Nischa, that little bump you see has probably been enlarging since the top was taken off. Don't worry, it will continue to grow and will be a branch soon. Sometimes the next node or two below will trigger and grow to make a bushier plant, so you might look for that in the summer.

Dave, thanks for the mix recipe. This appears to be a mix for outdoor shrubs, trees, etc, I've used one very similar, but I substitute a commercial peat-based mix with a wetting agent for the peat. The 5-1-1 is so loose though, that a wetting agent probably isn't needed.

Interesting posts, thanks!

Russ

Thanks, Russ. It will be interesting to see what happens, and whether there will be just one, or more, new growths. I'll update here as soon as I see anything. Thanks again for all your very helpful info. Much appreciated.

Russ,

which mix are you speaking of for outdoor shrubs? The 5:1:1 is for indoor container grown plants as regular potting mix just holds onto water far too long in most cases. Al's (Tapla) gritty mix and 5:1:1 mix are very popular mixes for indoor container plants around here. They're nearly impossible to over water, alowing you to flush with every watering and give much more oxygen to the roots.

J.

Wow! That's beautiful. How do you get multiples from one axil? I see the chopped-off main stalk there, but it's great to get 3 sprouts from one place.

And what an outstanding photo! Out of curiosity, what lens did you use? I'm shooting with a 50mm these days but want to buy a macro.

Thanks Nischa! I'm not sure there are multiples on my schefflera. I'm still a newbie with plants.

I use a Canon 100m lens.

That's exactly the lens I'm looking to buy! Nice to see it does such a great job. :) I'd love to be able to take photos like that. Very inspiring.

To me, those look like multiples to me. I usually get only one shoot out of an axil (though I haven't done much pruning). It looks like you have 3 growing out of the same spot. Nice going!

My large leaf Schefflera puts out about 2 leaves per month (well, two petioles each with 7-8 leaves) It's in a southern window with help from my ficus trees grow lights.

It's speeding up now and I expect faster growth in the summer when it's outside.

5:1:1 mix

Plants are a lesson in being patient and going with what nature wants to do, aren't they?

Looks great, Dave. I'm learning that Shefflera's come in more than one leaf size. Those big ones are gorgeous!

Mine (with standard smaller leaves) have typically grown quite quickly in the past, which is part of what prompted me to post about this one that is quite slow. But at least we're heading into a good growing season.

I enjoy both. The large leaf is actually standard, and the small leaf is the dwarf Schefflera. Both grow at about the same rate.

If you really want it to take off, place it outside when nighttime temps are above 55° and it'll take off. I wouldn't recommend direct sun as your plant isn't used to it. They can grow in full direct sunlight when acclimated though.

Very interesting about the standard and dwarf varieties.

And I may well try putting mine on the balcony, but I'll take care not to shock it.

Does your balcony recieve full sun? And I'd definitely wait till about June to put it outside.

Also, the dwarf verities come in green and you can also get them veragated. Green on the edges with white in the center of the leaf.

they come in a few different forms and can get huge outdoors.

My east-facing balcony gets strong sun for a couple of hours in the early morning, and then just good bright light for the rest of the day. I'm thinking the full sun might be a bit harsh (at first), though I'll see if there's a corner that remains shaded by the balcony above. I can always just put it out daily after the full sun has moved off. It's certainly little enough.

I tend to particularly like variegated plants. The green-edge, white-center sounds beautiful and like something I would not be able to resist if I came across it in a store. I think I saw photos of it in another thread around here.

I love those photos. The large leaf variety is spectacular, isn't it?

For me, in my current situation, it's the one in the top photo that I'm after. I love the look of the simple, straight up silhouette and the beautiful variegation. Plus I just enjoy watching Scheff leaves grow. A simple pleasure, but I don't seem to tire of it.

I've had Scheffleras in the past, and a few years ago gave a big one away -- which I've regretted. So now I have two small ones (4" pots) and am starting again.

They're definitely easy to grow. I took these clippings from some Scheffleras growing outside of my moms place in Florida and drove them back with me. They're starting to root now.

Watching them grow is great, my large leaf is wonderful to watch:

What great photos of the new leaf coming out. So exciting! :)

For the ones you're rooting, did you pack them in any special way for all that time they spent between when you cut and when you popped them in water? Do they root in water like, say, a pothos, after which you plant it in soil? I've rooted pothos (which has to be the easiest plant in the world) and Dracena cuttings with great success, but never tried a Schefflera.

