Ficus Benjamina or Schefflera Arboricola?

[clintosaurus]

I have a money tree (Pachira sp.) and is growing too spindly, has few leaves with holes in them. I need a new tree and can't decide between the two. The cage is right next to a north facing window, so it recieves lots of bright, indirect light. I just want something that produces lots of branches, is fairly bushy, and does well under low light, and would be nice to have it bounce back from pruning fairly quickly. I don't want a spindly, tall looking plant like I have now. It would also be nice if I didn't have to turn it 180 degrees every now and then to get it to grow straight. The chameleon is a female veiled chameleon.

 

[absolutbill]

If you buy a ficus, it will lose it's leaves everytime the lighting changes. So, when you bring it home from the nursery, boom, all the leaves are gone. They do grow back, but it looks pretty pathetic in the meantime. I have a ficus that I leave on my lanai for free ranging time, but inside my cages I use a cane tree - it's leafy like a banana tree, but has a sturdy trunk that you can use to wrap bendy branches around, and is very tolerant of trimming. Plus, if an offshoot gets too long you can break it off and re-pot it, and it will regrow another tree (slowly, but it does regrow). Good luck!

 

[Kaianuanu]

Schefflera is hardier, as absolutbill said ficus' don't like change and will drop leaves, but Schefflera varies so much that it's impossible to say. I'd say just go with the one you find that has sturdier limbs for climbing.

 

[blackhawk]

you'll have to deal with sap if you go ficus as well

 

[Turningdoc]

Ficus drop their leaves when too wet. I use 2 for each cage and rotate them each week. One week in cage, one in sun and it seems to have fixed this. On the contrary, I have killed about 20 schefflera and have never figured them out. Just me?

 

[Jon114]

I've honestly had 0 problems with both plants. Many say ficus drop their leaves when moved, but I have yet to deal with anything other than the occasional leaf every week or two. Schefflera grows fast in good conditions and the leaves/stems are rather usable for chameleons. The leaves hold water very well, and the stems are large enough that a chameleon won't weigh it down unlike a ficus.

 

[mcleodschams]

pothos and sheffierra are my 2 favorites they are in every cage of mine!

 

[Ulrich]

Schefflera is coping better than ficus with lower lighting levels and indirect lighting.

 

[Turningdoc]

+1 on pothos. THE plant of champions!

 

[Kaianuanu]

Eh, I'm not a fan of pothos, I think they're leaves are a bit big and look a bit disproportional in vivaria.

 

[clintosaurus]

Well, I think this will answer my question. Which can handle moisture better? I am a lot better at keeping things moist than dry which is why I dont dare try growing cactus and desert succulents. Also, I went to the green house today and found what looked like a split leaf philodendron, but instead of having split leaves, it had just holes like something was eating it. Could I use that to wrap around the tree? I think it would look awesome! I have pothos, but mine almost died in the cham cage so I took it out.

 

[crocky]

I have not had any issues with a ficus either. I lost more leaves in my umbrella than I ever do on my ficus, then again I have HO lighting. I bought my ficus from a nursery 3 hrs from me that was kept Ina greenhouse, it never once lost any leaves in the transition then I moved it into Waldo's cage and never lost any leaves then either. I have alway shears of ficus trees doing that but it has not been my experience. My leaves are currently growing through the screen

I have a mixture of plants in Waldo's enclosure, I use ficus Benjamin as the main plant, pothos, pothos and more pothos and then a Hoya plant.

 

[clintosaurus]

Found out that "philodendron" is actually a Monstera adansonii. Love that plant, annd I really want to know If my chameleon can live with it.