My Sad looking Umbrella Plant!!!

I brought this plant 2 weeks ago at HD. They were having a sale and I brought her, a rubber plant and three ZZ plants. All of the other plants are doing well, except for the umbrella.

I repotted the plant in a mixture of C&S soil, orchid mix and some gritty mix I had left. I watered her very well in the kitchen sink. Now I am nervous because she seems "droopy". I do not want to give her any more water because I checked the little stick in her soil and it is really wet.

Is this the way an umbrella plant is suppose to look? This is my first umbrella plant and I do not want to loose her.

Thank you in advance for any guidance!!!

 

Thanks Toni!! I will move it to a sunnier spot and see if she "perks" up a little.

 

When you repotted, did you remove the old soil, or just put in a bigger pot with the new soil around the old? Is the level of soil now the same (where the trunk go under) as it was before? If the water is forceful enough on a newly repotted plant, the soil can be shifted and compacted, eliminating all of the tiny air spaces. Roots need oxygen & moisture at the same time to function, so packing soil tightly, and/or watering forcefully can cause roots to suffocate/rot. When you took the plant outside to go home, was it cold?

 

Hi Purple!

When I repotted her, I did remove all the old soil under running water. The soil level I believe is the same as in the nursery pot. When I water my plants at the sink, I make sure that the sprayer is not forceful at all. The day I brought her was in the mid 60s. This weather in GA can change in a minute. We go from 60s or 70s in January and beginning of Feb to teens and 30s, with a treat of snow every few days from mid Feb to today.

 

Your Umbrella plant might be drooping because it has a bit of shock from being re-potted. You are correct about holding off on water. Let it dry out.
I start fertilizing my houseplants in March, maybe in a few weeks, some balanced fertilizer?

 

I think you're kidding yourself calling it a plant. While technically true, I'd call it an Umbrella tree sapling. I have an article about these on my website showing the roots they end up with, and some of the damage they invariably cause.

While I'm Australian, and these are an Australian native, they are considered invasive in Brisbane because their native environment is in the north of my state but they have become naturalised here. It's something else to consider, their prolific reproduction: at least in my climate, perhaps yours is different.

As for the rubber plant, do you mean a Ficus elastica? If so, the same applies about calling it a plant. It also has a pretty untamable growth form in the subtropics.

 

Georgia peach, sounds like you did what I would have done, and it was not cold when you took your plant home. I agree with letting it dry out @ this point. A gentle breeze from a fan could help with that.

Hi & welcome, Brisbane! In temperate parts of the US, both Schefflera actinophylla and arboricola, as well as Ficus elastica are extremely common & popular potted house plants, that pose no danger of being able to escape into the wild.

 

Thanks Kay: I do plan to fertilize her soon. Let's keep our finger crossed for her success!!

Purple: Thanks so much for all your help and wisdom. You are very knowledgeable and I am pleased you replied to me!! I also follow some of your post on GW.

Brisbane: I do not think I am kidding myself when I call her a plant. Being that we live in on continents in this world, a tree to you is a plant and sold as such to me. Maybe the Umbrella plant and the Rubber plant will grow into trees and I am not worried about that.

I am not up to speed on plants scientific names. I am pretty sure others have called it a Rubber plant and knew what I was talking about. Thank you for your reply.

 

I would love to be able to see the Umbrella Tree growing in its native environment in Australia! For us here in my part of the world, Schefflera are plants that grow safely in containers. They can grow quite large, if given the right environment, but are mostly well behaved houseplants.
The largest one I had was back in the 80's it was about 5 feet tall.

 

Happy to share info, I'm always searching for more too!

Yours looks like Schefflera actinophylla, the larger form of the 2 trees sold in the US as umbrella plants/trees.

 

Let it dry out,, they do not like soggy soil and do best with minimal water. If you ever notice they grow like gangbusters in nursing home and hospital sunrooms ? That's because they forget to water them regularly. LOL

 

Thanks for correcting me about different growth forms in different places. I'm only used to dealing with trees in my hometown. I guess on this international forum I'll have to bear this in mind.

Sorry about being particular about names. Different plants are called by different common names in different places. Actually, there are different trees called by the same common name and different common names used for the one tree, just in my city. I was just confirming it was the one I had in mind.

To show how confusing common names can be, the two plants you referred to in your post have both been called 'rubber tree'.

It's really understandable to not use botanical names, since at first they seem like a foreign language. Actually, they are! However, taking the time to learn each one as you come across it is very worthwhile. Firstly, there is the advantage of removing the confusion of multiple common names. The second biggest advantage is a new understanding of relationships between plants as the first part of the name is the genus which will be the same for (usually) a group of similar plants. Higher level relationships will also fall into place more easily.

Looking for plants' botanical names also usually means googling it, so you're likely to end up reading a little more about the plants you come across, as well. Also, botanical names often have a meaning which will both make it easy to remember and also teach you something about the plant. For example, Eucalyptus is greek for "covered nut", referring to the gumnut. So, in this case you learn a defining criteria for entry into the genus.

On my website, and also when talking to customers, I use common names first and botanical names as a sub-heading/afterthought. I do that to not come across as a know-it-all and so people can relate to what I'm saying. At the same time, I urge anyone who wants to take plants seriously to take the time to learn botanical names for themselves. It's worthwhile for the gain in understanding you will reap.