Propagating Scheffleras

[SerpeRoma]

So I don't know why the umbrella plant (schefflera arboricola) it's so hard to find. So far it's my chams' favorite along with pothos and money tree, but every time I look for one to buy, no one has it. It got me to the point where I actually look for it whenever I'm outside. It's been a few months now since I started taking cuttings from Scheffleras that I'd find around, I even asked my costumers to get some of theirs when I worked at their house. I tried every imaginable method of propagation: in water, in soil, with clonex, from stem, from leaves and finally I got to my conclusion. I found leaves much easier and faster to propagate -in soil- than all the other methods. Stems in water are taking months and still have no roots, stems in soil have all rotten or dried out. So if you'd ever think of making your own, I suggest to do it from leaves. This is my result with one of them.

I tried to propagate roughly 25 cuttings, this is 1 of the 4 that successfully rooted.
I'm honestly so stoked about it, I never thought that chameleons could get me into plants too, but here I am being happy for some roots lol
Please share your experiences, I'm very curious about what I could have done wrong with the other cuttings.

 

[bbyoda]

Those are some nice looking roots! I'm in Florida and we have umbrella plants all over so I've never tried propagating them. But it would be fun to do so and make a wall of them outside lol. Thanks for sharing your techniques!

 

[SerpeRoma]

Those are some nice looking roots! I'm in Florida and we have umbrella plants all over so I've never tried propagating them. But it would be fun to do so and make a wall of them outside lol. Thanks for sharing your techniques!

I'm so jealous right now, I wish I had a yard to plant it all over and make a huge free range for my chams

 

[JacksJill]

You can try rooting them in place on the plant. Look up air rooting.

 

[SerpeRoma]

You can try rooting them in place on the plant. Look up air rooting.

I will try that! Thanks

 

[JacksJill]

You can use moss and cloth you don't have to buy the balls.

 

[Mendez]

So I don't know why the umbrella plant (schefflera arboricola) it's so hard to find. So far it's my chams' favorite along with pothos and money tree, but every time I look for one to buy, no one has it. It got me to the point where I actually look for it whenever I'm outside. It's been a few months now since I started taking cuttings from Scheffleras that I'd find around, I even asked my costumers to get some of theirs when I worked at their house. I tried every imaginable method of propagation: in water, in soil, with clonex, from stem, from leaves and finally I got to my conclusion. I found leaves much easier and faster to propagate -in soil- than all the other methods. Stems in water are taking months and still have no roots, stems in soil have all rotten or dried out. So if you'd ever think of making your own, I suggest to do it from leaves. This is my result with one of them. View attachment 311971

I tried to propagate roughly 25 cuttings, this is 1 of the 4 that successfully rooted.
I'm honestly so stoked about it, I never thought that chameleons could get me into plants too, but here I am being happy for some roots lol
Please share your experiences, I'm very curious about what I could have done wrong with the other cuttings.

Very nice! I will have to make some new cuttings tomorrow! It took me over a month to get roots on mine, but I did cut them at the stalk, not the leaf stem. This is good to know! Soon I'll have tons of schlefferas!! I'll also have to look into air rooting. Is that the same as air tooting?

Here are pics of mine:

 

[SerpeRoma]

Very nice! I will have to make some new cuttings tomorrow! It took me over a month to get roots on mine, but I did cut them at the stalk, not the leaf stem. This is good to know! Soon I'll have tons of schlefferas!! I'll also have to look into air rooting. Is that the same as air tooting?

Here are pics of mine:
View attachment 311981View attachment 311980

How long did that take?? I'm impressed, mine only show small white or brown spots (?) I also have much more water that I change daily

 

[Chameleoking]

Awesomeness!

 

[Chameleoking]

For some reason, It takes longer with tap water. I believe because of the chlorine. Not sure if your using tap( faucet water) but your best results come from collected rain water.

 

[SerpeRoma]

For some reason, It takes longer with tap water. I believe because of the chlorine. Not sure if your using tap( faucet water) but your best results come from collected rain water.

Too bad I'm in San Diego, I might get a full jar in a whole year lol

 

[Lindasjackson]

I can’t keep schefflera in my chams enclosure, it just dies even with my sansi light. They turn black and die.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

I can’t keep schefflera in my chams enclosure, it just dies even with my sansi light. They turn black and die.

