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.

@linnea56 For schefflera and almost all tropical/subtropical trees, including Ficus, The 2-3 week period before the summer solstice (21 June in the Northern Hemisphere, 21 December in the Southern Hemisphere) is the best time to do any heavy work on your trees. By heavy work, I mean hard pruning, full repots (includes bare-rooting, root pruning, a change of soil, or defoliating more than half the tree's leaves. A plant's level of vitality, how much energy the plant holds in reserve, and it's ability to make food at the time you're contemplating doing the work, are the primary factors we should consider before we act, and they all vary significantly during the growth cycle. I move my scheffleras, ficus, and other non-temperate trees outdoors as soon as weather allows (nights reliably above 55*). The added sun and air movement (and appropriate fertilizing) makes a huge difference in that it will allow the plant to build-up stored energy, and the plant will be at peak food-making ability. Appropriate timing allows us to take advantage of a plant at the peak of vitality, which ensures the most enthusiastic response to heavy work AND the fastest recovery time. It also make the grower feel like a better care giver by avoiding heavy work when light and energy levels are low, and taking advantages of timing that ensures the plant is most able to shrug off the stress of repotting and hard pruning. Al

Been a long time since this thread has been active, but thought I would add a new section of information. If you have any updates/additional experience with pests or pesticides on your specific succulent species, please contribute! Dealing with Mites on Succulents (Practical and Effective Guide) Mites are horrible tiny creatures that can do a lot of damage. It starts off slow, but as their numbers grow the damage increases very significantly. Note: There is a lot of crazy advice and misinformation about mites on the internet, do NOT believe it all. I have done not only an incredible amount of research but also worked with a PHD in surfactants, PHD in microbiology, and Professor of Entomology to develop my strategy for mite eradication. Step 1: Recognize them and their damage. Thin wisps of webs (depending on mite type). Distorted growth (bubbles, lumps, galls, strange shape). Happens at the fastest growing areas of the plant - center of rosettes, leaf buds, flower buds. Extremely tiny crawling creatures (may or may not be visible). Small pin-sized damage to leaves or unusual drying/dying of new growth. Step 2: If you suspect mites, you will need some tools to find them. 60x loupe, highly recommended. 40x loupe is the minimum. LED light, preferably as part of the loupe (alternatively a very bright working area). 250x microscope or similar, recommended if you have Eriophyid mites (USB microscope by Pluggable brand works well). Clear tape for slide mounting mites if you have a compound microscope. Step 3: Identify the type of mite. This is VERY IMPORTANT because different mites are killed by different pesticides. Red Spider Mites: Little red specks (400 microns) that move at a moderate speed. Can be seen with a sharp eye. With a loupe, look for a reddish fat round body with tiny legs on the sides. If you shine a bright light on them or blow on them gently they will usually scurry off. Tarsonid (Cyclamen / Broad) Mites: Very tiny white blobs (250-300 microns) that move a little slower than red spider mites. They look like little translucent eggs that move. With high magnification you may see their front appendages and legs while moving. Without a 40x loupe, seeing these is fairly hopeless. Eriophyid (Aloe) Mites: Extremely tiny worm-looking creatures (150-200 microns). Their 'tails' can move around when feeding or disturbed. Without a good loupe, you will not see them. At 60x you can see them but only the overall shape. Microscope is required to see the details. You should only find these living on Aloes and Haworthia as they are very host specific. Step 4: Quarantine affected plants and treat immediately. Luckily, most mites like to stick to their host plant. But if you go splashing around water, spraying them near other plants, or let them touch other plants they will spread. You should treat immediately because the longer you wait the worse it gets. If you wait too long, the damage is irreversible. If the plant is cheap and/or only a few are affected you may opt to pitch it in the garbage/burn it. If you are lazy, I would definitely throw the plant away because to eradicate mites it takes quite a bit of effort. Possibly more than any pest listed above except maybe thrips and whiteflies (I never had those but heard nasty things about them). You MAY opt to treat your entire collection. In fact, this is probably a very good idea because if you miss some, you will end up spot-treating your plants in a game of cat-and-mouse for weeks or months. Step 5: Decide what miticides you will use. You WILL need more than one. Consult this list and choose two with different Modes of Actions (MOA): OHP Chemical Class Chart You NEED at least two miticides because if you use the same one, the mites will become resistant and your miticide will become useless. Make SURE the miticides are different MOA. If not, then you are wasting your time and money. Step 5a: Here are some of my recommended miticides. Not all miticides kill all mites!! You need to check the label to know what they work against. MOA Group are included below with the active ingredient. Avid (Abamectin Group 6): Translaminar action (absorbed into the leaves) which lasts for 3 weeks! Highly recommended and extremely effective. Also extremely expensive. Bayer 3-in-1 (Tau-fluvalinate Group 3): Contact action. Can also use Schultz Houseplant and Garden Insecticide 709 which also has Pyrethrin and is cheaper. Note that Imidacloprid does NOT kill mites so Bayer Tree and Shrub is useless. Insecticidal Soap (Potassium Salts of Fatty Acids Group M): Believe it or not... soap can kill mites but really it's not very good. The real use here is to COMBINE the soap with your other miticides to provide better coverage. Any soap works, but the long chains of insecticidal soaps (or something like Lutensol XL-90 or Triton X-100) will minimize leaf tissue damage. You just need 5-10% in solution to help. Floramite (Bifenazate Group UN): Unknown action but kills on contact and lasts for 3 weeks! Highly recommended and also extremely expensive. Does NOT work on Eriophyid mites. ?Sevin? (Carbaryl Group 1A): Have not tested this on succulents, but works against all types of mites. Should kill on contact. Unsure if it causes leaf damage. Ultrasonic cleaner (Group M): Damages eggs and can kill mites. Recommended to use indirect cleaning method (to keep your cleaner safe for other uses) and duration close to 10 minutes with surfactant/soap. This combination is proven to kill 98% of two-spotted mites (study by J. D. Hansen). Adding miticide will improve effectiveness even further. Step 6: Remove ALL affected plant tissue. If simple damage from red spider mites, just remove any dead/badly infested leaves carefully. If there is distorted growth you must cut it ALL out. Use an exacto, scalpel, or razor blade. The distorted growth gives nooks and crannies for the mites to hide in so it has to all go. Your plant will become ugly. Step 7: Wear the proper protective gear and apply. Recommend nitrile gloves, respirator, safety glasses, long clothing. Mix pesticide with 5-10% soap/surfactant. Shake well. Outside, spray thoroughly on all parts of plant, especially nooks and crannies and under leaves. Leave plant in well ventilated or air exhausted area. Do NOT re-enter for at least 16 hours or the recommended re-entry time (check label). Take your gloves off properly and wash your clothes/take a shower. Step 7a: Highly recommended to use ultrasonic cleaner if practical. Applying miticide with surfactant/soap and ultrasonic action is extremely effective. This is THE best method I've tried yet. Ultrasonic cleaners are pretty cheap on Amazon or found locally. Plus you can keep your jewelry sparkling clean! Hopefully your succulent is small and in gritty mix. Remove all soil. Small because you want to put in a glass (jar or beaker) which will sit in the ultrasonic cleaner. Fill the glass with well mixed miticide + surfactant (so you use less) and outside the glass with water to the fill line. If your miticide solution is warm, that is better because you will get better cavitation (should not be hot though). Cleaning time close to 10 minutes is recommended. Simply repot in gritty with minimal disruption to the roots and follow re-entry protocol for that area. If you are tidy, it will be easier to re-inspect plants because any debris, dust, egg casings, etc. will be removed due to ultrasonic cavitation. I did not observe any tissue damage after multiple ultrasonic treatments. Step 8: Post-spray care. Keep your plants out of light to prevent phytotoxicity. Do not water your plants. Mites feed easier on fresh growth so slowing plant growth down will slow the mites down. Week 1: Examine very carefully to verify your treatment was effective. Week 3: Re-apply the SAME miticide as the first. Week 4: Re-inspect. Hopefully you found nothing. Week 5: Apply your SECOND miticide. Week 6: Re-inspect. Hopefully you found nothing or else you may need to improve your treatment method. Week 7: Re-apply your SECOND miticide. Week 8: Re-inspect. No mites! Step 8a: If you found mites after 8 weeks. Check if you removed all distorted growth. If not, more surgery is required. Check you used the right miticide. Reapply your first miticide IF you have not exceeded the # of allowable treatments per year for that miticide. If you have exceeded the # of treatments, you will need a THIRD miticide with a different MOA to add to your rotation. Overall summary notes: You CAN eradicate red spider, Tarsonemid, and Eriophyid mites. It WILL require a lot of diligent work, you cannot be lazy. Good miticides are very expensive. You can use cheaper ones too. If you have an expensive or extensive collection, I do not recommend trying weird/dangerous homebrew or DIY methods for dealing with mites. As you can see above, you need a well planned and structured method to eradicate them fully. It is very helpful to understand mite biology and life cycle to get in the mindset when treating for them. This applies to any pest, but mites can be particularly challenging to deal with. I really don't know if anybody will read or use this guide or information, but at least I thought I'd try to share my findings and experience! Took far too many words to explain it, but when you do it in person the process is actually very quick.

