Purchased from Home Depot, tag claims it is an "Aralia - Polycias Sp." Small, three leaves per shoot. Photo attached, as well as links to more of my photos of this little guy. Mystery plant (Aralia?) ( photo / image / picture from stripedog's Garden ) After doing a lot of googling, I can't find anything labelled Aralia (or "Polyscias") that looks anything like my plant. Was it mis-labelled? I'm posting because I think the little guy is in trouble - after I bought him and took him to the office (2-3 weeks ago), the leaves began to fall rapidly, drying out from the tips in. Additionally, it seems like the leaves turned darker in color over the course of 2 weeks. Current conditions: Location: Office desk, under a florescent shelf light approx. 12-18 inches above the plant. Water: Watering once a week or so. Humidity: Fairly dry (it's an office) Temperature: Room temperature. Any idea what he is and what I'm doing wrong? Thanks a bunch!
I think the problem might be in the misspelled word Polycias instead of Polyscias. It is an Aralia not sure which one yet but I am leaning towards a variegated type of Polyscias fruticosa Mis-labeling of all sorts happen way too often. Keep soil moist but not soggy and cut back on watering in the winter since that is not their growing season. Let the soil dry out some but not completely. Watering by feeling for dryness of the soil is always better than watering on a specific schedule. They need full sun, part shade or high indoor light.
Try looking under Dizygotheca or False Aralia. It appears to be a variegated form of False Aralia. Very pretty.
