Chef (Schefflera)

The leaves of the cheflera can be green or variegated

All the Schefflera They are plants with leaves that attract a lot of attention: they are large, rounded, and there is even a variety that has green and yellow colors, which is known as variegated.

They are often marketed as houseplants, as although they can reach heights of more than two meters, they tolerate pruning so well that it is very easy to control their growth. But, How are they cared for?

Origin and characteristics

The cheflera are evergreen plants

Our protagonists are a genus of plants that can grow as trees, shrubs or lianas and that are found in New Zealand, Java, India, East Asia and Fiji. They are characterized by reaching heights between 2 and 15 meters, depending on the species, and for having leaves composed of long leaflets, up to twenty centimeters, green or variegated, and perennial (that is, they remain in the specimen for several months until they die and new leaves appear) .

Flowers bloom in spring, and are grouped in yellowish inflorescences. The fruit is a very small drupe, about a centimeter in diameter, dark in color.

Main species

The most common and therefore easy to find are the following:

Schefflera arboricola

It is a climbing shrub or epiphyte native to Taiwan and the Chinese island of Hainan known as the dwarf umbrella tree. It can grow between 3 and 6 meters in height. Its green or variegated leaves that are formed by 7 to 9 obovate leaflets, up to 20cm long by up to 10cm wide.

Schefflera actinophylla

It is a tree native to the rainforests of Australia known as the umbrella tree and the octopus tree. reaches 15 meters in height. Its leaves are composed of seven green leaflets.

Schefflera actinophylla
Related article:
Cheflera (Schefflera actinophylla)

What are their cares?

The cheflera's flowers are small

Location

These plants need a light exposure to grow well, therefore:

  • Interior: place in a room with plenty of natural light. If you have an interior patio, all the better.
  • Body exterior:: it can be either in semi-shade (as long as it has more light than shade) or in full sun. Of course, if they had her protected from the star king, do not expose her directly to him without first accustoming her little by little and gradually.

Earth

It depends on where you grow it:

  • Flower pot: fill with a first layer of volcanic clay, and then with a universal cultivation substrate containing some perlite.
  • Garden: grows well in well-drained soils. Nor does he dislike limestone; In fact, I myself have one in the garden in the south of Mallorca, where the soil is like that, and it is very beautiful 🙂.

Irrigation

The frequency of irrigation will vary a lot depending on whether you have it indoors or outdoors, as well as the climate. Thus, while if it is grown indoors, it will be necessary to water about 2 times a week in the middle of summer and every ten days, more or less, the rest of the year, if it is kept in the garden, it may need about 3 waterings per week during the warm season and one every seven days the rest.

In any case, in case of doubt it is important to check the humidity of the soil, as this will avoid problems. To do this, you can insert a thin wooden stick: if it comes out practically clean when you extract it, it will be time to water.

Subscriber

The guano powder is very good for the lantern tree

Guano powder.

It is not very necessary, but it does not hurt either to pay it from the beginning of spring to the end of summer with fertilizers like guano in liquid form following the indications specified on the package. This product is natural, very rich in nutrients and, in addition, it is quickly effective.

Pruning

You don't really need it, but if you have it inside a home sooner or later it will be time to prune it 🙂. Therefore, remove dry, diseased, weak or broken branches, and trim those that you see are growing too much. Do not be afraid to prune too much - yes, it is not a matter of leaving it with half its height at once, as that can weaken it -: it is a very resistant plant that sprouts without difficulty.

Use a hand saw previously disinfected with alcohol from a pharmacy or dishwasher.

Multiplication

The Schefflera or cheflera multiplies by seeds or cuttings in spring-summer. How to proceed in each case?

Seeds

The seeds must be sown in seedbeds with holes for drainage filled with universal substrate. You do not have to bury them much, one centimeter will suffice and it may even be a little less. It is also important to ensure that they are not piled up; In this sense, the ideal is not to put more than necessary: ​​if the pot is about 20cm in diameter, no more than three should be placed, separated from each other.

Placing the seedbed outside and keeping the substrate moist, they will germinate in about two weeks.

Cuttings

To multiply it by cuttings, you have to cut semi-hard branches about 30cm long, impregnate the base with rooting hormones and finally plant them in pots with vermiculite that will have been previously moistened.

Finally, the pot will be placed outside, in semi-shade, and the substrate will be kept moist but not flooded. With a bit of luck it will emit its own roots after about 3-5 weeks.

Pests

In general it is very resistant, but it can be attacked by:

  • Red spider: they are very tiny mites, about 0,5cm, red in color that weave cobwebs and feed on the sap of the leaves, causing them to appear with yellowish or grayish spots. They are fought with acaricides.
  • Mealybugs: mostly cottony. They also feed on the sap of the leaves, roots, as well as the tender shoots. It is treated with an anti-scale insecticide.
  • Aphids: called aphids. They can be yellow, black, green, brown, and tiny, about 0,5cm. They are found especially in the flowers and flower buds, as well as in the leaves. Combat with soapy water or diatomaceous earth.
  • Trips: They are like miniature earwigs, black, that feed on the sap of the leaves. Treat with potassium soap.

Management

You may have the following:

  • Mushrooms: as anthracnose, bold, alternariosis or powdery mildew. The symptoms are the appearance of a whitish or greyish mold or powder, rotting of leaves, stems and / or fruits, weakening of the plant, and in severe cases the death of the specimen.
    It is treated by controlling the risks, and with fungicides.
  • Bacteria: like Xanthomonas, which cause the appearance of yellow dots less than 1mm in diameter. It is treated by cutting the affected parts.

Rusticity

En general, resist cold but not frost. The most common species can be grown outdoors in warm-temperate climates such as the Mediterranean on the coast, where frosts are weak, short-lived and sporadic (up to -2º, or -4ºC if sheltered). But the ideal is that, in case the temperature drops below 0º, they should be kept indoors.

View of the Schefflera arboricola

Image - Wikimedia / David J. Stang

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