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Hello! I don’t know much about plants, so I was wondering if anyone… | Anything about plants | Planta community

Clueless

Hello! I don’t know much about plants, so I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me out. I have this dying Schefflera, and I’m not sure what the first steps are to taking care of it. Can anyone help me out please? Thanks!

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6 comments

  1. Mushroom

    i also have an umbrella tree, so i’ll try and give you the best advice i have from my experience. i have mine in a partly sunny area, right next to a window so it gets a lot of sun but not enough to cook it. it looks like some of the leaves on your plant are falling off and are brown. if they are crunchy, it could be under watering. if they are yellowish, squishy and limp, it could be overwatering. if your plant is overwatered, i would repot it, if it’s under watered, i’d keep it in the same pot and stick to a good watering schedule. umbrella trees don’t require a lot of maintenance, and when they are placed in good conditions they can grow moderately quickly. but patience with enough trial and error can never fail when it comes to plants. best of luck :)

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    • Mushroom

      also, it looks like your plant is potted in rocks, so it might have a hard time rooting and it might need to be watered more frequently. so even if it’s just under watered i’d repot it anyway in good soil with enough drainage :) i’d just buy some potting soil from home depot if you don’t have some already. (if you decide to repot, look at the roots. if they are yellow, it’s definitely root rot. if they are white, it’s healthy enough to easily bring back to life. with overwatered plants, sprinkle cinnamon on the dirt to prevent bugs that nest in the roots of overwatered plants)

      3 likes
    • Clueless

      Thank you so much! I tried to take out as many rocks as I possibly could, but there are still some tiny rocks left in the soil. Is this okay, or should I just completely change the soil? Also, almost all the leaves are dead. Do you think I should cut all them off?

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    • Mushroom

      i’d cut off bottom dead leaves so the plant doesn’t waste energy trying to revive them. and i think as long as there aren’t any huge rocks that will disrupt the roots, it should be ok and may also aid slightly with drainage :)

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  2. Patty

    Love this advice.

    3 likes
  3. Mr Plant Guy

    repot

    1 like