Hello, new here, need help!

GardenForums.com a friendly and growing community of gardeners. We feature a Garden Discussion Forum and Garden Photo Gallery. It's a fun and friendly place to talk with other gardeners, ask questions, share you knowledge, view and post photos and more! Whether you're a master gardener, or brand new to the hobby, you'll find something of interest here.



Jesi

New Member
So I popped on my local Craigslist tonight, I live in Lockport, NY which is about 30 minutes from Buffalo. I saw an ad for a free plant, out to the road. Person said it was a tropical indoor plant... I LOVE plants, and I knew it would die. The post was 2 hours old...so at 11:30 at night I took my chances to see if I could find it. I found it, sure enough, and it was in pretty good condition! I did some serious searching and could not for the life of me find a decent website to help me identify the plant with a step by step questionaire/walkthrough. Quite annoying with all the technology we have today. Anyhow, it seems that I have a Schefflera Arboricola.

It's mostly green leaves with a few spots of a cream color in the centers of some. I'm wondering how to care of it. It is currently in a bucket, that they put it in...looks like it was either dug up from the ground, which is hard to believe in this area...it's already freezing outside here in NY...or they simply didn't want to give away whatever pot it was in. So I also need to know how big of a pot to get...

It's about 3 feet tall, and looks like it could use some serious pruning, but I have no idea how to prune this type of plant. I actually don't know how to prune any at all, but I wing it and it usually turns out ok. I usually clip off dead leaves, but this has none...it's in beautiful condition, but like I said, looks a little ragged from lack of pruning... Also looks like the top may have been damaged or cut off. I can post pictures if that helps anyone help me tend to this plant! I intend on keeping it indoors all year round, possibly putting it outside in the summer, but in a pot.

Any help is appreciated, thank you!
 

Jesi

New Member
Also wanted to add that there are a few...sorry don't know what wording to use I'm 24 years old...I don't know the lingo, but there are 3 or 4 tiny plants of the same kind growing around the base... Should I leave them or repot them? If repotting, do I just separate them if they have their own roots? If they don't have roots, do I put them in water until they grow roots? I know sometimes you can do that with clippings... I did it recently with a 25 year old prayer plant... I also have some questions about my prayer plant too if anyone knows what they are and anything about them!
 

Gloria

Super Moderator
Staff member
Congrats on your wonderful find Jesi and welcome to GF. Maybe this site will help you with your new plant..http://www.plant-care.com/schefflera-arboricola.html
It has a lot of info on the care of them. I hope it helps.
I had a couple of these plants once and planted them outside which didn't do well for me and I lost them. As for the babies, I would repot those in seperate pots. Good luck and keep us informed, maybe show us a pic. Again..it's good to have you with us, enjoy the forums.
 

RonsGarden

Super Moderator
Staff member
Need some more infor before hazarding a guess!
What is the size and shape of the leaves... are they shiny, or fuzzy....
What does the stem look like...is it green, or woody...
 

Jade

New Member
So I popped on my local Craigslist tonight, I live in Lockport, NY which is about 30 minutes from Buffalo. I saw an ad for a free plant, out to the road. Person said it was a tropical indoor plant... I LOVE plants, and I knew it would die. The post was 2 hours old...so at 11:30 at night I took my chances to see if I could find it. I found it, sure enough, and it was in pretty good condition! I did some serious searching and could not for the life of me find a decent website to help me identify the plant with a step by step questionaire/walkthrough. Quite annoying with all the technology we have today. Anyhow, it seems that I have a Schefflera Arboricola.

It's mostly green leaves with a few spots of a cream color in the centers of some. I'm wondering how to care of it. It is currently in a bucket, that they put it in...looks like it was either dug up from the ground, which is hard to believe in this area...it's already freezing outside here in NY...or they simply didn't want to give away whatever pot it was in. So I also need to know how big of a pot to get...

It's about 3 feet tall, and looks like it could use some serious pruning, but I have no idea how to prune this type of plant. I actually don't know how to prune any at all, but I wing it and it usually turns out ok. I usually clip off dead leaves, but this has none...it's in beautiful condition, but like I said, looks a little ragged from lack of pruning... Also looks like the top may have been damaged or cut off. I can post pictures if that helps anyone help me tend to this plant! I intend on keeping it indoors all year round, possibly putting it outside in the summer, but in a pot.

Any help is appreciated, thank you!

Welcome...my brother and SIL lived in Lockport for many years in the 80s and 90s, then moved to Houston. Now they are back in Newfane. We were just up visiting with them a week or so ago. Small world eh?
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Jesi,
If you can post a picture I KNOW we can help you.If it is a Schefflera they are easy to care for the worst thing to watch for is aphids! but let's make sure what we are talking about before I offer advice;) I have a schefflera that has lived poutside for years .
 

Blueaussi

New Member
Hi Jesi, and welcome to the forum. I know what you mean about those plant keys, they're really handy when you're id'ing a weed or an insect; but I've never seen one for houseplants. If you could post a picture, we could probably confirm your identification.

As to potting it, as a general rule of thumb, when I pot up house plants, I usually want a pot that's an inch to two inches larger than the root ball. If it's really root bound, you might want to go 3 to 4 inches. If you're not familiar with the term root bound, and I apologize if I'm telling your something you already know, the roots will have formed a thick tangle around the outside of the root ball, a tangle that goes almost to what would be the top of the soil.

If possible, when you pot it, avoid Miracle Grow or any other potting soil with a lot of fertilizer in it, or at least mix it half and half with a potting soil that doesn't have fertilizer in it. All that nitrogen added in the potting soil might cause a further shock to the plant.

Good luck!
 


Gardenforums.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

Top