Okay, I've got to go now and stare at your photos some more ...

The ones I'm rooting were taken from directly in from of my mothers Florida home, so they went straight into a bottle of water and were brought back to Vermont that way.

To me, they seem to root just about as well as ficus benjamina and alii (I've rooted WAY too many of those) and have had success 9/10 times. I took 4 of the Schefflera cuttings in case some fail. 1 of them has a root about an inch long, so I'm pretty sure that one will make it.

To root them, you have to actually cut the stem, not the petiole (petiole is the smaller stem the 7 leaves form off).

Im glad you like the pics! Sounds like you need to add a couple more Scheffleras to your collection! :)

More Scheffleras? Hmm, that sounds good. Can we say "enabler"?

Sounds like the rooting process is much the same as for the plants for which I've already done it. Understood about needing some stalk and not just the leaf stem/petiole. I'll look forward to trying it one day. Until then, I'll enjoy the photos.

Nischa, I think the new growth at the tip of your plant is new leaves, not new branches.

I've seen several named varieties of variegated scheffleras, I don't know if they're actually different or the same one with different names. There are both white and yellow variegation but I'm not sure if they're different plants or maybe the yellow changes to white with age.

I have an odd schefflera that I obtained many years ago from Selby Botanic Garden or Univ of Fla at Tampa BG. It might have a name by now but at that time it was labeled 'species Nova'. It's about 6 feet tall and 4 feet or so wide. I can send cuttings to anyone that wants it, or I'd be glad to root cuttings. Pic of a leaf below.

Also have some varieties of Ficus, a benjamina with very dark leaves called 'Midnight', F. retusa 'Tiger Bark', a few other uncommon types. Cuttings no problem.

Russ

Cool, I didn't know there was one on the other side, so your plant will be bushier than before. Keep us posted on progress.

Russ

Russ, how do you like the benjamina midnight and how large is it?

id love a cutting of that midnight, if you wanted to send. I can return the favor with cuttings, too.

i have about 8-10 ficus trees ranging from a foot tall to 6 feet tall. I might check that one out. I also really like the benjamina "Monique" but it's impossible to find around here.

Anymore comments on the 5:1:1 mix I spoke of? Maybe you had a chance to read a bit more about it in this site?

its wonderful for ficus trees too. I've never seen roots this heathy until I switched.

Russ, thanks for the kind offer of cuttings. Normally, I'd love to take you up on it but I'm in Canada and I don't think these things can cross the border. I envy how you guys can share this kind of stuff.

JZ267, I cannot tell you how much I love these photos of yours!

Happy news to report. That bump at the top axil (just under the broken leaf petiole, pictured in the 2nd photo in this thread) has burst out into the tiniest of baby leaves. It sure has taken its time. Too small to capture (without a macro lens) but I'll snap a photo in a few days.

I am absurdly happy to see this, in the short term because its exciting in and of itself, but in the longer term because it means that the plant's silhouette won't be too messed up.

Hi Justin,

My tree of F. Midnight is about 6 feet tall and maybe 4 feet across. It's rooted into the ground through it's pot, located under a big live oak where it gets very bright dappled shade. This variety came to me from a ficus collector in Missouri who now lives in Nebraska, it does have very dark green leaves but I'm not sure if it's a lot darker than some other benjaminas.

Right now there's a nest in the middle of it with a baby cardinal inside, but maybe I can sneak up and get a bigger cutting to root for you. I don't know if I have any cuttings of Midnight already rooted, but I'll check.

Question... when you take cuttings from ficus, what size to you typically root?

As an experiment, a few decades ago I put a bunch of little air layers on small branches of a regular benjamina, they all quickly had roots inside the long-fiber sphagnum moss covered with clear plastic. So cool! I haven't used air layers in a long time but I love the concept and magic of it.

Regarding the 5-1-1 mix, as I said I've used a very similar recipe, often the exact same one, for many decades for outdoor plants, mostly trees and shrubs. Here in Florida, a mix with this much pine bark is used solely for outdoor ornamental trees and shrubs. I use it for my small collection of heirloom crotons in big plastic pots.

I think Fafard 51 mix is very similar to 5-1-1... bark, peat moss, perlite, dolomitic limestone and wetting agent. They describe it as ''Heavyweight Mix, well suited for plants in larger nursery containers. It is also suitable for perennials.'' They recommend mixes with higher amounts of peat moss for plants that like a lighter mix such as tropicals, indoor plants and the like.

