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Umbrella Plant (Schefflera actinophylla)
Rain or shine, umbrella plants can’t help but dazzle with their slender stems and lush green leaves that fan out around the plant’s branches like the ribs of an umbrella. If you’re looking for an attractive tabletop plant for your office or a bold floor plant for your home, umbrella plants check all the boxes, and this guide will teach you how to grow them!
These low-maintenance houseplants can weather just about anything you throw at them, making them suitable for advanced or beginning growers.
In Zones 10 and up, umbrella plants can be grown in the garden, and outdoor plants may produce clusters of red, white, or pink flowers in summer. However, these plants can be invasive in warm areas, and they aren’t frost tolerant, so it’s usually best to keep them inside. Unfortunately, umbrella plants rarely bloom indoors, but they still draw the eye with their glossy green leaves, and dwarf varieties commonly sport creamy white leaf variegation, too!
Aside from their stunning good looks, umbrella plants are also impressively low maintenance, and they don’t need as much water, humidity, or light as many tropical houseplants. As long as these plants receive bright, indirect sun and regular water, they’re relatively low fuss and can live 25 years or more with proper care!
Just keep in mind that umbrella plants are toxic to pets, and they should be kept out of reach of cats, dogs, and small children.
Planting
As with most houseplants, umbrella plants should be repotted as soon as you bring them home and repotted every 1 to 2 years after that to accommodate their growing roots. If you want your umbrella plant to stay small, let your plant become a little root-bound and only repot it every 2 to 3 years. When repotting, look for sturdy and well-draining terra-cotta, ceramic, or plastic containers, and make sure the containers have drainage holes and are heavy enough that they won’t topple over!
- While umbrella plants can be repotted in any season, spring is the best time for repotting.
- Before repotting, give your plant a deep drink of water to make the old pot easier to remove. It’s also a good idea to don gardening gloves. Schefflera sap can be a skin irritant!
- To remove the old pot, hold your umbrella plant’s stems in one hand and wiggle the pot free with your other hand. If the pot isn’t budging, run a butter knife around the pot’s rim to loosen the soil.
- Choose a new growing container just one or two sizes bigger than your plant’s existing pot and sprinkle several inches of a rich, well-draining potting mix inside.
- Gently loosen any encircling roots and then position your umbrella pot in its new pot so that the plant is at the same depth that it was growing in its old container.
- Fill in the space around your plant with more potting mix, firm the soil around your plant’s stems, water well, and return your umbrella plant to its original growing location!
Growing
Well-maintained umbrella plants grow quickly, and they don’t need a lot of attention. To keep your umbrella plant looking its best, simply dust off its leaves from time to time with a damp cloth and use the following tips to provide your plant with the care it craves!
Light
Umbrella plants grow best in bright, indirect light, while full sun can scorch their leaves. For best results, grow these plants in south- or west-facing windows and consider installing sheer curtains if your windows receive too much direct sun. In low light, umbrella plants can be leggy, floppy, or drop their leaves, but these issues can be fixed by moving your plant into brighter light!
Water
Like most tropical houseplants, umbrella plants need to be watered regularly, but they can develop root rot in soggy soil. To avoid these issues, water umbrella plants only when the top 1 to 2 inches of soil feels dry, and empty excess water out of your plant’s saucer after watering.
Fertilizer
To fuel their vigorous growth, provide umbrella plants with an organic, liquid fertilizer every 4 to 6 weeks in spring and summer, but withhold all fertilizer in fall and winter. If desired, these plants can also be fed with fertilizer stakes or a slow-release, granular fertilizer. Just follow the application instructions on your fertilizer packaging!
Humidity
Umbrella plants grow best when humidity levels are between 40 and 60 percent, and they should be kept away from drafts and vents. That said, umbrella plants aren’t as picky about humidity as some other houseplants, and they usually do just fine at standard indoor humidity levels. If your plant looks dry or develops brown edges on its leaves, boost humidity with a humidifier or pebble tray.
Seasonal Care
Umbrella plant care doesn’t change much throughout the year, although these plants don’t need as much water in fall or winter, and they should only be fertilized during spring and summer. If you move your umbrella plant outside in summer, be sure to bring it back indoors before temperatures dip below 60°F. Thoroughly check your plant for pests too.
Throughout the year, prune away dead or damaged leaves as needed. If your plant is outgrowing your space or you want your umbrella plant to look a little bushier, you can prune its stems back by up to 1/3 to encourage new growth. Remember to use sterilized pruners and save your stem trimmings for propagation!
Propagation
Although umbrella plants can be propagated from seeds, the easiest and fastest way to propagate these plants is from stem cuttings or prunings!
- To start, take 4- to 6-inch-long stem cuttings from healthy umbrella plant branches, and make your pruning cuts at a 45° angle near a leaf node.
- Remove the lower leaves on the cuttings, dip the cut stem ends in water and rooting hormone, and then plant the cuttings in pots filled with a well-draining potting mix.
- Cover the cuttings with clear plastic to trap humidity, move the cuttings into bright, indirect light, and water enough to keep the soil evenly moist.
- You’ll know your cuttings have rooted when you can’t easily lift the stems from the soil with your fingers!
Types
Umbrella plants, or schefflera, belong to the Araliaceae family and are distantly related to plants like ginseng and English ivy. Although there are about 600 species of schefflera native to the tropical rainforests of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific Islands, only two species are commonly grown as houseplants.
- Schefflera actinophylla, or the Australian umbrella tree, is a bigger plant that grows up to 15 feet tall indoors.
- S. arboricola, or the dwarf umbrella tree, stays small and usually grows between 2 and 4 feet high.
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