they're a little blurry, but you get the idea...

{{gwi:80662}}

{{gwi:80663}}

Candidly: Your tree is growing under severe stress & needs a radical makeover. From the lack of branch extension, small leaves, and lack of interior foliage, I would say it's also very root-bound. Appearance is secondary right now, but can also be addressed. If you want a plan to follow that will have your plant coming back strong by Aug, let me know; but I can say with a good degree of confidence that if you only maintain the status quo, or simply pot up, the tree will continue to decline.

Al

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your "candid" response! Yes, please tell me more about what you would recommend for this poor plant. Just to fill you in a little more on the poor thing: Although it did live in a bank lobby for several years, when I was finally able to get a hold of it, I actually retrieved it from the front lawn of one of that bank's lenders (my mother's co-worker). It had been removed from it's pot, roots completely exposed (no soil), and was laying on its side under the high noon sun! So, it was "re-potted" at that point, or potted, anyway, and hasn't been repotted since. Then, 2 years ago, it was exposed to sub-zero temperatures for about 15 mins when it was left outside by movers in the dead of winter. After that, it dropped ALL of its foliage which did not return until late spring. So, needless to say, its been through a lot, and it breaks my heart to think that I'm currently inflicting more stress! What do you recommend?

I included a few more photos, hopefully to aid in the diagnostics process. Top left may give you a better idea of whether or not it's root bound - the pot is 17'' wide at the rim. Top right is new growth! haha. (trying to be optimistic) The two bottom pictures pose another concern...there are various stems and/or leaves that are seemingly turning woody, but never on the undersides...could this be over-exposure to the sun? All such "wounds" are on the older foliage, and there was a time when I did move it outside, not knowing any better, which did scorch some of the leaves. Could this being scarring?

Thanks again for all your help! I am it for the long haul, so, by any means necessary, I want to save this plant!

Bobbi

{{gwi:80664}}

Oh my! I am so excited! Will get started first thing tomorrow. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and to inspire. I can't wait to post future updates!

Cheers.

Well, late June is on its way...I think I'm ready to hack off the top and do some root pruning. I moved it outside about 3 weeks ago, it hasn't been fully acclimated to direct sun yet, I have it under an overhang. I've also been fertilizing it every 2 weeks. Any pointers to help me get started?

Is it responding well to being outside & being watered properly? Can you take a picture as close to the first one you posted above as possible? I need to get an idea of how much back-budding is going on & how far back it would be prudent to cut.

You'll prolly be able to put it back in the same pot. You'll need a saw to cut off the bottom of the roots, something sharp to prune with, a hose with an attachment you can use to help you blast the soil off the roots and keep the3 roots from drying out as you work on them (important), a dowel rod sharpened in a pencil sharpener or chopstick to help you remove the soil from the roots. Have your soil all made & ready to go. I'll wait for the pic & then we can get started. ;o)

Al

Hello again! Sorry for the delayed response! I left the country for a bit, but did not think about the fact that I would be gone for a couple weeks before leaving my last post.

Here's an updated picture - I moved at the beginning of June, and I don't know how pleased the scheff was to go on its first car ride...in the back of a pickup. However, despite minor foliage casualties, it didn't seem too bothered.
The second picture that I posted shows what might be evidence of a plant that is root bound. There are two places (both on higher branches) where I have found aerial roots to be growing.

Thanks so much for your time, I'm anxiously waiting for the prognosis!

Bobbi
{{gwi:80666}}

{{gwi:80667}}

All my scheffs are pushing aerial roots because of the high humidity - it's normal, though I think we concluded your plant needed repotting & root-pruning anyway?

It's a good time to get after it, but where did you move to? Still in WI? I ask because I'd like to consider how long a recovery period the tree will have following the work. You'll want to do it ASAP.

Al

Yes, I'm still in Wisconsin - in the same town, actually. I'm 25 years old and still renting, but this is the first move I've made in almost 4 years. So, the climate is still mid-western WI.
The humidity has been atrocious here as well, but yes, root-pruning was mentioned earlier.
Thanks for the quick reply

bobbi

How about if you read through this thread
and then come back with all your questions. Your treatment of the roots needn't be as radical as shown in the thread I linked to, though the plant would tolerate it well.

