Hib, if your Scheff is shaped like you describe, and you want it growing as a standard tree, you've aleady got a good start.
As the tree grows keep removing lower branches. Eventually, your schef will be large enough and look like a tree..Whatever, don't cut the main trunk..if you do it'll branch out. Only when your tree is of desired height should you cut the trunk..

Repotting is best done in spring, but if your plant is rootbound, doing so now would be appropriate..don't go higher than 1-2 sizes up. Use a well-draining soil, nothing heavy. Keep plant in bright light to full sun, but if you place in full sun do so gradually..Otherwise the leaves can burn. Feed w/an all purpose fertilzer, once a month, during growing seasons. Once the plant stops growing reduce or quit feeding. Hope this helped..Toni

Toni,
Thanks so much for the very helpful advice. This forum is amazing. I just moved to the UK from Houston, so I have no idea how to grow plants in this climate. I'm more used to hiding them from the sun !!!
I will let the Scheff grow a bit taller before I prune back the main stem (the only stem).I want about 12-18" of trunk with a nice bushy top. I'm not sure how these plants tend to branch out. Do I prune the main stem all the way back to where I want branching to start or just pinch out the top bit? Since it is already August should I start removing the lower leaves now or wait until spring?
Thanks again.
PS. I think the UK falls into zone 8. Correct me if I am wrong.

Hibiscus, I love your name..LOL
Do you grow hibiscus, btw?
I'd do a bit of pinching in spring..How many inches of trunk is there now? Do you think it'll be the height you want by spring?

Wow, what a difference in relocating..lol..So, how do you like the UK? I bet it's pretty out there though..and yes, I can imagine you hiding your plants from the burning sun in TX..lol. Good luck though..Toni

The plant is about 18" now. I'm not sure how much it will grow by spring so I'll just wait and see.
I used to grow hibiscus in Houston - not very hard in that weather. Don't have any now, since I don't think I have a suitable spot indoors where it would get enough light during the winter. I am tempted to get one though just to see if I can get away with a sunny window.
Thanks agian for you advice. I know I shall be visiting this website many times in the future:)

Hibiscus, if it's 18" now, and that's your desired hight, I'd still wait until spring before cutting. It should branch out fully. I've got two Scheffs growing as standards, but I want mine to grow taller before the top branches out, even though it seems to have a mind of its own and has branched out w/o my help. But I continue removing lower leaves..I'm wondering if mine are dwarfs.

I'd go ahead and buy a tropical hib..You can always install lighting..SEt plant in a south or west window in winter and pray it works..Last night we bought a 4' light at Home Depot..going to hang from the ceiling over citrus, hibs and gardenias. Hope it works..

Good luck w/your plants and the move..Will you be staying there permanently? Toni

Thanks a lot. Will wait till spring before doing anything.

There is no reason you cannot prune a Scheff hard now where you live. It might have been better to undertake it a month ago, but your tree will respond well to even hard pruning now. I just finished an extreme makeover on a scheff (2 weeks ago) & it's breaking back all over the plant. Scheffs and other tropical trees are best hard pruned when they are about to reach peak growth - which is late Jul & Aug, maybe even into Sep where you live.

Al

Hi Al,
Thanks for your advice. It's good to know that I can prune it any time. I will just wait till it has grown a bit taller. Should I start removing the leaves at the bottom of the stalk to create a bare trunk now or at the same time I chop off the top?
Thanks

Hib, remove leaves/stems growing on the trunk whenever you see them coming in. If you want your Scheff to look treelike, then this is important..
Also, you mentioned a certain hight..be sure you want that height and not higher before you start pruning. Toni

There is no hurry to remove branches from the trunk until they get about twice the diameter of a drinking straw. The only issue You have to contend with by leaving them is a little scarring, and small branch scars heal quickly - so it's not much of an issue. There is, in fact, a good case to be made for leaving these branches on as long as you can (until scarring becomes a concern - maybe dime size). The extra photosynthesizing of the leaves on branches occurring on the trunk will help the trunk thicken & make it self-supporting much quicker than if you prune them off.

I didn't say you can prune it at any time, either. Rather, it should be done asap, and no later than the first wk of Sep (in your zone), or wait until next Jun. It won't kill your tree if you prune it later, but the reduced photosynthesizing leaf surface will leave the tree weakened & struggling - overly susceptible to problems, particularly insects, during the winter.

Al

Hi,
Al,
Thanks for all the great advice. My plant is quite young (the trunk is only about 3/4" thick and all green). I was a bit worried about removing the leaves at this point. Thanks for proving my instinct to be right on this one. I think I'll just let it grow for now and prune/shape next summer if it is the right height at the time. I am happy to give it the time it needs, rather than cause irreperable damage.
Toni,
Thanks for stressing that I need to wait until it is the right height.

When you "chop" a tree for height, it is best to chop it at 2/3 the height you wish to maintain. If you prune at the height you want, it allows no room for growth of branches to form the canopy - the result will be a rather odd looking plant, or one that is taller than you intended.

