Houseplant · Araliaceae
Umbrella Tree
Heptapleurum arboricola
Its glossy leaflets fan out from each stem like the spokes of an umbrella, giving this Schefflera its starry, radiating shape.
Bright indirect
USDA 10–12
3–8 ft · 0.9–2.4 m
Overview
The umbrella tree is named for the way its leaflets radiate from a single point at the stem tip, spreading like the ribs of an open umbrella. A member of the ivy family from Taiwan and Hainan, it grows there as a shrub or small tree. Indoors it stays smaller, and each glossy green leaf splits into that starry ring of leaflets that gives the plant its common name.
Its stems begin soft and green, then stiffen with age into woody trunks, which is why an older plant can be trained into a small tree. Cut it back hard and it pushes out fresh clusters of leaflets, filling in dense and bushy again. The one thing it will not take is standing water, which turns the roots brown and soft.
Handsome as the foliage is, no part of it is safe to taste. The leaves and stems are packed with insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, microscopic needles that make the plant toxic to cats and dogs and inedible for people. The cut sap can leave sensitive skin itchy, so its beauty is best admired rather than handled bare-handed.
Care
The short version: the umbrella tree's glossy, radiating leaflets stay full and deep green under bright indirect light, water once the top half of the soil has dried, and warmth above 60°F (15.6°C). Keep the saucer empty and prune to shape.
Light
The leaflets hold their deepest, glossiest green in bright indirect light, the soft glow of a curtain-filtered east, west, or south window for a few hours a day. In a dim corner the stems stretch pale and thin, while harsh direct sun burns brown patches into the leaves.
Water
Water it well, then let the top half of the soil dry before the next drink. Standing water rots the roots brown and soft, so tip out the saucer each time. From fall into late winter the plant slows and drinks far less.
Soil
A peaty, well-drained mix rich in organic matter holds it best, in a pot with open drainage holes. It shrugs at pH, comfortable anywhere from 6.0 to 8.0, and its roots take to clay, loam, or sandy blends alike.
Temperature
Warmth keeps the foliage firm and green, so hold it above 60°F (15.6°C) and away from cold drafts, vents, and air conditioners. A sudden chill shows up quickly as dropped leaves.
Humidity
Ordinary room humidity keeps the leaves supple, so there is no set number. When winter heating dries the air, a tray of wet pebbles or a light misting keeps the leaf tips from turning crisp and brown.
Feeding
Feed through the growing season, spring into summer, with a water-soluble or time-release houseplant fertilizer at the label rate, and the new leaflets come in full and glossy. In low light, when growth stalls, ease off.
Pruning
The plant takes hard pruning without flinching. A cut just above a leaf holds its height and pushes out thick new clusters of leaflets, and over years the bare lower stem woodens into a small tree trunk. The cut sap can irritate skin, so wear gloves.
Repotting
Move a crowded plant into a slightly larger pot of general-purpose mix once the roots wind tight in the container or growth slows, in any season. There is no rush, since it holds its looks even sitting a little snug in its pot.
Size & spacing
Indoors the umbrella tree stands about 3 to 8 feet (91 to 244 cm) tall and fans 4 to 8 feet (122 to 244 cm) wide. Give the radiating leaflets room to spread, and prune to keep the crown in a tighter space.
Troubleshooting
An umbrella tree wears its troubles on its leaves and stems, so a close look usually reveals the cause: watering, light, or dry air. Match the color, texture, or webbing you see below and correct it before it spreads.
Drooping leaves over wet, sour soil
When the leaflets droop while the soil is still wet, the roots have gone brown and mushy and root rot has set in from overwatering or poor drainage. Lift it out, cut away the soft, foul-smelling roots, and settle it into fresh, free-draining mix in a pot with open holes. From then on, let the top half of the soil dry and keep the saucer empty.
Fix:
- Allow the soil to dry appropriately between waterings
- Repot into fresh, well-drained potting mix and a pot with drainage holes
- Remove rotted roots and badly affected growth
Leaves letting go from the stems
An umbrella tree sheds its leaflets when watering lurches from soaked to bone dry, and a cold draft or a sudden move can loosen them too. Hold to a steady rhythm, let the top half of the soil dry before the next drink, and keep it above 60°F (15.6°C) in one warm, bright spot. Given time, bare stems flush green with new leaves again.
Fix:
- Adjust watering so the top half of the soil dries before rewatering
- Move the plant away from cold drafts, vents and air conditioners
- Keep temperatures above about 15.6°C (60°F)
- Give the plant a stable spot in bright indirect light and avoid frequent moves
Dusty stippling and fine silk on the leaves
A gray, stippled dustiness with fine silk webbing strung across the leaf undersides is the mark of spider mites, which multiply in hot, dry air. Rinse the foliage and wipe each leaf with a damp sponge, then treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Damper air makes the leaves a far poorer home for them.
