Question about this plant (growing, tree, leaves, cold)

[ansky]

I'm not sure what kind of plant this is, but normally during the summer I keep it outside. This past winter I brought it indoors and over the last few months the leaves have been consistently dropping off. There is new growth at the top so that plant seems fairly healthy. Could it be dropping leaves due to lack of light? It's near a window but it does not get direct sunlight.

[PJSaturn]

It's a Schefflera. Growing Schefflera: Tips For Schefflera Plant Care << This is just one of numerous sites where you can learn more about it. I Googled it and got a bazillion hits. Have not read this one, but it's a place to start.


Your Schefflera may be dropping leaves because of overwatering. That's a very common error that people make when caring for indoor plants. Too much water drowns the roots and affects the entire plant.


Sometimes plants drop leaves for a while after they are transplanted or moved. They go through a period of shock. Scheffleras are usually pretty sturdy, though, so I doubt that's your plant's problem. In my experience, they do really well in bright, indirect light.


Good luck to you!


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[Hemlock140]

I have a Schef in my office that's 5'tall and 3' wide, and while I have a window, the plant is about 12' away from it, and when the sun is bright I close the blinds. They are a plant very well suited to indoors, with minimal light. What they don't like is extreme changes in temperature. Bringing it in from the cold in fall to a heated house will stress it, especially if near a heater or heater vent. When I bring in a tree from outdoors for the winter, such as my Meyer lemon, I keep it in a cool room with the heater vent closed for the first few weeks. Overwatering will cause problems, and based on the pot in the picture, I would say that watering once a week would be enough for that plant.

[kinkytoes]

Originally Posted by ansky

I'm not sure what kind of plant this is, but normally during the summer I keep it outside. This past winter I brought it indoors and over the last few months the leaves have been consistently dropping off. There is new growth at the top so that plant seems fairly healthy. Could it be dropping leaves due to lack of light? It's near a window but it does not get direct sunlight.

If the plant is a schleffera, they need humidity. You can put it on a large tray filled with pebbles, and water. Enough water to evaporate, but so that the plant is not sitting in the water.

I had one of these a long time ago, and to be honest mine looked more like the link ( Umbrella Plant - Queensland Umbrella Tree - Schefflera Actinophylla) than your picture. But mine died. After doing some research, I've realized I didn't give it the right cultural conditions.