Al

Al, you must be a mind reading Master Gardener - you are answering my questions before I even ask them!!! This novice container gardener is very grateful for your excellent advice:)It makes very good sense. I am not one of those people who are naturally green-thumbed. I usually end up reading too much information about how to take care of a specific plant and end up buying more geraniums instead. Your advice is very intuitive. I appreciate you taking the time to address my very basic questions.

Thank you for the kind words. Your "thank you" is greatly appreciated.

Al

This is so interesting. I found a Schefflera in my house when I bought it 20 years ago. It is now about 7' tall and I've never pruned and am ashamed to say I haven't repotted it in about 10 years. It is obviously not a fussy plant and really is rather nice looking (it has one main branch and a smaller one that is about 3 feet high that appeared about 5 years ago). I am going to repot it today. Questions:
1. Should I just go one size bigger on the pot or more since it so root bound.
3. Soil? I have a container mix and I also have purchased vermiculite, perlite, and a non-peat potting soil I could mix together.
Thanks for any help.

How large you can go on the next pot depends on what you use for soil. The more open and free-draining the soil, the larger the container can be w/o risking root rot. You could probably saw the bottom 1/3 - 1/2 of the root mass off, prune an inch of roots off around the remaining perimeter, and remove some soil before you repot in the same container. I rarely ever do this, choosing instead to bare-root and do a complete repot. (See link below.) Now, is not the best time to undertake root work or repots on scheffs, though. In your zone, it would best be done in early July when the plant is about to exhibit its most vigorous growth.

The larger the container you're crowing in, the more you can step up in pot size. Eg, a 3 inch to 4 inch increase with a commensurate height increase is a 1/3 increase in size. If you're growing in an 18 inch pot and only "potting-up, you could step up to a 24 inch pot (if you'll note - this is also an increase of 1/3) with little in the way of danger of root issues, as long as you're using an appropriate soil. Increases of this size are generally unnecessary when you do a repot/root-prune.

The link below has lots of good information that anyone growing trees in containers can benefit from. You might like to read through it before you decide to move ahead on your plans.

Al

Here is a link that might be useful: I'll tell you about root work on trees, if you click me. ;o)

HELP! I inherited a 3 foot schefflera in our office and just gave it water and sunlight. I repotted and a year later it's 8 feet tall! We love our tree, but it's getting too tall. Can I cut it? It has only one extra branch near the bottom. How can I get it to grow another branch near to bottom to even it out? I do NOT have a green thumb at all. Any help would be appreciated.

Cut the stem off about 1" above the low branch & stake the branch so it's vertical - or almost vertical. If it's too much pressure on the branch to go completely vertical with it, simply cut the end two leaves off the branch & more branches will occur that you CAN stake to vertical. Don't worry - your tree will tolerate this treatment very well, especially if you have it sited in full sun.
Water only when the plant is dry & fertilize every 1-2 weeks with half strength 24-8-16. Your plant will back-bud profusely within 2 weeks. Don't wait to do this - do it now or wait until next June. Your plant needs time to grow new leaves & store some energy for the winter quiescence. I'm assuming you're in NY - you should add your city and USDA zone to your profile.

Al

Al - do you suggest the same pruning method for a younger (greener) branch? I have a plant that has 5 branches of which one of them is taller & thicker. It's about 3 feel tall versus the others that are only 2 feet or less. It is a cutting that I had added to the plant last year at this time from another plant (from our office). I'd like to keep this plant as a bush - not a tree. So I'm thinking of pruning the one taller branch. Or is unrealistic for me to try this since I could end up with an ugly mess. I'm in MI so I probably will have to make up my mind pretty quickly so I'd appreciate your advise since it seems your knowledge of this plant is ALOT more than mine!

Ahhh - you probably have two different varieties, perhaps even different species in the same container. It's not unrealistic at all. Yes - prune young branches as hard as you want - if they are growing with reasonable vitality. They have LOTS of chlorophyll in stem tissues and are able to carry on photosynthesis even when completely bare of leaves. Now is a good time, but you're right, it's getting late. I wouldn't do any drastic pruning on tropical plants north of the Mason/Dixon line after Aug 15.

In many plants, you can predict where the branching will occur behind your pruning cuts. With scheffs, you can be sure it will occur, but WHERE is pretty much a guess. You take what you get, choose the branches you think make the composition look attractive, and eliminate the rest. This is called clip & grow shaping.

Here is a plant in my office that grows under poor light conditions. It is about 8-9 years old. You can see that it has been kept compact by attention to the pruning method I just briefly described:
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Where in MI are you? I'm in Bay City.

Al

Al,

I'm south of you in Lake Orion. Love the office plant! That's the look I would like to go for. Thanks for the warning about the random branching of scheffs - didn't know that. I'm up to give it a try though. Can't hurt.

.... keep us posted on its progress, neighbor? ;o)

Good luck - you'll be pleased.

Al