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How to Propagate Schefflera? Learn Best Methods!

Schefflera boasts long, shiny, oval green leaves that grow in clusters resembling an umbrella. Want to colonize it in your garden without any cost? 

Generally, there are multiple methods for propagating Schefflera, including leaf cuttings, stem cuttings, air layering, and seed propagation. The best time to propagate Schefflera is early spring and summer.

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Schefflera, also known as Umbrella Plant, can live up to 25 years if provided with good care!

This long aging of the plant can create a good memory and many benefits, including air freshening.

So, let’s learn about all possible methods to propagate Schefflera!

Top 4 Potent Methods to Propagate Schefflera

Before the propagation, fertilize and make necessary adjustments to ensure the plant has recovered from stress.

1. Propagation via Stem Cuttings 

To a greater extent, roots occur reasonably fast with the cuttings approach if favorable circumstances.

First, cut the plant at the base targeting a healthy leaf stem using a clean, sharp knife. Be sure the plant is mature enough to grow back in foliage easily. 

Take out stems at least 4-6 inches in length and diameter, similar to a pencil. 

  • Wrap a young (not very large) stem around the plant’s base in a damp paper towel.
  • Then, cut each leaf in half horizontally to prevent drying. This will assist the cutting in coping with moisture loss when rooted.
  • Next, fill tiny pots with potting soil about six inches wide.
  • Make a hole in the center and insert your clean, well-drained potting soil cutting.

After you are done, place the stem in the soil and in a position that receives plenty of bright, direct sunshine. Keep the soil moist and cover the cutting with a bag to contain moisture.

stem cuttings of Schefflera in pot
Use a 6-inch container with fresh potting soil for Schefflera propagation in soil.

After 4-6 weeks, the propagated stems offer the plantlet a gentle tug!

You can also propagate Schefflera through stem cuttings in water like the soil medium.

The difference is that you must replace the soil medium with fresh water, frequently changing every few days. 

Also, you need to transfer the rooted stems into the soil. 

2. Propagation via Leaf Cuttings 

Schefflera leaves have a good root system. You can break many platelets into short parts and root each one.

The cuttings will only root from the bottom, not from top to bottom, as long as they are positioned appropriately.

Step 1: Pick healthy and robust leaves that are best for proliferation. The leaves should be 4-6 inches in length.

Step 2: Keep the leafstalk, also known as petiole, as this portion of the leaf is from which the roots grow.

Step 3: Cut the lowest end of the leafstalk using a sharp knife.

Step 4: Submerge one centimeter of the picked-out leaf into the soil to take root once removed from the mother plant.

Step 5: Maintain a consistent moisture level on the substrate. Schefflera plants may achieve consistent moisture levels with light-permeable film.

This process of rooting takes around three months. 

If you have noticed the mother Schefflera producing yellow leaves, learn how to fix them!

3. Propagation via Air Layering 

Air layering is the process of growing additional roots along the stem of a plant while it is still connected to the parent plant.

This process is highly advised for plants that have become top-heavy. It’s also a good option for plants that have outgrown their container.

The wonderful thing about air layering is that you’re propagating the stem while still connected to the mother plant, stimulating it to establish roots.

Steps to Air Layering

  • Cut approximately halfway through the stem at an angle, or remove the plant’s outer covering in a ring about one inch wide around the stem.
  • Bend the low, flexible stem into a fresh pot of soil close to the parent plant. Remember that the piece must be flexible since you’ll be bending it downwards into the soil of a nearby planter.
  • Bury the portion you cut, but leave the plant’s leafy end above ground.
  • Keep the soil surrounding the peel moist; roots will appear in a few weeks.

Cut the stem to detach it from its parent plant and place the cutting in a new pot after the roots have developed.

However, if the roots are not emerging from the cuttings, remove the cuttings from the soil and wrap them with Sphagnum moss.

The roots will develop inside the moss, then remove and place them in the soil.

Keep your cat away when propagating Schefflera, as they can harm your pet!

4. Propagation via Seeds

Want to grow a different specimen from mother Schefflera? Get it through seed propagation!

Growing full-sized Schefflera plants from seed takes more time, but it is possible.  

Steps to Growing from Seed

  • Soak your seeds for 12 hours in warm water before planting at 140o degrees Fahrenheit to enhance the germination rate.
  • While soaking, plant each medium-sized seed to a depth twice its size.
  • Spread the plant seeds once they’ve been soaked in warm water.
  • Keep the soil moist but not soggy with light watering.
Schefflera seedlings
Sow 1-3 Schefflera seeds per pot.
  • Take the container away from direct sunlight and in bright, indirect light.

With this approach, you will have seedlings in 2-3 months.

Now, you may transplant them into separate pots once the seedlings are one to two inches tall.

Tips to Care for Schefflera after Propagation

Schefflera, the Umbrella Tree, prefers a warm and humid environment with plenty of natural light.

Place your propagated Schefflera in an area with no drafts and direct heat from heating vents.

  • Offer the seedlings or plantlets at least 4 hours of indirect, medium-to-bright light. 
  • The watering schedule needs to be weekly based on the soil dryness. 
  • Also, the propagated plants require 65-90°F to grow well. 
  • Don’t let the humidity go below 50%; keep it around 70%.
  • Check the soil and maintain it slightly acidic (6.0-6.5 pH).
  • Once the propagated Schefflera is big enough, feed them once or twice a month with an all-purpose or balanced fertilizer.
  • When your Schefflera has grown crowded or scraggly, prune it in late winter or early spring. 
  • If you notice Schefflera root bound in the plant, repot it in the pot with 2-3 inches wide in the growing seasons.

Before you repot Schefflera, consider it annually or biannually!

From Editorial Team

Avoid the Common Problems to Propagate Schefflera Successfully 

Due to high moisture, the leaf and stem cuttings can commit fungal infections, including Alternaria leaf spot Damping-off and Phytophthora leaf spot. 

To minimize the risk, allow the surrounding environment to control humidity. Also, remove the dying or dead cuttings from the medium, i.e., soil or water, as soon as possible!

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