Ok, stay with me here ...... ;o) Mesophyll tissue between the upper and lower epidermis (leaf surface) contains chloroplasts, which is where photosynthesis takes place. This mesophyll tissue is divided into two distinct layers. The palisade mesophyll is just below the upper leaf surface and is composed of regular layers of elongated cells. Lying below them is the spongy mesophyll, composed of loosely arranged cells of irregular shape. This layer contains fewer chloroplasts and has many intercellular spaces for the diffusion of gases (required for respiration and photosynthesis). Because there are many more chloroplasts near the upper leaf surface, most photosynthesis occurs there. I would recommend fluorescent bulbs that concentrate their light in the blue portion of the spectrum (cool white). They should be placed very close to the foliage. Incandescent bulbs are a poor choice, turning energy into heat and providing little light. Pot size depends largely on soil choice. Here's a copy/paste job that sort of explains it: "Over-potting" is a term that arises from a lack of basic knowledge about the 3-way relationship between plant material/ soil composition/ container size, which together, logically determine appropriate container size(s). It's often parroted that you should only move up 1 size in containers when "potting-up". The reasoning is that the soil will remain wet too long and cause root rot issues. Of course, that's true if you're growing in a heavy, inappropriate soil, but it can be remedied by changing the soil to one that drains freely. The size/mass of the material and soil type/composition determine both the upper & lower limits of appropriate container size. Plants grown in slow soils need to be grown in containers with smaller soil volumes so that the plant can use water quickly, allowing air to return to the soil. This (smaller soil volumes) will cause plants to both extend branches and gain o/a mass much more slowly. Rampant growth can be had by growing in very large containers and in very fast soils where frequent watering and fertilizing is required - so it's not that trees necessarily rebel at being potted into very large containers per se, but rather, they rebel at being potted into very large containers with a soil that is too slow. We know that there is an inverse relationship between soil particle size and the height of the PWT in containers. As particle size increases, the height of the PWT decreases, until at about a particle size of just under 1/8 inch, soils will no longer hold perched water. If there is no perched water, the soil is ALWAYS well aerated, even when the soil is at container capacity (saturated). If you wish to grow in a large container - please do. Just be certain that your soil supports no, or very little perched water. You have all the tools you need to make an excellent soil. Now all you need is the confidence and the materials. ;o) If you're interested in more in-depth discussion about soil choices, how soil choice relates to container size, and a better understanding of soils in general, you can follow the link below. Al Here is a link that might be useful: More about soils.

Not much info is right. I think its a cross of S. actinophylla and S.arboricola. For me in the SF Bay area the larger Schefflera is hit and miss..some big ones. S.arboracola is very hardy here. So I guess I should expect Amate to be 10 a- low end- hardy. But other things like..will it flower? No information on that. No info on growth speed. And a photo of one outdoors in California is nowhere to be found. I would think its going be less gangly and less invasive root wise,then the common Shefflera. ALL guesses.

.... an attractive plant. Root congestion has several primary effects on plants. It makes leaves smaller and internodes shorter, reduces o/a growth and vitality, and forces foliage to be increasingly persistent nearer and nearer to apices (areas where the plant extends in length). Shedding of interior/older leaves is often see as a symptom, which is just another way of saying growth is concentrated near apices. At the same time, a notable increase in photoexposure can also reduce leaf size and shorten internodes, but that usually isn't accompanied by shedding of old/interior foliage. Even though these conditions impact schefflera in the same way they impact other plants, because of its growth habit it isn't always as obvious in scheffs as it might be in other woody houseplants. Schefflera will definitely take full sun, but they might rebel at being in full sun where there is no air movement to cool the foliage. Unless you overexpose the plant before it's acclimated to full sun, it's doubtful that sunburn could (technically) be a problem, but overheating of the foliage and the dessication that accompanies it very well could. Your plants will take a lot more sun if you have a fan moving air and upsetting what is called the boundary layer (of air surrounding leaves). Al

That photo is of my plant. It took about 10 years before it bloomed. It finally one year just wilted and died at about 30+ years of age. Might have been gophers,or might have been cats using it as a way to climb. They are very thin skinned tree's. It had a huge gnarly trunk on it I also have a S.amate in a pot and its about 4' tall,minus the pot. The leaflets if anything are much shorter then the common S.actinophylla. Then again,I don't know the history of your last photo. Is that a plant that was grown in shade or a greenhouse and is now outdoors? The changes will always be bad before it gets good.