Thank you, Kawerkamp. I think you are right that function is definitely better in my original. I am planning on a single basin sink, but we don't have a disposal anyway since we are on septic. I suppose I technically *could* have a disposal with septic, but it isn't recommended, and though we had one in our old kitchen, after 5 years, we don't really miss it. That does bring to mind, though, how I keep our garbage at the end of the peninsula run in a step-open trash can, and that is another strong argument for function over form in putting the prep space on that end! I really missed my pull-out garbage for a long time, but now that I have that can, I have grown to appreciate the space it is able to use since I can make the opening that much smaller practically but not permanently. In typing this, I now realize that it will mean my garbage can facing the entrance rather than tucked away as it is currently. Bummer. Oh well, I think I'm just going to have to make function over form my mantra and start chanting it whenever I start deviating too much from the practical. It isn't as if the sink looks *bad* in the practical layout, it just looks "better" in the other. I had really wanted two pendant lights over the peninsula, but I think that might look strange if the sink isn't centered, but my husband wasn't crazy about the pendant lights anyway (he thinks they'll get in the way), so it is probably a sign, lol. Funny you should say that about moving the doorway. I had moved it as you describe just this morning in another mock up that didn't work out but not with this one. I do use that little closet like a mud room. It is PACKED with hooks on the door for kid coats, drawers up the middle for everyone's shoes, etc... But, if I could put a coat closet in the middle of the foyer between the two entrances instead of to the side, it might work. We've wanted to change the wall between the living room and foyer in that section to a half wall and column like one of the other homes on our street with our floorplan has (and is original), and that would definitely open up the two spaces nicely without it being too open. I really think it is most likely going to make the foyer too cluttered, more than it already is, but I should see if my husband will put it all in sketch up so we can better visualize it. And...now that I look at my floorplan again, I think it probably looks like the opening to the living room is when you first walk in, but the thick part is actually the opening and the black line the wall. I did that quickly, and I was not consistent, and I see now it is confusing.