How To Prune a Schefflera

[BonsaiMon]

Great thread.. lots of good info. I grow schefflera and love working with them. Mine are banyon style, two dwarf variety and one larger a standard(was collected from a hedge in S.Fl.) I use the clip(chop) and grow. i let mine grow wild and then cut back hard. Temps 60F and lower slow the growth of the tree.. keep the soil temps 70F+ (propagation mat)and it will kick butt all winter long.

 

[vdeschamps]

Great thread.. lots of good info. I grow schefflera and love working with them. Mine are banyon style, two dwarf variety and one larger a standard(was collected from a hedge in S.Fl.) I use the clip(chop) and grow. i let mine grow wild and then cut back hard. Temps 60F and lower slow the growth of the tree.. keep the soil temps 70F+ (propagation mat)and it will kick butt all winter long.

Hi there,

Would you advise against cutting hard a schefflera now? I've been told it's better to do it in the Spring.

Thanks,
Vincent

 

[mat]

It's generally recommended that major work be done on tropicals when they're actively growing - which is spring and summer for the most part. They don't stop growing in the winter, but they definitely slow down. Where are you, Vincent?

 

[vdeschamps]

It's generally recommended that major work be done on tropicals when they're actively growing - which is spring and summer for the most part. They don't stop growing in the winter, but they definitely slow down. Where are you, Vincent?

I am in Arlington, VA. So far, the tree has been growing year round

 

[mat]

Well, scheff's are super-tough. So, you don't need to be gentle with them. I would just worry about new growth being damaged if it gets frozen.

 

[vdeschamps]

Well, scheff's are super-tough. So, you don't need to be gentle with them. I would just worry about new growth being damaged if it gets frozen.

It can hardly freeze inside my apartment

 

[mat]

Well, if it's inside your apartment all the time, then now is as good a time as any to chop it.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

If you have supplemental lighting as well as suitable heat and humidity it is a fine time to work on most tropicals, but if it is just by the window, I would wait until the middle of the summer.

 

[vdeschamps]

If you have supplemental lighting as well as suitable heat and humidity it is a fine time to work on most tropicals, but if it is just by the window, I would wait until the middle of the summer.

I do have a growing light and heat. Fine, I'll take a shot at it!

 

[woodyb23]

I will have a couple cuttings can you explain in more detail how you potted and sealed in bag?

This is the top cutting from the first plant. I potted it and placed it in a sealed plastic bag over the summer. This created a humid environment inside the bag and it grew some aerial roots.

View attachment 27690View attachment 27691

 

[Gaitano]

When I pruned the tops off I applied rooting hormone and stuck them in a pot. I used a produce bag from the grocery store ( the kind you put your veggies and fruits in), put the pot in the bag after watering, puffed it up with air and closed it up. I've done this inside and outside. It helped the cuttings root and once outside over summer it popped out aerial roots. Now I use an old fish tank.

 

[oscott]

Protecting the end of the cut?

What is on the top of the cut? It looks like you put something on the cut to seal it, or is that something natural from the plant?

I have quite a few schefflera that I have been working with over several years. I experimented with a Home Depot schefflera using Fukumoto's Sumo technique and got great results. The basic idea is short and stout. This will help to produce short, heavy trunks. I cut back the single stalk trunk back to almost an inch, leaving no foliage. It took guts and faith, but sprouts soon formed. .........

 

[Gaitano]

I believe it was a dab of Vaseline. here is what the variegated scheff looks like as of fall of 18

 

[BunjaeKorea]

I hihhly recommdnd searching Nigel Saunders on youtube. He has a really impressive one of these

 

[bombiologist]

I believe it was a dab of Vaseline. here is what the variegated scheff looks like as of fall of 18

New to Shefflera Bonsai here! Thank you for the great thread and info! I loved seeing your Shefflera over the last 6 years!!

Question- Does the Vaseline help with something when cutting back hard for the root stump?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Gaitano]

It just helps to retain moisture at the cut site while it heals. Scheff cuts heal a bit differently than deciduous trees.

 

[BunjaeKorea]

 

[Bodanger]

How sure are you that it's a Hawaiian Schefflera? It's hard to tell from the pics but that kind of looks like it might be a species that tends to be a bit skinny.

-The "petioles" are the leaf groups that come off one stem and you can kind of think of each as 1 leaf.
- The stems on new petioles tend to keep growing longer if the leaves aren't getting enough light.
-When cutting a branch back, new growth will usually start at the last remaining node from the position of the last petiole or petiole scar and new branch growth will grow in the direction the petiole was facing.
-To get a thicker trunk you are going to want to encourage back budding lower on the tree by chopping off significant portions of the newer growth. This will also have a chance to increase branching.

If it is a Hawaiian you can encourage aerial roots to form by keeping it moist. They tend to like to drop from points that are more horizontal. This can help give the effect of a thicker "trunk", and help get a tapered look.

I suggest you cut the top half of the tree off, get the cutting to root in water and then plant it right next to the existing trunk and continue this until you get the effect that you are going for. The cuttings root very easily.

Here is my Hawaiian Schef project, it's in a ugly phase now but you can take a look at how much the trunks have been hacked up and see if you like aerial roots.

To give an idea of scale, that is a 15" diameter pot.
It's a really fun plant, very forgiving, fast growing.

 

[rank78]

Didn't want to start a new thread but on topic. Would I be fine chopping off all 5 of these branches most of the way down and using them as cuttings to later rejoin the original in a clump/banyan formation? I bought it in Maui 12 years ago and it was neglected until last fall when I re-potted and fertilized. Currently in a smart pot and wired because I wanted the trunk to thicken and the branches were crowding. The slope formation is natural. It had 1 and 1/2 leaves and I didn't know it was a schefflera until the other day.

As you can see the branches are long and hardened off with 3-5 leaves each. The 5th branch is small with 3 malformed leaves and didn't know if it should be left while the other 4 are propagated or if I can remove it as trash. The plant is over rock so don't know if cuttings should do the same or keep that for the mother plant alone. Temperature and humidity is beginning to rise here and just bought root hormones so ready to go. Thoughts? Tips?

 

[Scooter9166 - 5a]

I bought a schefflera in Hawaii in the summer of '17. It took a while for it to adjust to Chicago suburb weather, but when it did it grew great. About a year ago, I chopped it down to just the trunk, and it quickly backbudded like crazy. I have several cuttings that I've given away and are still healthy. I am terrible about documenting what I do, but I think I just put the cuttings in water until they grew roots. I know it went easily and quickly.