IDT it's the light. IDK what it is, but there are several possibilities.
schefflera blackening

 

[Lindasjackson]

Well maybe the temps that Eustis needs at night are too cold for my schefflera. Even though I removed it from his enclosure it’s sitting next to it and it’s still dying. Oh well. All my other plants are doing well.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

I thought I'd have more to contribute, but it turned out the small scheffflera Missus is working on didn't come from the one in the enclosure... it was store-bought.

But there seems to be a lot on propagating schefflera —both articles & vids.
Were all of these no help?

I never thought that chameleons could get me into plants too,

Any reptile, really. I've been telling people that for some time; we all have to become somewhat of botanists!

Planning an enclosure consists of more than picking houseplants off a picture or list; we have to know the requirements of each & every plant, just as we do for each & every species of reptile we keep. Sunlight, soil, watering, feeding/fertilizing, growth cycles, flowering/reproduction, pot size, pruning... Thank gosh plants don't !

A botany vid channel on YT that we like is Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't. There's virtually nothing on care & propagating—it's all on identifying what's out there in the world, and how to identify plants.

 

[Lindasjackson]

Yes, I clicked on the link you provided and it said that them turning black can be from being to cold so I assumed then that because Jackson’s require temps in the low 60s and down into 50s that the schefflera was dying due to that.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Yes, I clicked on the link you provided and it said that them turning black can be from being to cold so I assumed then that because Jackson’s require temps in the low 60s and down into 50s that the schefflera was dying due to that.

IDK. You may be correct, but there were some other possibilities as well (overwatering, too high humidity, rot) and other articles on the page. If I'd experienced this firsthand, I might be of more help.

 

[Lindasjackson]

That’s ok. I just don’t think it was a great choice for my enclosure. It probably was over watered as well. I just have my bushy ficus in there as well as a couple pothos and that seems to be enough.

 

[Mendez]

@Lindasjackson, is your schleferra dying? Or is it just losing its leaves near the bottom to midsection? While the latter seems like a symptom of death, it isn't. Arboricola, specifically, will lose leaves in the lower sections under artificial light unless you focus light at the bottom of the plant too. It's just something about Shleferra arboricola in general that makes it prone to shedding leaves. It's hard to get high amounts of light into the bottom-to-mid section of the cage if it's well-planted. The plant will focus on growing leaves at the top where the light is strongest. What I do is let the arboricola make a thick canopy at the top, and then place pothos in the middle-to-bottom section of the plant to provide foliage cover there. Some plants take the energy that they receive at the top of the plant and distribute it to the entire plant, while other plants like arboricola play the game "every leaf for itself."

If you are in love with shlefferas, you can look into other species such as "Shleferra amate" which has larger leaves, larger stems, and doesn't lose leaves like arboricola. Amate seems to be a lot more resilient. Plus you can have fun placing branch walkways under large leaf overhangs. It also gives your cham more shelter from the mistking at night. Instead of getting sprayed directly, your cham can sit under the large leaves and inhale the moist air without getting sprayed directly.

How long did that take?? I'm impressed, mine only show small white or brown spots (?) I also have much more water that I change daily
View attachment 311982View attachment 311983

Yeah, it took a long time. I didn't do water changes though. I just let it sit in the water, no matter how dirty it got. I think dirty water helps it grow. Plus I read that some plants release chemicals to help stimulate root growth, so I thought I'd leave the water as is. Not sure how true that is, but it worked for me. Once I put the cuttings in a window with lots of sunlight, it started rooting like crazy. Kind of what I mentioned earlier to Linda, schleffera seem to be especially finicky in low-light locations.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

That’s ok. I just don’t think it was a great choice for my enclosure. It probably was over watered as well. I just have my bushy ficus in there as well as a couple pothos and that seems to be enough.

You're right. It's not about quantity (that's just for our sensibilities); it's about quality. A cham might only need one big bushy plant to satisfy all its needs. Still, a variety looks nice, and can provide some enrichment.

I admit, at first I got caught up in the whole... "How many different species of plants can I cram into that enclosure?" thang, but... I'm learning.