BONSAI-EASY NEW METHOD-PART10-SCHEFFLERA (UMBRELLA TREE)

THE SCHEFFLERA IS A GREAT BONSAI SUBJECT. THE ONE IN THIS VIDEO IS ABOUT 11 YEARS OLD. IT IS ON A TOP SHELF OF ONE OF MY BONSAI STANDS, AND I DON'T GET A GOOD VIEW OF IT. SO WHEN I TOOK IT DOWN TO GET A DECENT LOOK, I SAW HOW MUCH IT HAD EXPANDED.
MY FIRST THOUGHTS WERE TO TRIM IT CLOSELY, BUT AFTER A GOOD LOOK I DECIDED THAT THE BRANCH STRUCTURE WAS REALLY PLEASING AND I JUST DID A TRIM. I ALSO REPOTTED IT. I HAD SEEN A QUESTION ON THE INTERNET ABOUT GETTING SMALLER LEAVES ON A SCHEFFLERA. THEY TALKED ABOUT HOW THE LEAVES GET TO BE 12 INCHES. MINE ARE PRETTY SMALL IN COMPARISON. ALL I DO IS CUT OFF LEAVES THAT GET TOO BIG. SEEMS TO WORK. (MY HAT SAYS "DR. BONSAI" AND HAS AN IMAGE OF A BONSAI TREE ON IT. (IT'S HARD TO FILM STUFF WHEN YOU ARE NOT LOKING AT IT-SORRY FOR THAT BLURRED VIEW)).(I posted a new viedo recently (May, 2008- showing traditional bonsai at the Morikami Museum. It's just a silent look at their trees, but it is inspiring)("Morikami Bonsai Gardens May 2008").(***PLEASE VIEW PART 12 ABOUT THE WARNING ON HANDLING SPHAGNUM MOSS BEFORE YOU WORK WITH SPHAGNUM MOSS***).

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• bonsai
• schefflera
• shefflera
• umbrella
• easy
• new
• method
• trim
• prune
• sphagnum
• moss
• leaf
• leaves
• foliage

[PeteSwitch]

Jerry, I've looked for answer to the trunk hardening question for countless hours online. Could you sum it up on a rough estimate of how long it took your Schefflera to develop a hardened wood trunk? I'm going to try and pursue my first forrest planting and my plant was also a $6.00 investment at the local supermarket =)

[PeteSwitch]

P.S. I supplement the warmer temperatures and lighting this tropical plant loves by exposing it to 16 hours a day of time fluorescent lights. It's under a 32 watt 3500k and 40 watt 6500k fluorescent fixture. I live in the pacific northwest in a zone 5 or 6 (depending on what book or website you're looking at). The temperatures range from high 30's into 50's & 60's during the fall and winter. Hope that gives some good insight for answering my question.

Thanks.

[bonsai9723]

Hi Pete, Seems like you have things uder control with the conditions. Just give it time to age naturally and I would think things will go they way they should. Thanks for the advice for others who live in colder regions but want tropical trees. Jerry

[bonsai9723]

Hi Pete, I really don't re,member. I think it was older when I purchased it and had a hardened trunk. Sorry, can't give you a better answer. Jerry

[bonsaiartist25]

how long have you had that schrfflera? i wanted to know because that i have baught one from a grocery store and the trunk is bright green. will it go a little bit more woody as it grows like yours? reply soon.

[bonsai9723]

Hi, I have had that probably about 12 years. Could be 10. Yes, it should develop woody trunk and branches. They make great bonsai and are extremely hardy. Don't be afraid to trim them. Have fun! Jerry

[leahmendoza11]

love your vids, how long does it take for scheffleras to branch, also how do you make areal roots?

[Blue4cuervo]

IF HE NEW ANYTHING ABOUT PONYTAIL PALM, HE WOULD KNOW TO PUT THEM IN A POUR-IS MEDIUM LIKE E.B. STONES CACTUS MIX AND I CAN GUARANTEE YOU THAT THE PONYTAIL WILL THANK YOU AND EXPLODE WITH MANY MORE PONYTAILS, ALSO TRIM THE TAILS DIAGONALLY SO THEY LOOK MORE NATURAL AND HEAL BETTER WITH MINIMAL BROWNING ON THE TIPS!! IN FACT USE THIS BRAND OF CACTUS MIX FOR ALL OF YOUR BONSAI AND YOU'LL HAVE GREAT SUCCESS WITH ALL OF YOUR TREES. USE SPHAGNUM MOSS ONLY IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR RESULTS.

[rainbowlovelight]

hi all, very new to this and im already addicted, watched all of your videos jerry, by the way youve got a bonsai feel to the tone of your voice, thanks for showing us your knowledge

[PeteSwitch]

The Scheffleras did pretty well in the Sphagnum but got invaded by a bad batch of white flies. Unfortunately we ended up tossing the trees and moss because it was more cost effective to start over. Jerry, have you ever looked into hydroponic growing? I planted another junior schefflera in a hydroponic setup and achieved 3-4x the speed of growth and trunk girth then I could've ever gotten growing with pots, soil, and sphagnum moss!!!!

[PeteSwitch]

Jerry, 2 Junior Schefflera I put in 100% Sphagnum within a day or so after my last post are doing excellent with 16 hours of fluorescent light and watering every few days. It's getting further into the rainy season now, the Humidity is up to 86%, and I don't have to keep heavy on watering it seems. I picked up another woodier Schefflera on Ebay last week, repotted it in Sphagnum today, and noticed that the plants get more of what they need: plenty of air, water, and nutrients through fertilizer.

[PeteSwitch]

For now it's been planted in potting soil (haven't transplanted it since the purchase from the store), but low and behold I got my hands on some Sphagnum Moss and will be planting in 100% Sphagnum here soon. Any tips on how to get the tree to continue growing up? Will a leaf that sprouts out of the top of the plant eventually turn into a part of the trunk?

Thanks again for getting back to me Jerry, I appreciate your help.

-Pete

[PeteSwitch]

Thanks for getting back to me on that Jerry. I seemed to have stumbled a bit as the trunk of the tree sprouted into a leaf for some reason. I didn't know weather to leave it there or trim it down so I opted to trim it and find out what happens. Well, out of the one shoot that was cut back, I now have 2 more sprouting up in it's place!!!