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Will a leggy schefflera actinophylla grow if it has no leaves?

last year

last modified: last year

We inherited a schefflera actinophylla (umbrella tree) which has one long stem about 6ft tall. It has leaves at the top but not near the middle or base of the plant.

We would like it to be half the height and a lot fuller. We are going to attempt to propagate cuttings and see if we can also root a cutting from the mother stem if we take a cutting from the top.

However, we also want your opinion on whether this plant will grow again if we cut it right down to near the soil. Will is start sprouting leaves again even after we have cut it to be leafless?

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
here is a start on your project ...: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=schefflera+propagation&t=ffab&iax=videos&ia=videos

personally i would avoid the water version ... or just make sure you pot them AS SOON AS YOU SEE ROOTS... dont wait until they are a foot long ...

i have to believe one of the vids addresses the mother plant ... but the general rule would be that the plant has dormant buds.. that will trigger new growth .. when you decapitate the 5 feet above ..

ken
HU-82146264 thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
last year
last modified: last year
I would not cut that far down if you are looking for full. New branches will come from the nodes along the trunk, so if you go that low, you're limiting the number of possible new branches. A node is where a leaf used to be attached. Each node is theoretically capable of making a new branch.

Before, 06/22.

Trimmed 10/9/22

New growth filling in quickly, 10/29/22

A few weeks ago, 03/23

I would try to get your plant into a more vigorous mode of growth before trimming. To do that, I would snip the tiny new leaf forming at the top and put this plant as close as possible to the most sunny available window.

Does that pot have a drain hole? It looks like a pot with holes inside another pot without them to protect the floor. That's a common practice. If possible, when you water, take the inner pot out and put your plant in the shower so you can water it thoroughly and the excess water can drip away. Then put it back in the outer pot when finished dripping. That will enable you to thoroughly moisten all of the soil without risk of excess water causing the roots to rot.

Then, when it is growing vigorously, you can do more trimming. You can always cut more off later if you want, but you can't put anything back once removed. The removed top should take root easily if stuck in a pot of moist soil. You can add it to the pot with the stump if you want. Remove a leaf or two if needed so you have at least 6" of leafless stem to stick down into the soil. You can also try to root completely leafless sections of stem. If they are peppy and vigorous enough, they should take root also.
HU-82146264 thanked Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
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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.
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Gravyboots, I hope so! If they are branches, then I am getting 3 of them! About the food, I'm not advanced in these matters. I live in a small apartment and am always moving so I like to keep things simple. Actually just before the new leaves emerged I started giving it a tiny bit of organic seaweed fertilizer regularly (once or twice a week or so). All my plants love it, also herbs, seedlings, cuttings, all of them. So that's the only thing I use. Joe. Thank you for the tips although they sound a bit outlandish to me as I live in a place where one can't find a variety of anything. I mean it. All the shops, whatever you are looking for have the same 1-3 brands of almost everything. I don't complain, I like it simple. Hihi. The plant is actually placed in a corner window facing south and west, but winter is VERY dark around here. However, the days are really getting longer and longer now and soon there will be light all night! I will have to see how my Schefflera feels about that! Maybe I will give it new soil, and I will definitely keep on fertilizing it regularly. This fertilizer is nice because you can give as much or as little as you want as often as you like and it won't harm the plant.
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I don't think schefflera actinophylla is as hardy as schefflera arboricola. According the the University of Florida Schefflera arboricola is hardy to zone 9b. Whereas actinophylla is hardy to zone 10a. You would need to cover it up during periods of frost. I've got aboricola in my yard. It will get freeze damage at exactly 25 degrees. Tropicals tend to freeze from the top down. The top leaves will freeze first, so freezing weather can actually do some "pruning". I'm in zone 9a. Since I've been growing these scheffleras, it's only gotten down to 25 degrees once per year.
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
last year
I agree with what Tiffany offered and it's a workable plan, but I'd like to offer some thoughts. It's best to have a plan you can stick to, one that ensures a plant with much greater level of vitality (health) than it currently has so when you DO cut it back the response to the pruning is quick and enthusiastic instead of prolonged and listless. Tiffany also mentions this.

I would approach your goal by air layering the top off of the plant. Air layering is pretty much foolproof and quite easy to do. You could probably separate the layer in July if you start it soon and you live in the Northern Hemisphere. After the layer is separated from the mother plant, I would pot the layer, repot the mother plant, allow it to grow wild (unencumbered by pruning), and chop it back to the ht you prefer in Jun of 24. You CAN chop the mother plant back this year, but it's response to the pruning might be lethargic. Sometimes, doing best by the plant takes a little extra time and planning, but the results will speak for themselves. An air layer in progress, started in spring of 22 while the plant was dormant:

Same plant after separating in late July/ early August and being potted in its own pot.

If you'd like to dive deeper into putting a plan together, let me know. I'd be glade to provide details and be of help.

Al
HU-82146264 thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
HU-82146264
Original Author
last year
Thank you so much for all your inputs. I will attempt all suggesting and hopefully have one or more heathy plants as a result!

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