Advice needed for unhealthy Schefflera (pics)

[gjantzer]

I repotted this guy a couple of months ago. It sat indoors in indirect sunlight until last week. I wired it lightly and put it outside in full sun. After one day in the sun new growth was already popping out. After the 2nd full day in the sun it started looking very weak so I moved it under a larger tree in my yard and gave it almost total shade for a couple of days. The dark green foliage turned very dull and light and started to droop dramatically. A couple of days ago I pulled this guy back inside for indirect light hoping the much milder climate would be better for recovery. The major limbs of the tree are showing signs of shriveling. Will this guy recover by just relocating him indoors or is there something else that needs to be done? Did it get too hot outdoors? Living in southern oregon with near 100 degree weather virtually every day for weeks. The parent tree this came off of (separated at the repot) has also been outdoors and is doing very well. Any advice you have would be appreciated.

 

[nairb]

I'm not familiar with this species but with 38C and full sun, not a lot of trees/plants can handle that. Is your tree also in a bonsai pot?
I have a common privet bonsai which can handle a lot of abuse but full sun with those temperatures it just can't handle. I would say place it somewhere where it gets just the morning sun.

 

[markyscott]

I keep my schefflera in the full sun and it's been close to 100 here for about the last 6 months. The good news is, only 6 more months and summer will be over. Point is, scheff's can thrive in heat and sun far more direct than you get in Oregon. That alone is not your problem. It looks wilted. Mine look wilted at the end of a hot day without enough water (I water mine 2X per day right now). I'm guessing watering (too much or too little), or a root problem, or both.

What's it growing in? How have you been watering? Try digging down a couple inches into the soil. Is it dry? Is it soggy? Can you post a closeup of the soil?

Scott

 

[RKatzin]

Hi Grant, it looks like you took this as a cutting from the mother plant and put it into a bonsai pot? If you unpot it I would bet there's either no roots, or not enough, or it's completely potbound already in that small pot.

You should not put new cuttings into bonsai or training pots. Always go to a grow unit first and when you've got recovery and growth you can think about a smaller pot. I think if you begin to treat this as a cutting it may turn around for you. Best of luck, Rick

 

[lordy]

Hi Grant, it looks like you took this as a cutting from the mother plant and put it into a bonsai pot? If you unpot it I would bet there's either no roots, or not enough, or it's completely potbound already in that small pot.

You should not put new cuttings into bonsai or training pots. Always go to a grow unit first and when you've got recovery and growth you can think about a smaller pot. I think if you begin to treat this as a cutting it may turn around for you. Best of luck, Rick

for what it's worth, I've had a houseplant in a 3 gallon pot for YEARS and have NEVER repotted or even added soil. It is so ridiculously potbound that water almost doesnt soak into it when I water it. And that is way less than I feel I should. I cant kill this thing. It sits behind tinted windows in my office foryer and drops a few leaves occasionally, but continually puts out new growth.
I dont think Scheffleras mind being pot bound. I tend to agree with RKatzin about the lack of roots being likely.

 

[sbarnhardt]

I am certainly not an expert by any real, or imagined, stretch of the imagination on Schefflera. My total experience with these has been

1) Working part time delivering plants/flowers for a florist. We used to sell a fair number of them as potted plants.
2) Bought a smallish one a few years ago at a church bazaar type setting so I'd have something to bring home for my wife.

To put all that into perspective and context for this discussion, let me say other than watering religiously at the florist, we did nothing for them and they grew/survived just fine. If they weren't kept watered, they suffered. Now to the second point. The one that was bought at the bazaar has grown tremendously. All that has been done is keeping it watered. Maybe a bit of Osmocote if my wife thinks about it and kept in a place where it gets a decent amount of sun. It's moved inside and kept on an attached, unheated porch next to a window with morning sun in the winter. In the spring/summer it's put outside on a patio, in the partial shade of a large pecan tree and kept watered. It gets "some" morning sun and "some" afternoon/evening sun. The only deviation it's ever had was once my wife decided to put it in another window inside in winter. It drooped and looked really sad. Moved it back to it's normal window and it was fine. The trial window didn't get really good sun. If it doesn't get good watering, it droops, not unlike your's in the picture. Water it again and in a day or so it perks right back up.

So based solely on my own, personal experience with these things, it's always grown, prospered, and looked good "if" it got a decent amount of sun and was kept watered. Remove any of those variables and it suffered like yours. ???

 

[agraham]

That's not from too much sun or heat. It looks like either you let it dry out too long or kept it too wet and the roots rotted and can no longer function. I'd repot it immediately. It may seem risky, but the odds are that it is going to die without drastic intervention.

This one sits outside in 100 degree heat and a bright south Texas full sun location and has for years.

 

[Poink88]

This one sits outside in 100 degree heat and a bright south Texas full sun location and has for years.

Another stunner, one of the best Scheff I've seen. Thanks for sharing!

Years? More like decades maybe?