How to Propagate Schefflera Trees
May need to start selling them as they grow! Schefflera are some of the easiest plants to propagate. Have read that they can be propagated by air layering, but will admit that I don’t like the idea of marring the appearance of the mother plant, even temporarily. Instead of air layering, pruned branches from myschefflera and put the in perlite.
Perlite is a great rooting medium. It works even better if you first dip the end of the pruned branch in some powdered rooting hormone. You will want to keep theperlite moist, so water the cuttings regularly. Be patient! Schefflera trees take some time to root, and you want the new plant to have a fairly extensive root system before you pot it up in soil.
Potting it when it has only rudimentary roots will result in the new tree dying. I have had this happen numerous times when I got impatient and potted up a new tree too soon! You can leave yourschefflera in the perlite almost indefinitely. Eventually, it will need nutrients, but the risk of leaving it in the perlite for a long time is far less than the risk incurred by taking it out too soon. Don’t try to add nutrients to the plant while it is still in theperlite. Just keep watering it, keep it in a well-lit area, and keep it at room temperature (or near room-temperature anyway).
When you do plant your new schefflera, it will take some time to start growing. But in a few months, you will have a beautiful baby tree, well on its way to producing even more cuttings. Many of my schefflera are at least second generation (don’t really keep track, but know I didn’t buy them, and didn’t buy their mother plants).
In fact, have only purchased three schefflera trees ever. On a safety not, make sure to keep the sap away from your eyes and mucous membranes. Wash your hands after working withschefflera cuttings. They contain a potent allergen. While the existence of allergens in the sap is a scientific fact, personally have noticed something else aboutschefflera that may seem a bit paranoid.
Started pruning mine heavily, it seemed that their sap became more noxious. My eyes would water more each time while working with the cuttings. Think the trees were fighting back against the constant mutilation of their branches. Either that, or was simply becoming more sensitized to the allergen. At any rate, be careful when handling schefflera!
Chris Jensen is a contributing author of Jetfly Blog. For more related articles and views visit Jetfly Home & Garden Blog now. Also, for the best up-to-date related online products, check out Jetfly Outdoor Power Equipment Shop for todays current online deals.