I've used 5-3-1 successfully for a variety of tropicals, including my collection of philodendron, dieffenbachia, aglaonema and other aroids. Also vegetables in pots. I've also used medium and large vermiculite as part of the mix, I'm always experimenting with soil aggregates and materials. This said, I like a simple mix, and 5-1-1 and 5-3-1 are certainly that.

If you haven't grown F. retusa Tiger Bark, the decorative bark is very attractive and trees have a nice shape like benjamina. I just repotted a bunch of small cuttings from community rooting pots into 4 inch individual pots. When these are a little larger I can send some, along with rooted Midnight cuttings.

Let me know if there's anything else I have that interests you, lists available.

Russ

Russ,

it does seem similar to the fafard mix you're speaking of. Though I've never use theirs. The 5:1:1 mix a lot of us make around here is mostly pine bark (not decomposed) and very little peat in comparison. It also includes perlite and some lime. The mix drains insanely fast and Is great for indoor use.

If I had plants in containers outside year round, I'd probably make more of a 3:1:1 mix so it would hold onto water longer, especially in the sun.

Even being indoors, since everything is really taking off right now, a lot of my ficus in the 5:1:1 mix need water every other day. When I move them outside for the summer, they'll be needing daily watering.

When I root ficus, if I'm doing it the old fashioned way in water, I'd try to get a cutting that about a foot long. Usually not really old growth, but also nothing that's new and still green. I remove all leaves and small branches up to the tip and leave only 2/3 leaves on it. If you air layer, I don't think the size matters as much.

What part of central Florida are you in? I'm down there twice a year and always love to bring cuttings back home.

also, I'm sorry this was extremely off topic.

Nischa, be sure and keep us updated on progress with your schefflera.

Dave, interesting comments about your soil mixes and experiences in growing ficus. Regarding needing to water your ficus every day, that would be a major pain for most people that aren't as much into plants as we are. Which is almost everybody! They don't have the time or inclination to give even a few minutes a day to their plants, priorities are elsewhere. Hence, mixes with much higher peat proportions.

You take much larger cuttings of ficus, mine are 6 inches or less. Maybe I'll try some bigger cuts. I root them in my beat-up old shadehouse, I just stick a bunch of cuttings in a 4 inch standard pot with whatever mix is handy. This time of year I'll lose very few.

I'm in central Fla, 20 miles north of Orlando. I'm just off I-4 north of Lake Mary. Feel free to stop by when you're down here, just give me a couple weeks heads-up so I can spiff up everything.

I had to Google Monique, a website said Monique has a ruffled-edge leaf in low light, what else do you like about it? I saw an unusual variegated benjamina-type ficus at a nursery a couple of weeks ago, I'll check it out next time I'm there.

I have two regular white-variegated benjamina's, 2 feet tall. Do you have this?

Let me know if you're interested in the Schefflera sp. Nova and I'll take some cuttings to root.

If you want to correspond directly, I'm at bluesea14808@yahoo.com. This might be boring the schefflera fans.

Russ

Russ, I'll email you in a day or so and we can chat. That'll you help them get back to Schefflera talk and we don't have to ruin that. Ha.

Okay Dave, I look forward to talking to you.

Nischa, I've sent plants all over the world, mostly unrooted cuttings that don't violate laws regarding soil-borne critters, diseases. How are you at rooting cuttings? It's very easy, if you want to give it a try send me your address. bluesea14808@yahoo.com

Russ

Hi Russ, I've mailed just about everything (from glassware to archival materials) all over the world (as far as Japan and New Zealand) but never any plant material. How does one pack it so that it survives for 7-10 days with no light, soil or water? I'm pretty decent at rooting cuttings unless they require special hardware and conditions that I cannot give them in a regular home. I'll drop you a line. Thanks!

A happy update, now that I've had the chance to upload some photos:

After quite some time with no signs of growth, a tiny shoot finally appeared at the axil of the broken-off leaf (petiole?) stem. I'm happy it emerged at the top axil and not at one lower down since that might have made the plant look imbalanced.

I was enjoying watching it grow,

and then before I knew it, another tiny shoot developed at the same axil!

So maybe that explains why it took so long -- because it was making 2 shoots not just one. There's a hint of a bulge at the axil between the 2 new shoots so it's even possible that a 3rd shoot is developing there, which would be very nice. And if so, I will forgive it for taxing my patience with all the time it took; it was well worth the wait. And at the end of the day, I'm very glad to see that the plant is healthy and growing nicely (and that the odd brittle leaf that snapped off was not a sign of a systemic problem).

