Schefflera ramification?

[19Mateo83]

What is the best way to get a schefflera to ramify? I saw Nigel’s video where he completely defoliated before trimming to help with ramification. I have a couple small ish ones that are chugging right along in my tropical tent. I topped them this past summer but it only put out one new leader from the cut site. Any advice or tips to get them to back bud?

 

[Michael P]

I've been training one for about 25 years. My experience is that the defoliation does not affect ramification. You must remove each growing tip, and even then you won't get much back budding. Ramification only comes gradually after years of grow-and-clip.

If someone knows a shortcut, please tell us!

 

[LittleDingus]

My experience: bright light is necessary to keep internodes short. It also helps keep petioles short and leaf size smaller. Mine continue to grow inside in winter, but I usually have to cut all that growth in the spring as the leaves are larger, on longer petioles and further apart. Cutting these back to last summer's growth often results in a single new back bud.

My conjecture...which I may test this year: back budding is somewhat dependent on where light reaches. If the foliage is tight and shades the branch, it will tend to bud just enough to continue the branch growing. I've noticed mine has spontaneously backbudded further back on younger branches where I've opened them up to direct sun without having the growth tip removed. I'm talking still green branches or bark that is only 1-2 years old.

I've been struggling with how much I believe that conjecture with mine. My design is such that if I fully defoliate and it doesn't eventually back bud to fill in, I'll end up losing what I've been aiming for and will have to start again

 

[19Mateo83]

My experience: bright light is necessary to keep internodes short. It also helps keep petioles short and leaf size smaller. Mine continue to grow inside in winter, but I usually have to cut all that growth in the spring as the leaves are larger, on longer petioles and further apart. Cutting these back to last summer's growth often results in a single new back bud.

My conjecture...which I may test this year: back budding is somewhat dependent on where light reaches. If the foliage is tight and shades the branch, it will tend to bud just enough to continue the branch growing. I've noticed mine has spontaneously backbudded further back on younger branches where I've opened them up to direct sun without having the growth tip removed. I'm talking still green branches or bark that is only 1-2 years old.

I've been struggling with how much I believe that conjecture with mine. My design is such that if I fully defoliate and it doesn't eventually back bud to fill in, I'll end up losing what I've been aiming for and will have to start again

maybe that is why Nigel completely defoliates his, to get light in to stimulate back budding

 

[Crazy Diamond]

If you want fine ramification go for the dwarf scheffleras, the regular ones have a pretty coarse growth

 

[19Mateo83]

If you want fine ramification go for the dwarf scheffleras, the regular ones have a pretty coarse growth

The ones I have are the dwarf variety. I find it almost impossible to get branches to grow two leaders after a cut, it always just puts out one new leader.

 

[Michael P]

My experience: bright light is necessary to keep internodes short. It also helps keep petioles short and leaf size smaller. Mine continue to grow inside in winter, but I usually have to cut all that growth in the spring as the leaves are larger, on longer petioles and further apart. Cutting these back to last summer's growth often results in a single new back bud.

My conjecture...which I may test this year: back budding is somewhat dependent on where light reaches. If the foliage is tight and shades the branch, it will tend to bud just enough to continue the branch growing. I've noticed mine has spontaneously backbudded further back on younger branches where I've opened them up to direct sun without having the growth tip removed. I'm talking still green branches or bark that is only 1-2 years old.

I've been struggling with how much I believe that conjecture with mine. My design is such that if I fully defoliate and it doesn't eventually back bud to fill in, I'll end up losing what I've been aiming for and will have to start again

Good observations! I always do the tip removal and other pruning when the tree goes outside in the spring and is growing vigorously. Even when I don't defoliate, this always exposes interior branches to more sun. My old tree won't need drastic pruning this year, but I have a younger one that grew wild last year and has lots of young green branches.