How best to prune this wayward Schefflera?
Despite an odd curvature to the
trunk, this plant has potential to be grown as a "standard", or tree form.
Heptapleurum arboricolum Trinettea
- my favorite among the variegated cultivars, growing in my living room
A young Heptapleurum arboricolum
recently transplanted from an overgrown dish garden, as PJ looks on. |
I have a Schefflera growing on a single branch and it is about 8 feet tall.
How should I prune it, or is it possible to do cuts on the main branch in
order to grow roots?
- Robert F. Gabella replies:
I receive more inquiries about Hawaiian
Schefflera (Heptapleurum arboricolum) than any other houseplant.
While these plants couldn't be easier to grow, they often present the
home gardener with odd quirks of growth and branching, and are susceptible to
spider mites, mealybugs, and scale insects.
So, Ginette, do not feel alone in your
predicament - your plant, despite its odd form, is otherwise healthy and can
be salvaged in a few different ways.
I'll go from easiest to most difficult.
METHOD 1:
The first and most direct way to deal with this plant is to top it -
completely cut off the stem - at between 3 and 4 feet above the pot rim and
allow it to grow as a "standard", or tree form. You can attempt to
root the cut section, in several smaller pieces (see Method 3 below). Once branching occurs
from below the cut, usually from several of the nodes, it will, however, be
2-3 years before the tree-like head - which may need additional pinching to
promote side branches as it grows - looks its best. Summering the plant
outdoors and feeding it regularly with a dilute liquid feed may help promote
this additional growth. After the head begins to grow out, you can
remove the leaves at the new "trunk".
METHOD 2:
Next, the somewhat more complex option of
air layering is still probably the best overall. Now is the ideal time to begin this
process, fall and winter attempts are usually unsuccessful. You can
air layer with the intention of promoting a standard form, beginning the
first layer at trunk height, or you can layer at 18" intervals between the
soil line to the top, with the intention of planting the successfully rooted
layers into a single pot to form a bush form similar to the two shown
growing in my home.
In either case, carefully use a sharp
pruner to cut an upward-angled slit no more than 1/3 of the way into the
main stem. Use the blade of the pruner to lightly scratch the exterior
of the stem in three places, about an inch long each, just above the slit
area. Use a cotton swab to generously dust the interior of both the slits
and the scrapes with commercially available rooting compound
containing the hormone
Indole-3-Butyric Acid
(try
Home Harvest Garden Supply
- they ship UPS Ground to Canada
also) if you wish to shop online.
Place a small piece of a toothpick sideways in each slit to keep it open.
Moisten a good handful of
long-fibered sphagnum moss, available at most garden centers, and wrap it
around the cut area, including a few inches above and below the slit.
This will keep the potential rooting area moist. Wrap the entire
bundle with plastic wrap, and seal both above and below with a twist
tie or Velcro vine fastener. Check periodically from the top seal to
make sure the moss remains moist, and add small amounts of water as
necessary. It may take until fall for all cut areas to root, and the
plant will look unsightly until this occurs. Only after all areas
demonstrate evidence of roots should you sever the lowermost section.
Otherwise, remove rooted sections from the top of the plant down.
Then, you can reassemble and repot as desired.
METHOD 3:
Scheffleras with growth as mature
as with your plant, are somewhat difficult for the home gardener to root as cuttings in water or
soil - without the advantages a commercial propagating facility would allow. As with air layering, the best time is spring through summer, as
fall and winter cuttings may fail to root.
If you root in soil you will ultimately
make the best quality plants, or try some in soil and some in water. Use
the same scarring and hormone-treatment technique as with the air layering,
treating also the cut end below. You may wish to try sections of less than a foot tall,
and do remove the lower 50% of foliage. Insert the cuttings in a group
about four inches deep in a large pot of commercial potting mix, and tent
the plants loosely with plastic - do not seal the plastic tent all the way You may be
rewarded by 100% rooting if the cuttings are carefully managed, but I
predict 50 - 75% success at best.
Once rooted and growing well, do pinch and
prune the branches occasionally to encourage bushy growth - and good luck
with your project whichever way you go. Be sure to keep me posted with
the results!.
|
|
