Get yourself an umbrella tree - caring for a chef at home

I bought a young sheffler with spotted leaves yesterday. What should be the care for a chef at home and where is it better to put it? So far I have placed it on the north window, otherwise all my windowsills are filled with flowers. Wouldn't the sheffler be too dark there? And I forgot to ask the seller if it needs to be cut and shaped somehow?

If orchids or geraniums are grown for their beautiful flowering, then this plant is acquired to admire the leaves. Large, shiny, unusual-shaped sheet plates of shefflers look like a splayed palm with fingers. In order for them to retain their decorative appearance, caring for a shefflera at home must be competent. And also do not forget to take into account her requirements for the conditions of "residence". And then your beauty will grow and grow rapidly, opening her "palms".

Features of growing shefflers

This evergreen plant belongs to the Araliaceae family and is characterized by rather rapid growth. If the sheffler likes everything and suits, you will get more than 30 cm of growth and several new leaves in a year. By the way, it is because of their finger-like shape and because the separated segments of the leaf in a hemisphere diverge above the petiole, the flower is also called the "umbrella tree". Indeed, leaf plates are very similar to umbrellas, only not solid.

In the natural environment, a sheffler can grow to a height of more than 4 m. But indoor species usually do not exceed 1.5-2 m, especially since their growth can be easily limited by pruning.

The culture is home to the humid Australian tropics, so you should provide a similar microclimate at home. First of all, this concerns air humidity - it must be increased. Schefflera has the property of humidifying the air, but for this she must receive enough moisture herself, and not from the soil. Place the pot on a pallet of damp pebbles, and remember to spray the leaves frequently.

Other aspects are no less important:

1. Lighting. Schefflera loves the sun, but only scattered rays, so shade it on the south window so as not to get burned. Nor will the north side. There, green-leaved varieties stretch out, and variegated ones become monochromatic green.
2. Air temperature. The flower feels good in the cool, of course, within reasonable limits, not lower than 13 ° C heat. But the heat does not tolerate well, so do not allow it to rise. Optimally, if the room is not higher than 25, and even better 20-23 ° C heat.

For the summer, the sheffler can be taken out into the garden, but do not forget that it should be hidden from direct rays. And, of course, more often you will have to moisten and spray.

Shefflera care at home

Having created a flower of the tropics, you will only have to maintain them and carry out such procedures in a timely manner:

• spray the bush at least twice a week, and in winter - every other day;
• water regularly, but in moderation, and do not leave water in the pan;
• deposit twice a month mineral complexes for ornamental crops (in the autumn-winter period it is enough to do this once every two months):
• Repot young plants every two years and replant adults every 4 years.

Wear gloves during transplanting and pruning - sheffler juice is considered poisonous. And keep the flower away from children and pets.

Regarding pruning, in general, the umbrella tree does not need it and in nature it grows itself.But since there is still less lighting in the room, the bush can stretch out. Therefore, it is better to help him stay lush by pinching the shoots after the fifth leaf. Alternatively, let them lengthen a little, and then cut off the tops and use them for sheffler breeding.

How to grow and propagate a sheffler