It would be great if you could find a bag of pine bark fines & some perlite so you can mix a soil more appropriate than most commercially prepared soils from a bag, but I'll leave that decision up to you.

BTW, Late June/early July is repot time for all of MY ficus, scheffs, other tropicals, and I'll be finishing the last of about 50-60 repots this weekend.

Al

Oops - forgive me, please? The above was supposed to be destined to appear on another thread - please disregard.

Al

Haha, no worries. Any thoughts on the recovery period? And...should i be looking for pine bark fines and perlite as well? :)

Not being snotty/bossy here at all, but you should be thinking about getting this done quickly. The best time to repot is past, but there is still ample time for the plant to recover & gain strength for the winter, which is hard on most of our houseplants because of low light and, frequently, salt accumulation.

Expect back-budding within 2 weeks. You can actually do the chop now (recommend it) & move the plant directly into full sun until you're able to do the repot.

Al

What is this and what should I do? My tree may be a bit leggy. Can I lop off a foot or so?

They sometimes grow as epiphytes or semi-epiphytes so it's not that unusual for them to put out aerial roots. It could have been a bit of damage to the trunk that started them off there. But it looks like the atmosphere is a bit dry for them. If the humidity was increased those roots should grow down to the soil. That could make a novel effect. Otherwise, they can take hard pruning and the offcuts can be used as cutting for more plants.

The plant was wounded in that area (maybe by the re-rod) or something else caused an area of cambium to die. A number of adventitious roots were stimulated to form and grow from undifferentiated meristematic or callus tissue at/ surrounding the wound site.

Root over rock schefflera composition:

You can cut the plant back as hard as you like, but it would be much better if you waited on the plant to put some reserve energy in the bank before you cut it back, like maybe until Father's Day or so. Getting the plant outdoors for a few weeks before you cut it back will also significantly add to the enthusiasm of the plant's response.

My plan would be:

Repot it in mid-Jun (repotting is a process that includes root pruning and a complete change of soil. It ensures much greater opportunity for the plant to realize its genetic potential where potting up ensures limitations), making sure you are repotting into a soil you can water properly (to beyond the point of saturation - so you're flushing accumulating dissolved solids [salts] from the soil when you water) without your having to worry about the soil remaining soggy so long it limits root function and impacts root health).

Cut it back as hard as you'd like, AFTER the plant resumes normal growth (probably around the 4th of July.

AL

Hello! I am in need of help with my schef. I "aquired" this plant in the garbage at my local DIY store. I couldn't let that happen! Anyway I have had it a year now and I like it but, it has become unruly. It has several stems and has decided to start growing sideways. It is probably about 4 feet wide now. I want to prune and understand all the notations above about root pruning as well as the plant. I also wanted to repot with fresh soil.

My question is this - if you are concerned about the plants health and well being is it absolutely out of the question to prune now as it is November? Should I just try to keep a status quo until June?

A picture would provide enough info to draw some conclusions about what the plant might tolerate and what to expect in terms of recovery times. June is definitely the best month to repot if you live N of the equator, but it doesn't make sense to appeal to appropriateness when the plant's viability is in the balance. If I had a plant that was showing me it's not going to make it until June w/o intervention, I'd choose intervention and worry about working toward getting in sync with the plant's natural rhythms next time it needs a repot.

Al

You should start a new thread about your plant, include where you live - season is important to plants, and it varies widely by location - and also include some pictures.

Many Schefflera have been rescued this way.

EDIT: two posts crossing on the interwebs, d'oh.

I started a new thread. Thank you.

This is Bob and he was left to me by the ag teacher. He is getting really tall and becoming hard to take back and forth to school. Do you think I can prune him to be/stay short? I like him as a tree.

Where do you live, Chris? If you live in the deep south, you can cut it back now, anywhere you like. The trunk is VERY nice. In the image, it moves right, then left before it starts moving right again. I'd probably chop it back to a spot just distal (away from the roots) from where it turns back to the right. If you do not live in the deep south, I think I'd probably wait until April and (air) layer the top off; that way you get a twofer - 2 plants fer the effort of creating one.

Just my opinion, but I think you really should fix that stub that's low on the plant. It pulls your eye away from the elegant trunk. It's a very attractive tree.

Al