Schefflera
Schefflera arboricola
Through the year 🗓️
☀️ Summer now
Fast growth. Water attentively, feed monthly, and pinch tips to keep the canopy dense.
🍂 Fall
Ease off watering and feeding as days shorten, and move it to your brightest spot.
❄️ Winter
Rest it: water noticeably less, stop feeding, and keep it out of cold drafts.
🌱 Spring
Prune hard for shape as growth surges, repot if roots circle, and resume monthly feeding.
The details
Light & placement
- Light
- Bright indirect; tolerates medium light but gets leggy; no harsh direct sun
- Ideal PPFD
- 150–350 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹
- Grow-light distance
- 18–24 in below LED
Water & feed
- Watering method
- Water deeply when the top 2 in are dry and let it drain fully. It would rather run slightly dry than sit wet, and yellow dropping leaflets usually mean too much water.
- Fertilizer
- Balanced liquid feed at ½ strength, monthly in spring–summer.
Home & habit
- Soil
- Rich, well-draining mix with perlite; pH 6.0–6.5
- Humidity
- Average (40–60%)
- Temperature
- 60–80 °F
- Mature size
- 4–8 ft indoors
- Repotting
- Every 1–2 yrs in spring; it fills pots quickly
- Propagation
- Stem cuttings in moist mix or water (slow but doable); air layering is more reliable.
When something looks wrong
- Overwatering signs
- Yellowing, dropping leaflets with wet soil; blackening stems
- Underwatering signs
- Drooping umbrellas, dry curling leaflets, crispy edges
- Common pests
- Spider mites, scale, mealybugs, aphids
Common problems 🩺
The usual suspects when Schefflera looks unhappy. Most houseplant trouble is watering or light, not disease — see all plant problems if you are not sure which plant is the culprit.
Dropping leaflets
Likely cause
Overwatering, a cold draft, or a sudden move.
What to do
Check the soil first — soggy means ease off. Otherwise keep it warm and stable.
Long, sparse, reaching stems
Likely cause
Not enough light.
What to do
Brighter indirect light, and prune the tops back in spring to force bushier growth.
Webbing and speckled leaves
Likely cause
Spider mites, which find scheffleras readily.
What to do
Shower the plant and treat weekly with neem until clear.
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