yes,,that's it. Umbrella plant. what kind of pot and soil is it in? maybe needs a bigger pot/new soil. how often does it get water? it likes moist but not soggy and let it get a tad dry before watering.

also look closely w/magnifier. these plants like a lot of humidity. without it, they can get spider mites. look at the underside for red mites or anything else.

the other issue i see is the top part of the plant no longer receives good light.

Initially, I was watering it too much and after reading up a bit, I am now letting the soil go completely dry before I water. And, OMG, you are right about the red mites!!!! How do I get rid of them?

really?!!!! I assumed that was how it was supposed to grow! Thank you for the insight - I will look into the propagation method

I have cut my plant down to the wood, leaving no leaves and about 8 inches of bark from the pot. I then put it outside for the summer and it was flush with growth in a matter of weeks. If nothing else works, you have nothing to lose by doing this. It might be too late in the season, depending upon your location.

One thing you might try is something called "Eight Insect Control Garden and Home." We had a terrible problem awhile back with white flies on our ficus trees. The nursery recommended the "Eight" and it really helped. You can try the Dawn/water Beth mentioned since it can be effective, although it didn't help with our white flies. Once the mites are gone, do the water misting as often as possible. Scheffleras love it.

This is what we used...the spray bottle. Pretty sure it comes in various forms. The nursery also recommended mixing worm castings in the soil. We've been doing it ever since.

worm castings. hmm. good idea. yeah I"d do the dawn first if you want, but I'd still spray w/something stronger. those little buggers are hard to shake. and new soil is a must because they'll have infected that too.

Beth, I was honestly at my wits' end over those freaking whiteflies! I'm not sure if it was the spray stuff or the worm castings or both, but the bugs were GONE. They've never come back, but we're armed and ready if they do.

i didn't think anything killed those. i have some similar white granule stuff on my orange tree leaves. maybe I'll try that.

Thank you ladies! You guys are a HUGE help! One clarification though - what I am seeing on the back of some of the leaves are super tiny RED mites - not white. I sprayed with VOC oil because I read that somewhere. That was 2 days ago. Should I forget that method and take the plant outside and hose it down? I love the shape of the tree so would hate to cut it down but will do if I have to. Also, I live in MD. It is still warm but we are getting towards the end of our summer soon

Also, when you say repot, am I getting rid of all of the soil in the pot? Down to the bare roots? If so, what type of soil would you recommend? Finally, I thought this type of plant likes little water and that I should let the soil dry out completely before watering again - which is what I have been doing. Should I continue that but mist the leaves down? Sorry for this long list of questions!

I'm not familiar w/VOC. I know spider mites can be difficult to eradicate, that's I mentioned something strong. I would have taken mine outside, hosed it down first (to loosen up and get rid of what I could), let it dry a bit, then sprayed w/the hard stuff. I'd spray over the soil too just to keep anything from hatching and crawling up. then I'd wait a few days, hose it down again to get rid of the bodies, take it out of the soil, hose down the roots, wash out the pot (or get a whole new one) with Dawn,,,,,,put in brand new potting soil w/the now freshly washed roots and tree. (of course you will be very gentle during all of this) and replant the tree into the fresh stuff. Then I'd spray the leaves again w/ insecticide. water the soil lightly. let the stuff on the leaves dry, and bring it in. then get a mister bottle and mist daily, making sure to reach under the leave. once a week take a wet paper towel and wipe off each leaf. you may get stragglers. now you can treat w/an inside insecticide that's safe for a week or two or until they're all gone.

Lot of work? yep. or you can plant this guy in your yard, spray it, and get a new one for the house.

I would do as Beth suggests ^. Yes...it can take some time, but at least your plant's leaves are large and easier to wash/spray individually on both sides. NOT the case with our ficus trees which are dense with small leaves. Very hard to get to each one, but the Eight and worm castings did a great job.