Hi! I received a schefflera from my mother also a year ago. it’s interesting to me so many have a similar situation. I now know after reading most of the responses above what happened to my plant. We had it in our brightest room which gets south to west sun. Unfortunately, my fiancé opened a window during the winter which he was unaware was a cardinal sin for most plants. It was sitting in a wind chill in the 50-60’s. I immediately knew that is what happened and tried to correct it. It’s doing Exactly what was described above when the upper portion of the root is shut off to all water flow and nutrients. I’ve finally gotten him to understand that is what was causing the issue so since then we have had it in the same room with the same sunlight but have yet to have it recover fully. The leaves have stopped dropping so many in a day and now it is more so a leaf or two falls within a couple or several days. I’ve taken the advice to let it dry out and it’s almost dry enough for me to water. I also don’t think the pot I have it in is the best for it after reading more also. The plant was thriving before with many shoots and new growth growing at both ends constantly. That does tell me the pot wasn’t terrible for it but if I can get this plant to recover after this I will do everything in my power to be sure it is getting everything it needs to be great. This plant is from my mom as I said before and was given as a house warming gift to myself and my fiancé. My fiance was obsessed with my moms schefflera which she has had for over 30 years now. It’s huge and gorgeous! So I hope to one day be able to say I’ve kept the plant she gave us from the beginning. It would mean to much to us. Anywho, I’m going to attach pictures from my plant to show when it was thriving to now and what we are seeing as the plant has been in the trauma we caused unknowingly. Also, where I took the picture of the plant today is not where I keep it in the window. I’ve moved it out so I could get a better picture. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Im not expecting to get it to the state we had it at the beginning, as I now know that may not be impossible, but I’d like to keep it healthy and growing as long as I can. ((Before pic is by the window. After/current pic is in the kitchen area)) here’s a picture of my moms schefflera which is what prompted my fiancé and I to get one. She’s had hers for 30 years and we are aware not many people have them this large in doors. It’s impressive in person. She is the one who gifted us ours that we have now. I’ve seen the pictures you just posted of yours and they are grand and gorgeous! We love the bonsai schefflera! We’ve never seen that before.

I do not use the ST and KLN on a regular basis I keep that for my "rescues" (I tend to feel bad for the ones on the discount racks and try to save them.. Many are now doing very nicely and flowering) and for when I am transplanting a plant in the garden. But I also have many orchids bought at regular price which are healthy and mature. I thought that this particular orchid was one of them. :( Since the only new growth I saw on this plant was extra branches on its spike I think the roots had been like this before purchasing it. I am not in the habit of repotting healthy plants as soon as they are purchased so this was the first time I saw the roots. The phal had been potted up twice before by the nursey (there were three different colored layers of very tight sphag.) Since it was in a green plastic pot there was no way to see all the roots i had figured that the small section of the roots that I could see when I poked my finger into the pot was indicative of good healthy roots as was the upper condition of the plant which had nice thick leaves and two flower spikes. I tend to be an under waterer not an over waterer and for the new plants I use a skewer to check when to water. So I was very surprised to see wrinkled leaves. Unfortunately I can not currently post a picture because I don't have a working camera. Larissa

May I ask the OP where they have gotten their basic information culture information? I am curious where this information comes from. I see it many times from people new to orchids. I see nothing in the other post that states " Too much light". In fact I see the opposite many times over from experienced growers. I don't understand how the OP arrived at too much light conclusion. A Phalaenopsis is a tropical plant in a non-tropical environment. A Northern exposure and 50º temps would not benefit a Phalaenopsis or any other tropical flowering plant. Would you describe your present indoor conditons & culture? Would you tell us what steps you have taken to cure the "brown spot" problem? Would you be able to provide a photo? Would you tell us where/ when the plant was purchased? The OP has a declining plant. Spraying and misting cures nothing and can cause a variety of problems. You have a yet to be determined problem (I'd wager a lack of light). You have let it go for a few months. I would suspect your phal's problem has not improved. I strongly suspect you will face even greater problems quite soon. Spots don't disappear unless these were spots caused by a sudden shift in light (more) which happens in the fall months. You have brought it inside and the plant is now underlight, "darkening down". The spots would disappear under those circumstances. Plants leaves get darker the less light given. This is not a good thing. There is nothing that resembles Phalaenopsis culture (care). Buds don't stay forever. It's not a realistic expectation. I am not sure how that comes as a surprise to folks new to orchids . It's not the first time that I have seen an OP shocked that their bloom cycle is ending. I am not wondering if it is the price that is somehow associated bloom longevity. The OP posted more than 2 months ago. The plant may have run it's flowering cycle. Why will the spikes will be cut back to the 3rd node? Whay aren't they being cutt all the way down? I'm asking for my own curiousity, where this information comes from? Is the OP hoping the plant will re-bloom from the 3rd node? It is rare event for a phal in more ideal condtions to re-flower, a Big Box phal even more remote, a sick phal, probably suicide The plant needs attention and culture that fits a phal: - An acclimation to proper light. A south or East window supplimented by 14-16 hours of light every day Temps that are in the 75-80º range day and no lower than 60º night A solid watering regime which Richard describes above, not a dip in a bowl of water Dispense with misting if there is a problem. The risk of rot is quite high, especially when the plant is underlight. The plant is also risking over-watering. Misting does not increase humidity around the plant. Misting can cool leaves, leave spots, create rot. The plant needs time to grow a new set of leaves in proper phal conditons. Then it may reflower for you next year Clara

You say that the leaves are falling off, but then you go on to mention possible causes of flowers falling off. Is it the flowers or the leaves that are falling off? I disagree with most of chililover's suggestions about possible causes. Given what you describe above, my first guess would be overwatering would cause the leaves to yellow and drop. A good pepper growing saying is that peppers do not like to have wet feet! You need water to drain all the way through and flow out. Good drainage is important. Then do not water until you can stick your finger into the soil about an inch or two deep and feel that it is dry. When you do water, give them a good dousing, but it needs to drain all the way through. This way you avoid water pooling in the bottom of the whiskey barrel, which would be bad for the roots. I have not had to water container peppers more than every couple of days or so, even in 100 degree heat. But admittedly, the heat here comes with major humidity. Putting the peppers close together shouldn't cause this, at least assuming that we are talking about reasonable closeness (peppers also like to hold hands--meaning being somewhat close). I can't comment on your soil nutrition, but poor draining soil could lead to the problems you describe. Cold could be another possibility, but doesn't sound likely given what you said about the growing conditions there. 90+ degree whether could cause the plant to drop flowers and might contribute to the lack of fruiting, but probably would not cause yellow leaves. Too much nitrogen fertilizer would cause the plant to focus on growing more leaves instead of fruit, but I wouldn't expect it to cause yellow, falling leaves. Low light levels sound unlikely. Peppers tend to like humidity, but they are also grown very successfully in desert conditions (in fact my cousin is a chili farmer in New Mexico). Lack of pollinating insects would not cause leaves to drop. In fact, it probably wouldn't affect fruit bearing much because peppers are primarily pollinated by other means. From the sound of it, you have a pretty big container, so it's size doesn't sound like a probable cause. Too much minerals also sounds unlikely. Hard, mineral rich water usually is high in calcium, and calcium is very good for preventing blossom end rot. I water with hard water all the time. I also put a spoonful of egg shells in the hole wherever I plaint hot peppers. Disclaimer: although habaneros are my specialty, I have never grown mustard habaneros, I don't know everything and I'm having a bad year this year. :(