Fix:
- Rinse foliage and wipe leaves with a damp sponge
- Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Raise humidity to discourage mites
White fluff and brown shells on the stems
Cottony white specks tucked into the leaf joints are mealybugs, and the small brown, shell-like domes clinging to the stems are scale, both leaving a sticky, shiny honeydew behind. Touch each one with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol, then follow with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Keep the plant apart and repeat until the stems come clean.
Fix:
- Dab insects with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol
- Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Repeat treatments and isolate the plant until cleared
Curled and pitted new leaflets
New leaflets that open curled, puckered, or silver-scarred point to aphids massing on the soft tips or thrips rasping the surface. Rinse the aphids off with a jet of water, treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, and cut away the worst-deformed growth. Catching them before their numbers swell is what turns it around.
Fix:
- Rinse off aphids with water
- Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Remove heavily infested growth
Stems stretched long between pale leaves
Long, thin stems with wide gaps and yellowing leaflets are the plant stretching toward light. Move it to a brighter window with curtain-filtered sun for a few hours a day, then cut the leggy stems just above a leaf, and thick new growth breaks from below the cut.
Fix:
- Move to a brighter spot with bright indirect light (an east, west or south window with curtain-filtered sun for 3-4 hours daily)
- Prune leggy stems just above a leaf to encourage bushier regrowth
Crisp brown edges along the leaflets
Brown, papery tips and the odd dropped leaf point to dry air, most visible in winter once the heating runs. Set the pot on a tray of wet pebbles with its base above the water line, and mist the leaves or group it with other plants to raise the moisture around the foliage.
Fix:
- Raise humidity by setting the container on a tray of wet pebbles (pot not sitting in water)
- Mist the foliage or group with other plants
Toxicity
This is the toxic Schefflera, not the safe umbrella pine. The leaves and stems are laced with insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, sharp microscopic needles the ASPCA flags as toxic to cats and dogs, which set off a burning mouth, drooling, and vomiting when chewed. No part is edible, and the raw sap can leave skin itchy, so keep it from pets and children and wear gloves when you cut it.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Moderate
The ASPCA lists this plant as toxic to cats. A bitten leaf sets the mouth burning at once, followed by heavy drooling, pawing at the face, vomiting, and trouble swallowing.
Dogs Moderate
Dogs react the same way the ASPCA flags for cats. Chewing any part inflames the mouth and tongue, with drooling and vomiting close behind, since the same needle-like oxalate crystals are at work.
Horses Caution
The plant is no normal pasture risk, but the calcium oxalate crystals would sting a grazing horse's mouth and may start it drooling. Keep it well out of reach to be safe.
Rabbits Caution
Do not let a rabbit nibble it. The same needle-like crystals can burn the mouth and sour the gut, so it is not a plant to offer or leave within reach.
Livestock Caution
Goats, sheep, and cattle would feel the oral burning and stomach upset the oxalate crystals cause. The plant rarely meets farm animals, but treat it as off limits.
Birds Caution
A curious bird that bites a leaf can end up with a raw, burning mouth from the crystals. Keep companion birds away from the foliage.
People Caution
No part of this plant is edible. Chewing it stings the mouth and throat, and the sap can leave sensitive skin itchy, so wear gloves when you prune and keep the leaves away from small children.
The sap can irritate sensitive skin; wear gloves when pruning or handling
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Almost every umbrella tree sold for the home is the dwarf type, and a few named cultivars stand apart for the variegation splashed across their leaflets or their compact shape.
'Gold Capella'
A dwarf umbrella tree whose green leaflets are splashed and rimmed with bright gold variegation.
'Trinette'
A well-known dwarf umbrella tree, its leaflets marbled in swirls of creamy yellow and green.
'Variegata'
A variegated form whose starry leaflets are streaked and mottled in pale and deep green.
'Compacta'
A tighter dwarf umbrella tree with leaflets packed close on shorter, denser stems.
How to propagate
Umbrella trees are easy to multiply, and there are a few routes depending on the plant in front of you.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Spring to summer · Several weeks to root
The easiest way to raise another. A tip or stem cutting taken in spring or summer and stood in moist potting mix sends out pale new roots over the next several weeks. Keep it warm and shaded from direct sun as it takes hold.
Air layeringModerate
Spring to summer · Several weeks
A method for a tall, bare-stemmed plant that needs shortening. In spring or summer, the stem is wounded and wrapped to hold moisture, and roots push out from the wound over several weeks before the new plant is cut free below them.
SeedModerate
When fresh seed is available · Slow
Possible but slow. Fresh seed sown when available sprouts and grows on at a crawl, far behind the pace of a rooted cutting.
Myths
The umbrella tree is safe for cats and dogs to chew.
The ASPCA lists it as toxic to both. Its leaves and stems are studded with sharp insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, so a pet that bites in gets a burning mouth, heavy drooling, and vomiting. Keep this plant out of reach of cats and dogs.
Every umbrella tree behaves the same way outdoors in a warm climate.
Two different plants share the name. The larger umbrella tree, Schefflera actinophylla, is a non-native invasive listed as Florida Invasive Species Council Category I, while the dwarf umbrella tree grown indoors is naturalized but carries no such invasive listing.