Drawf Shefflera

[Jessf]

k

I used to live in Detroit and I managed to get my Schefflera to throw aerial roots quite regularly. It wasn't getting the aerial roots to form, it was getting them to survive. I finally learned a trick from somewhere that did the job nicely.

First, to get aerial roots to sprout, as previously mentioned, you need a fast draining soil mix. The tree won't throw aerials if its in damp/wet soil . . . it doesn't need to since its getting all it needs from the soil. I use a coarse lava, turface mix for my schefflera and I let the thing get bone dry between waterings. I also place the tree over a large bucket of water to amp up the humidity around the tree . . . in Ontario, I know it gets both hot and humid there in the summer, so you should have no trouble getting the roots to form. I tried the "nick the bark on a branch" trick with no success. I also tried the sphagnum moss and got nothing but algae, rot, and a general mess.

Now comes the trick to get them to survive! Drinking straws. Once the aerial root has formed, cut a non-clear drinking straw to height, GENTLY slip the root tip into the straw, and put the other end into the soil. Done. Not only can you then place it where you want it to go, it also acts as a humidity trap for the root. Once the root is into the soil, just carefully cut away the straw with a sharp razor blade. You can also try to slip it off the bottom, but I lost a few roots that way (they snapped when I had to bend them to angle the straw away from the soil).

Good luck!

P.S. I'd get rid of the sphagnum. In my experience with Schefflera, any moisture retained against the bark will rot it through in no time.

i'll give that a try. i tried the straw method once before with no success. perhaps with a free draining soil there
might be more chance of success.

 

[007]

k
i'll give that a try. i tried the straw method once before with no success. perhaps with a free draining soil there
might be more chance of success.

The straw is only used to guide (and protect) the aerial root once its formed, but it won't create an aerial root. I had the best success if I placed the straws once the root tip was distinguishable from the root itself, probably once the root was about 1/2" long. You'll definitely be able to see a difference, particularly in color.

 

[Jessf]

The straw is only used to guide (and protect) the aerial root once its formed, but it won't create an aerial root. I had the best success if I placed the straws once the root tip was distinguishable from the root itself, probably once the root was about 1/2" long. You'll definitely be able to see a difference, particularly in color.

I've seen a couple of "those" protruding from the trunk and the underside of branches. I think I'll wait to focus on the aerial roots once it's in the bonsai pot several years from now. For now, I'm working on the canopy branching. I've looked over the whole tree and rubbed out the buds forming directly on top of each branch. I want to promote side shoots and shoots from beneath to help develop a broad canopy. The general shape of the tree has been formed through pruning only. I tried wiring long ago but it dug into the branches far to quickly and the wounds are still visible.

 

[007]

In the future, I would just let any bud that forms grow out. Schefflera can be a bit tricky to get to ramify (at least in my experience), so I personally would keep everything that sprouts after being defoliated.

I have achieved a wide, flat canopy by defoliating and heavy pruning each year. I start by cutting all the leafs off and then I hard prune the branches on top and am a little more diligent with those branches that are growing out (make sure you at least cut the growing tip off of everything though).

 

[RogueFJ]

You may want to try putting it in a small aquarium where the humidity will increase. This may cause it to sent out arial roots.

 

[RogueFJ]

Can we see update pictures of your tree?

 

[Nojnagrom]

I would also like to see a update

 

[Jessf]

It's coming along pretty nicely. Many of the leaves have hardened off at just over the size of a quarter, some under the size. If I defoliated sooner in the season I might get even smaller leaves. I'll post some pics when I get a chance to upload.

 

[Jessf]

I found a few roots forming high up on the trunk so I piled on the spagnum and soil.

 

[RogueFJ]

It's looking great! It looks like the tree fatten up a bit too. Thanks for the pictures!

 

[grog]

Looking good. Here's one I started last year, just defoliated today. As soon as I get the leader moving in a favorable direction I'd like to put it on a slab or a differnet pot that really restricts how much room the roots have to run.

 

[RogueFJ]

That's a nice tree grog! I semi defoliated one of mine a couple of weeks ago but I have not noticed any budding. Do you think it's because I didn't defoliate completely?

 

[Jessf]

That's a nice tree grog! I semi defoliated one of mine a couple of weeks ago but I have not noticed any budding. Do you think it's because I didn't defoliate completely?

nice tree. I'd go the rest of the way and remove the remaining foliage. From my first photo to where buds were captured was two weeks, so you might have another week of waiting before you see any buds. The tree had full sun the entire time and watered regularly for a lack of rain.

 

[grog]

That's a nice tree grog! I semi defoliated one of mine a couple of weeks ago but I have not noticed any budding. Do you think it's because I didn't defoliate completely?

It's a semi scary thing to do, at least I thought so, to take all the leaves off, but as long as it's been looking pretty healthy I'd go ahead and take the rest off. Also, it looks like you could cut back in a couple places which might get that back budding in a place you want it.

 

[Jessf]

 

[007]

That's a nice tree grog! I semi defoliated one of mine a couple of weeks ago but I have not noticed any budding. Do you think it's because I didn't defoliate completely?

It does take some time for the tree to respond, but in general I have found that I get a much better response when I completely defoliate as opposed to a partial defoliation.

 

[stacy allen muse]

For some of you guys in colder climates, I would be careful defoiliating tropical trees so late in the year... they need to be back up to speed before winter comes... Next year if you defoiliate, I would start a little earlier like Jessf did... by the way, Jessf, your tree is comming along nicely.

 

[RogueFJ]

We've had a couple of weeks of 90+ weather and it doesn't look like it's going to cool off anytime soon...

 

[Jessf]

For some of you guys in colder climates, I would be careful defoiliating tropical trees so late in the year... they need to be back up to speed before winter comes... Next year if you defoiliate, I would start a little earlier like Jessf did... by the way, Jessf, your tree is comming along nicely.

Nex year I may even defoliate indoors, wait a week then move the tree outside and try for a second mid summer defoliation.

And thanks. I've slab formed the pot I want to put this tree in I just need to check it for cracks and have it fired.

 

[remist17]

Can anyone suggest how to get the main body to become more woody? I have several of these starting and they are a greenish looking trunk. Not as woody as shown.

How do you make the trunk larger?
Also what does taking the leaves off do?