Schaeffler is a plant from the Araliaceae family. It is beautiful, unpretentious and ideal for beginners. Shefflera care is very simple, it is for this plant that is most valued. This flower is found naturally in Australia and New Zealand. It was discovered by the German botanist J. Scheffler. This unique plant was named after him.
Schaeffler is unusual. There are different types of this plant: shrubs, vines, trees. The latter can reach a height of twenty meters, and the lowest representatives - ten. This variety is characterized by unusual, beautiful leaves resembling dissected umbrellas. As they grow older, the trunk becomes bare, the foliage is only at the top. Sometimes inflorescences of various sizes appear on the plant: paniculate, capitate, umbrella. In some species they are blood red, but greenish and whitish species are most common. After flowering, fruits are formed that attract birds.
Indoor shefflers are represented mainly by trees. They grow quite tall, but there are varieties that grow no more than half a meter inheight.
Tree Schefflera
The most popular variety is Schefflera arborescens, also called heptapleurum arborescens. This variety occurs naturally in New Guinea and Australia.
The variety is a tree-like vine with no branches. Shoots start up from the roots. To get a beautiful bush, several plants are planted in a pot at once and a support is established. The flower is given the desired shape.
Tree plant species
Shefflera care depends on the type of plant. The most common form of tree shefflera is "gold cappella", which has dark green leaves with yellow and green spots. Variegata and Janine varieties are also common. The former is characterized by dark green leaves with yellow spots, while the latter has dark green leaves with cream stripes and spots. The variety "janine" has an original form of shares with a bifurcation at the ends.
Radiant species
Home care for shefflera involves knowing the species to which the plant belongs. The radiant species is found in Australia and throughout the tropical belt. All varieties belonging to this species are trees up to twelve meters high. They have an upright trunk, on which there is a thickening. The foliage is planted on long petioles of a brownish hue. The leaves themselves are glossy, green, with a slight waviness along the edges.
Lighting Requirements
Chefflera care should start with selectionwhere the plant will be placed. The flower belongs to the photophilous. From a lack of light, the brightness of the foliage is lost, but you should not keep it under direct rays either. Western, eastern windows are suitable for growing. Do not place the plant on the north or south window. In the first case, it will lack light, and it will lose its decorative color, and in the second, the tree may get burned. At the southern windows, the plant can be placed, but only at a distance of no closer than a meter, so that the light falls on the plant diffused.
What should be the temperature
Sheffler care involves following the recommendations for temperature conditions. This plant grows in the tropics. A temperature of 18-22 degrees is suitable for him, and in winter - not lower than 14.
For variegated varieties in winter, the temperature should not fall below eighteen degrees.
Water and moisture levels
The plant needs a tall pallet. The care carried out for the shefflera flower involves abundant watering in the summer. All excess water is removed from the pan after a few hours or the next day. This is necessary so that the flower can get plenty of moisture, and also to prevent rotting of the root system.
Water the plant with settled water at room temperature. The multiplicity of watering - twice a week at the rate of four hundred milliliters per liter of soil. Varieties with variegated foliage require less water.
The plant will delight in its appearance only at high humidityair. To get the same as in the colorful photos, sheffler, home care should include daily spraying of the flower. You can wipe the leaves with a damp sponge.
Select soil
The plant is demanding on the soil. It should be fertile, slightly acidic. You can make the mixture yourself or purchase ready-made soil for palm trees in the store.
When self-compiling, one part of sand, two parts of humus, three of leafy soil and four parts of turf are mixed. It is allowed to take in equal parts soddy, leafy soil, humus and peat.
Drainage must be placed at the bottom of the pot. It will prevent water stagnation.
Schaeffler wants to eat too
For active growth and development, the plant needs nutrients. Caring for a sheffler flower at home involves fertilizing with complex fertilizers. Usually the plant is given "eat" once a month. It is useful to spray the plant with Epin, Zircon.
For top dressing, fertilizers intended for decorative and deciduous crops are used. They are applied after watering, while the soil is damp.
Services "hairdresser"
Care for a shefflera plant involves seasonal pruning of the tops. This is a necessary procedure that helps to stop the strong growth of the plant and helps to give it splendor. After shearing, the flower grows side shoots, although it does so reluctantly.
Pruning is carried out for five buds orslightly more. Usually this procedure is performed in the spring. In tree-like varieties, a haircut helps to create a beautiful crown, to make bonsai.
Sleep Care
At the end of November, the plant falls asleep. At this time, it does not grow, but it should be fed in the same way as in summer - once a month. Only for top dressing use a weak concentration of fertilizers. The watering regime also changes. Per liter of soil uses no more than one hundred grams of water. Watering is carried out only after the topsoil has dried.
How to transplant
Young plants are transplanted every year. The flower needs a larger pot. It is best to transplant the sheffler in the spring, so that before winter she can build up the root mass and calmly go to rest. Large plants are transplanted every three years. In cases where transplantation cannot be carried out, the topsoil is replaced.
Features of reproduction
For propagation, cuttings, seeds, air layers are used.
Seed propagation is rare, as it is quite difficult to get seeds at home. This is due to the fact that the plant rarely blooms indoors.
If it is possible to obtain seeds, then before planting they should be soaked in a growth stimulant solution. After that, they are sown in moist soil. A container with crops is placed in a bright place.
Propagation by cuttings is easier. To do this, use cut branches that were removed during the haircut. They should be soaked for seven hours in a root stimulant solution. Thencuttings are planted in the ground and covered, creating a mini-greenhouse. Shefflera reproduction and care at a young age will require the adaptation of a new plant to room conditions. To do this, the greenhouse is periodically opened, hardening the sprouts.
You can propagate the plant by air layering. To get it, in the spring a shallow incision is made on the trunk, which is wrapped with sphagnum and covered with a film. Moss is regularly moistened. After a couple of months, roots will appear at this place, after which the top of the stem is cut off and transplanted into a separate container. The remaining trunk is cut at the root and continues to be watered. The upper part of the resulting hemp can be covered with moss. After a while, shefflera will give young shoots and become a beautiful lush bush.
Growing problems
Flower growers can face a variety of growing challenges. Most often, the tips of the foliage dry up on the plant. This is due to insufficient watering. With an excess of moisture, tubercles form on the inside of the plant, and brown spots form on the front. This is the reaction of the plant to too abundant watering. In this case, the roots of the plant are examined: all rotten ones are removed, the plant is placed for an hour in a growth stimulator solution. Then the flower is planted again in the ground. In order for the shefflera to grow a new root mass faster and easier, it is covered with a bag for several days. The film is removed periodically.
With a lack of light, the plant may fall leaves. This happens especially often in variegated varieties. The same reaction can be observed withviolation of the temperature regime, when the flower is too cold or hot.
Another cause of leaf fall is pests. Sheffler is often affected by spider mites. Usually the parasite starts with a lack of humidity. To combat the tick, soap solutions are used, which are sprayed on the plants. In advanced cases, insecticides are used.
