Schefflera is a plant from the Aralian family. It is beautiful, unpretentious and ideal for beginners. Shefflera care is very simple, it is for this plant that is most valued. This flower is found in nature in Australia and New Zealand. It was discovered by the German botanist J. Scheffler. This unique plant was named in his honor.
Scheffler is unusual. There are different types of this plant: shrubs, creepers, trees. The latter can reach a height of twenty meters, and the lowest representatives - ten. This variety is characterized by unusual, beautiful leaves resembling dissected umbrellas. As you grow older, the trunk is exposed, the foliage is only on the top of the head. Sometimes inflorescences of various sizes appear on the plant: paniculate, capitate, umbrella. In some species, they are blood red, but most often there are greenish and whitish species. After flowering, fruits that attract birds are formed.
Indoor shefflers are represented mainly by trees. They grow tall enough, but there are varieties that grow no more than half a meter in height.
Scheffler tree
The most popular variety is the shefflera tree, which is also called the tree-shaped heptopleurum. In nature, this species is found in New Guinea and in Australia.
The variety is a tree-like liana, on which there are no branches. The shoots sprout from the roots. To get a beautiful bush, several plants are planted in a pot at once and a support is installed. The flower is given the desired shape.
Tree species
Shefflera care depends on the type of plant. The most common form of tree shefflera is the "gold chapel", which has dark green leaves with yellow and green spots. Varieties of “variegate” and “Janine” are also often found. The first is characterized by dark green leaves with yellow spots, and the last by dark green leaves with cream stripes and spots. The variety "Janine" has an original form of shares with a split at the ends.
Radiant view
Home care for a shefflera involves knowledge of the species to which the plant belongs. The radiant species is found in Australia and throughout the tropical belt. All varieties belonging to this species are trees up to twelve meters high. They have an erect trunk, on which there is a thickening. The foliage is planted on long petioles of a brownish hue. The leaves themselves are glossy, green, with a slight waviness along the edges.
Lighting requirements
Care for the shefflera should begin with the choice of the place where the plant will be located. The flower belongs to photophilous. From a lack of light, the brightness of the foliage is lost, but it should not be kept under direct rays either. For cultivation, western, eastern windows are suitable. Do not place the plant on the north or south window. In the first case, there will be a lack of light for it, and it will lose its decorative color, and in the second, it may get burned. At southern windows, the plant can be placed, but only at a distance no closer than a meter, so that the light incident on the plant is scattered.
What should be the temperature
Caring for a Schefflera involves following the recommendations on the temperature regime. This plant grows in the tropics. A temperature of 18-22 degrees is suitable for him, and in winter - not lower than 14.
For variegated varieties in winter, the temperature should not fall below eighteen degrees.
Watering and humidity level
The plant needs a high pallet. Shefflera flower care involves abundant watering in the summer. All excess water is removed from the sump after a few hours or the next day. This is necessary so that the flower can be fully saturated with moisture, as well as to prevent decay of the root system.
Water the plant with settled water at room temperature. Multiplicity of irrigation - twice a week at the rate of four hundred milliliters per liter of soil. Varieties with variegated foliage require less water.
The plant will be pleased with its appearance only with high humidity. To get the same as in a colorful photo to a sheffler, home care should include daily spraying of the flower. You can wipe the leaves with a damp sponge.
We select the soil
The plant is demanding on the soil. It should be fertile, slightly acidic. The mixture can be made independently or purchased ready-made soil for palm trees in the store.
With independent preparation, one part of sand is mixed, two parts of humus, three parts of leafy soil and four parts of turf. It is allowed to take in equal parts turf, leafy soil, humus and peat.
At the bottom of the pot must lay drainage. It will eliminate stagnation of water.
Scheffler also wants to eat
For active growth and development, the plant needs nutrients. Scheffler flower care at home involves fertilizing with complex fertilizers. Typically, the plant is given "eat" once a month. It is useful to spray the plant with "Epinom", "Zircon".
Fertilizers used for top dressing are used for decorative and deciduous crops. They are applied after watering, while the soil is moist.
Hairdresser services
For a plant shefflera care involves seasonal trimming of the tops. This is a necessary procedure that helps to stop the strong growth of the plant and helps to give it splendor. After cutting, the flower builds up side shoots, although it does so reluctantly.
Pruning is carried out for five kidneys or a little more. Usually this procedure is performed in the spring. In tree-like varieties, shearing helps create a beautiful crown, make bonsai.
Sleep care
At the end of November, the plant falls asleep. At this time, it does not grow, but it should be fed the same way as in the summer - once a month. Only for feeding apply a weak concentration of fertilizers. Watering mode also changes. Per liter of soil uses no more than one hundred grams of water. Watering is carried out only after drying of the topsoil.
How to transplant
Young plants are transplanted every year. A flower needs a larger diameter pot. It is best to transplant the shuffler in the spring, so that before winter she can build up the root mass and calmly go to rest. Large plants are transplanted every three years. In those cases when it is impossible to transplant, replace the topsoil.
Propagation Features
For propagation, cuttings, seeds, and air layers are used.
Propagation of seeds is rarely carried out, since it is quite difficult to get seeds at home. This is due to the fact that under indoor conditions the plant rarely blooms.
If you can get the seeds, then before planting they should be soaked in a solution of growth stimulant. After that, they are sown in moist soil. The sowing tank is placed in a bright place.
Propagation by cuttings is easier. To do this, use cut branches that were removed during the haircut. They should be soaked for seven hours in a solution of the root stimulant. Then the cuttings are planted in the ground and covered, creating a mini-greenhouse. Reproduction of shefflers and care for it at a young age will require the adaptation of a new plant to room conditions. For this, the greenhouse is periodically opened, tempering the sprouts.
You can propagate the plant by air layers. To get it, in the spring a shallow cut is made on the trunk, which is wrapped with sphagnum and covered with a film. Moss is regularly moistened. After a couple of months, roots will appear at this place, after which the top of the stem is cut off and transplanted into a separate container. The remaining trunk is cut off under the root and continued to be watered. The upper part of the resulting hemp can be covered with moss. After a while, the sheffler will give young shoots and become a beautiful lush bush.
Growing problems
Florists can face a variety of growing problems. Most often, the tips of the foliage dry out in the plant. This is due to insufficient watering. With excess moisture, tubercles form on the inside of the plant, and brown spots form on the front side of the plant. This is the reaction of the plant to too abundant watering. In this case, the roots of the plant are inspected: all rotten ones are removed, the plant is placed for an hour in a solution of a growth stimulator. Then the flower is re-planted in the ground. In order for the Scheffler to quickly and easily increase the new root mass, it is covered with a packet for several days. The film is periodically removed.
With a lack of light, the plant may fall leaves. Especially often this occurs in variegated varieties. The same reaction can be observed in violation of the temperature regime, when the flower is too cold or hot.
Another reason for falling leaves is pests. Schaeffler is often hit by a spider mite. Usually the parasite starts up with a lack of humidity. To combat the tick use soapy solutions that spray plants. In advanced cases of damage, insecticides are used.