Nice looking plant,,good luck with the new growth:)

It's always such a joy to see the new growth. The new leaves are so elegant.

Looks like it's taking off Nischa, I guess it feels spring coming in Ontario. You should see a fast succession of leaves now that the branch is growing again. A stem branching at a lower node than the tip is an easy fix, you just cut it just above where it's branching and either toss it or, if it's long enough and has nodes, propagate it. But usually it's not a problem, the energy normally goes to the first node below the break, sometimes the top two or three nodes will grow which is makes for a nice, bushy plant. It also can trigger growth way down toward the base of the plant, you may still see that if your plant has excellent light.

So, good job and let us see more progress as it happens.

When is spring in full bloom there? June?

Russ

My large leave Schefflera always grows two sets of leaves at a time. One emerges before the other, but they're both maturing at the same time.

I think that's the way all of them do it.

Looks good!

Yes, it's (embarrassingly) exciting to see new growth. And I guess it's lucky that the break happened towards spring rather than in November. Spring seems to vary here; while it's late this year, it seems finally underway. The maples buds are all exploding, the magnolias are in bloom and the early flowers have been popping up.

Russ, very interesting about where the new growth emerges from, and options. I'll bear this in mind. I've only had a one Schefflera in the past, and it grew straight up, but it may be time to explore different silhouettes. Thanks for all your support.

Dave, very interesting about them appearing two at a time. My only experience (with one plant) was singly, but two is double the excitement. It's fascinating how different plants (different varieties or different individuals) have different growth habits.

In those weeks between when the malformed new shoot snapped off (end of February) and the next new shoot emerged (end of April), when I thought the plant was doing nothing (in my worry and impatience), it wasn't only preparing 2 (possibly 3) new shoots, but the whole plant grew larger (the existing leaves grew). It's just magic!

JZ267, can I ask your opinion? It's slightly off topic (apologies), but I can't see if there's a way to message you directly through Houzz's system. (Is there?)

I'm on the verge of buying a Canon 100mm macro lens. Would you recommend the regular lens, or the L-series for its image stabilization? As I understand it, for still subjects (such as your shoots above) which is my interest, you can get sharper images with IS turned off, assuming a sturdy tripod, of course. Thoughts?

Nischa, I'm not quite familiar with camera technicals myself, I have to do a research. My own experience with small still subjects is that using a tripod, set a small aperture and set good lightings. Sometimes when I still can't get everything in focus, then take a series of images and combine them in post production.

Okay, thanks. There is a lot of technical stuff to absorb, isn't there? At the moment, I'm tending towards the lens without image stabilization, which (for still subjects) I think will yield better results than the L-series with IS. Post production is a whole other area to explore!

My zoom lens has stabilizer on but my micro doesn't have it. I haven't noticed any difference.

Nischa, I found this:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/image-stabilization-when-use-it-and-when-turn-it

That's why I didn't notice the difference. I seldom use a low shutter speed for my images.

Funny, I was reading that exact article last night and found it very helpful. Good to hear it fits with your actual experience. Thanks. It's an expensive lens, so I want to make sure I get the one that's right for me.

The original plant of this discussion looks like S. arboricola, often referred to as dwarf. A plant of smaller stature and slower growth.
http://garden.org/plants/view/74359/Umbrella-Tree-Schefflera-arboricola/

The bigger one is S. actinophylla, a much bigger plant that needs more sun. My house isn't big enough to get involved with one of those.
http://garden.org/plants/view/74357/Umbrella-Tree-Schefflera-actinophylla/

Thanks! This one does seem to be growing more slowly than one I had previously, but it's a little different in other ways, too. The leaves are a bit bigger and they have 9 leaflets (rather than 7 or 8). But as long as it's healthy, I'm happy. It's lovely and I'm enjoying just seeing there in my space.

Sheffs are best kept indoors year round....too insect prone. Get good at inspecting for and spraying for insects. Sounds like you picked a good location...if there are no a.c. vents over it.

Well, mine live indoors and there's no a/c (though I wouldn't mind some for myself!)

Surprising new growths close to soil line!

They grow as hedges in Florida. Full, hot sun. They are clipped regularly. They are tough plants. But they grow best in full sun.

Jane