Hi from Calgary!

If your referring to what I think your referring too that's just part of the schefflera.

Mine has always had the brown bumps for as long as I've had it.

Oh good, I was hoping to hear something like that. Maybe it's a sign that it's starting to root.

The bumps are root primordia. They have the potential to become roots under the right conditions. Those above the soil will probably come to nothing but the same structures below the surface are where the new roots will grow from. Schefflera grows very easily from cuttings so yours will likely be fine. Before you learn to id scale by eye, a simple test is to gently scratch it with a finger nail. Scale will come off easily.

Thanks so much for the replies. After looking at it more I definitely noticed a pattern to the bumps so they definitely aren't pests or anything. Really happy to know that it's beginning to root. This will be my first indoor tree, I've always wanted something to fill a room

Oops - those plant organs are not root initials or root primordia. They're lenticels, and completely unrelated to the rooting process. We're all hoping for your success, but the bumps can't be looked upon as harbingers of that success, so sorry about that. Keep the soil damp (never wet or soggy) and the cutting in a warm (65-75*), very bright spot, but not in direct sun. No fertilizer until you're sure the cutting has struck (started to grow roots). Don't be tempted to tug on the cutting to see if it's rooted, as this breaks many very fine roots and represents a setback.

Good luck.

Al

Although most rooting will be taking place below the surface of the medium. In my opinion there are definitely root primordia visible in the OP's photos. I said they have the potential to root, not that they were rooting. I am not confusing them with lenticels. There are also lenticels in the photos but I wasn't referring to them. The potential roots are the larger lumpier structures. There's one in the top photo just above the leaf axil of the lowest left hand leaf. Schefflera has the ability to produce aerial roots. Check out the illustrations for 'Aerial Root' on Wiki to see an illustration of a Schefflera doing just that.

I wouldn't argue that the one protrusion you pointed out could/couldn't be an adventitious root in an early formative stage, but the rest of the extrinsic structures the OP inquired about are lenticels and not terrestrial or adventitious root structures.

Al

Well, we'll have to agree to differ on this one. The OP's pictures show lenticels and root primordia in my view. in some species lenticel hypertophy causes lenticels to develop into roots under the right conditions i.e. very moist. Image of lenticel hypertrophy.

In plants, it's very possible and not unusual for cells of one plant organ (in this case lenticels) to dedifferentiated into STEM (from the word 'meriSTEMatic) cells and then eventually redifferentiate into specialized cells of another organ, but until the process is complete, we call that organ what it actually is (a lenticel), not any one of a list of the things a lenticel CAN potentially become.

We have a picture of a cutting in some soil. Biologically, we know by the size of the cutting that there are 100 or more lenticels which are obviously and clearly NOT roots; this, because lenticels are a conspicuous part of the anatomy of every living schefflera, along with hundreds of thousands of other plants. That there is one excrescence that may or may not be exhibiting the potential of being able to dedifferentiate and then redifferentiate into one adventitious root isn't reason enough to call all the lenticels that are a very conspicuous part of schefflera's anatomy 'root primordia', which is what you initially did ("The bumps are root primordia"). If the excrescence are root primordia, where did all the lenticels go? They're not even root initials yet, which is the precursor to primordia.

Al

I said 'The bumps are root primordia'. There are several in the top picture at various stages of development beyond the lenticel.

"If the excrescence are root primordia, where did all the lenticels go?"

They didn't go anywhere. Through lenticel hypertrophy they have swollen and are transforming through lenticel hypertrophy into root primordia.

Whatever - it generally takes 3-12 week for root initials to form under conditions very conducive to rooting (like in a dark, moist, warm medium), after which root primordia appear, but if you wish to think lenticels were suddenly transformed into immediate precursors of adventitious roots within days ....... Also, lenticel hypertrophy is usually discussed within the context of the plant being flooded or inundated.

Since the post is about 5 days old already, the OP should be able to see if there is further progression of the excrescence toward becoming adventitious roots.

Al

Science Friday! While somewhat over my head I do enjoy trying to follow the debate. I'll end up rereading this thread until I at least understand it, even if I don't have the experience or knowledge to form my own opinion.

I have often been curious about the spots I've seen on S. arboricola, and I already know more about them than I did.

Thanks kindly to both of you for sharing your knowledge and engaging in a lively yet civil conversation.

Daniel

Quinn,

In response to your original post, I want to tell you a story.

I bought a 4 stalk (really, 4 plants..) S. arboricola at Home Depot, separated them, cut each in half and rooted the 4 tops. It did take a while for anything to show on the top, and they got a bit wilty and dropped some leaves before finally starting to grow again (maybe 8-10 weeks), but I mostly ignored them during that time, watering occasionally if I thought about them and noticed they were bone dry. All 4 rooted and by the end of the summer were mostly indistinguishable from their mothers. Since I didn't have enough space inside, I gave away all 8 to friends and coworkers at the end of the summer. I think 3 may still be alive :)

I guess my message is, you probably don't need to dote on them quite as much. These are super easy plants to keep alive - even when you cut their legs off :) But it is hard to be patient, and there is a fine line between neglect and care when it comes to cuttings. I find getting the balance right very satisfying. Keep it warm as you can, and the light won't hurt. Time will take care of the rest, just don't let it get bone dry.

Daniel

Wow! I didn't think my post would generate this much excitement! Thank you everyone for educating me on my new plant and what to expect with the rooting process. The bumps haven't really changed at all since popping up so I'm going to go with them being lenticles and not root initialization. Though the larger node which was pointed out by an earlier poster has gotten longer, not sure what that means but whatever, growth right? I'm not doting on it too, too much I hope, just a daily misting to keep the humidity high and a plastic bag to create a warmer environment (my place is usually sitting around 15-17℃). All I know for sure is that the plant still isn't wilting at all so it's happy, which makes me happy :). Sorry for the late repsonse guys!

The single larger lump just above the second branch from the bottom may be the precursor of an adventitious root, which are often referred to as air roots, aerial roots, prop roots or sometimes stilt roots. Adventitious roots, by definition, are roots that form in unusual places, and as such shouldn't be taken as an indication your plant has rooted.

As I look at your cutting, I see it has a lot of leaf surface from which water is being lost. The cutting may very well be losing water faster than it can take it up. When plants are in this predicament they usually recognize it as a drought situation, and their drought response is to shed foliage. This is very true of scheffleras. While adding more water to the soil won't be helpful, reducing the leaf surface area of the cutting would be. Schefflera's leaves are called 'compound' because each leaf is made up of a number of leaflets. I would snip off all but 2 leaflets from each compound leaf to give the cutting a better chance at striking. Alternately, you could remove half of the compound leaves by cutting through the petiole (long leaf stem) half-way between the leaf and the trunk/branch, or, you could cut all the leaflets in half across the veins.

This isn't a schefflera, of course, but note how I prepared the cutting for insertion into a rooting medium: