Hi Susan. Congrats. :)

There are different Schefflera species, with green leaves.

Have you considered growing the dwarf as a bonsai? Toni

don't particularly like bonsai.

Even though I love my trees, I don't really like to buy duplicates.

Susan

Yes there is a larger species also. It grows in Hawaii I think. Thats probably the species in your office.
The one that appears dwarf could be just grown under the correct lighting conditions. Most plants grown under less light than they really need will be elongated...longer length in between sets of leaves etc. As they grow they stretch and reach for the light.

I noticd the diff in lengths on mine as I bring them in and outside thru the year.

Arboricola is often called dwarf schefflera, but if your plant seems even tighter than sp arboricola, it's likely Schefflera arboricola 'Luseane'.

Al

Susan - I'm not bonsai crazy either, although I do enjoy looking at the bonsai stuff at the botanical gardens.

I have two of the large Schefflera's as well as quite a few of the mini's and two of the variegated. Love those mini's as they are so easy to propagate. Although I am half scared to do it, I would like to prune at least one of the larger ones into more of a tree form. What do y'all think? Any tips?

Thanks. I believe there is a thread somewhere on the forum about pruning the schefflera. I'm certainly not talented in that way. LOL! I would probably have the thing looking all lopsided.

I enjoy looking at bonsai but never wanted one.

Susan

Susan, true Bonsais (Maples, Oak) are beautiful; growing indoors is another thing..lol. Like Moonie, I love looking at mature Bonsais at the Conservatory.

The reason I mentioned Scheff bonsai is, since it only gets 'yay' tall, (true dwarf) if grown in a small container, the main truck might thicken, tree-like. Not necessarily a bonsai...
But, if you don't like a tree-look, that's different. My Scheffs are grown bushy and one semi-tree-like. That would be S. actinophylla or Brassaia actinophylla, commonly known as Octopus Tree. Leaves differ from Arboricola.

Susan, prune a little at a time, until desired shape is formed. And yes, there is info about pruning, small, medium and large Scheffs on the net.

Moonie, about shaping. You have two options.
One is removing/taking cuttings, and starting from scratch.
Second option. Prune all but the thickest, healthiest stem/trunk. Some root-pruning will be required. Stake the one branch, let grow. Care for as usual, but it's important to remove side-shoots/stems to keep the tree-shape (standard) appearance.

Some S. species look better as trees than others. Toni