How to Care for an Umbrella Plant (Schefflera)

An Umbrella plant, with proper care, can become one of your most beautiful and tallest indoor plants. It thrives very fast, so you’ll get a tall plant in only one growing season. Here are some great care tips you should consider for your umbrella (Schefflera) plant.

Watering

Umbrella plants prefer to grow in moist soil, so you need to water them frequently. However, with overwatering, your plant's leaves will turn yellow, and under watering will cause the plant's leaves to droop. The best way to ensure that you are appropriately watering your plant is to wait for the topsoil to dry before watering again.

💡 Tip: Use a soil moisture meter to prevent overwatering and underwatering your plant.

Feeding

Since the umbrella plant thrives a lot every season, they require much fuel to sustain their growth. It’s important to feed your plant every two to three weeks using regular liquid fertiliser. When your plant reaches the desired height, you can stop fertilising it as frequently. Feeding your plant once or twice every year is then enough.

Light

The Umbrella plant needs a good amount of light. However, it should never be placed in direct sunlight. Too much exposure to direct sunlight can cause its leaves to burn. If your plant receives less light than its optimal amount, your plant accommodates its living situation. It may slow its overall growth, but it stays healthy in many conditions.

Temperature

Your home temperature affects the umbrella plant. Too cold temperatures will lead to the dropping of the plant's leaves. For great foliage growth, try and keep the temperature range between 65°F to 75°F. The plant types that have decorative leaves require a slightly warmer temperature range, while all-green types prefer the cooler end of that temperature range.

Humidity

Umbrella plants do not prefer much humidity, so commonly the moisture level in your home is fine for this plant. However, if the air seems extremely dry, mist the plant's leaves occasionally to give artificial humidity.

Pruning

Since the umbrella plant thrives extremely fast, you may need to prune it to keep your plant in your desired shape and size. It can bounce back quickly even when you are harsh around your plant. It is an ideal way to transform a sluggish plant into a more beautiful and lush houseplant.

Propagation

You can propagate umbrella plants by obtaining cuttings from a mature, healthy umbrella plant. The cuttings should be about two inches long for growing proper roots. It's necessary to ensure that the growing plant's tip is not buried into the soil. If you find any difficulty with the plant's cuttings, you can grow a new plant from the seeds as well.

Common Problems

Though an umbrella plant can easily grow indoors, it can still have a few problems that you want to overcome. This plant is toxic to pets such as cats and dogs. So, it's important to stop your pets from chewing on their leaves. Fungal leaf spots, bacterial leaf spots, root rot, and pests are some other concerns that can affect your plant's growth. Spider mites are the most typical pests that affect your plant, especially in dry air. You can wipe the plant's leaves and increase the humidity levels in your home to prevent the returning of pests.