A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Help with my schefflera

I am not sure how to make this poor plant bushy instead of lanky. I rescued it from a friend and it has come a long way, but has only 2 stems that made it and they are growing taller, but not bushing out....please help! It sits beside a window and gets watered about every week or week and a half, terra cotta pot and regular potting soil. It seems healthy and is growing, just looks puny. Can I root come cuttings?

pruning will cause it to bush

cut the stems and 2 shoots will grow from the cut

I have a Schefflera that I have cut back at least seven times and it always comes back with more branches and a better shape. It still eventually gets a bit "leggy" and I just cut it back again....

Thanks! Can I root the cuttings? I love the plant and would love to have more.

Last year when Jiffy came to visit me she had a huge Schefflera in her car that her MIL had given to her.

She cut me off some pieces and I stuck them in some water for a while...didn't do anything special to them. And actually they weren't in the water for that long...Maybe a week or a week and a half.

I planted all 3 cuttings in the same pot and kept it well watered for a while and they are now growing beautifully....I just repotted them all and gave one to my mom!

I pruned them back a little and stuck the cuttings in the pot and watered the whole thing well...we'll see what happens. Thanks!

You can root the cuttings. I use 3-4 inch sections and place in potting mix. Keep the soil moist.

Tom

So far, so good! None of the clippings have wilted and seem to be doing well. Thanks guys!