I flood them with humidity and end up soaking their pots in a tub once a week or so or as needed. So far, this has worked for me in the formation of aerial roots in my climate.
 
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