Free Umbrella Plant

The umbrella plant is of genus Schefflera. It belongs to the Araliaceae family. This plant comes in all kinds-shrubs and trees. It has many species. Thus, the type and how tall an umbrella plant can grow greatly depend on the type of specie it is. You will see this plant growing from 1m to 30m. Depending on how tall it can grow, it has been named as umbrella tree or dwarf umbrella tree.

Having umbrella plant at home is a wonderful thing. It will serve as a wonderful houseplant.

It is possible to grow this plant in almost every condition. You can have this plant on your coffee table, at your big office, at home, malls and almost any place you like.

Foliage : The beauty of umbrella plant comes from its foliage. Depending on the type of specie, this plant gives rise to two types of foliage-green and variegated.

The green leaved umbrella plant can grow well indoor. It can thrive in low temperature and low light. However, the variegated leaves will show some trouble thriving in the low lighted conditions. Thus, it will be good to plant them outdoor in your garden.

Growing : Umbrella plant is popular houseplant grown in pots and in the plane garden soil. Planting this plant at home is advantageous. It will help you breathe in fresh air and clean the air around you.

Height : You have a choice when it comes to growing an umbrella plant. The plant despite being an indoor plant will grow tall in size given you let it grow in a bigger sized pot.

It will end up taking a lot of space in the household environment if you don’t tame the plant well. It is good to trim off some parts of the plant to keep it in good shape and clean. It will grow up to the height of around 6 feet if you do not trim off the plant on time.

Light : The umbrella plant prefers a well lighted location to grow to its best. However, you will avoid direct sunlight from disturbing the plant. The plant can tolerate some amount of direct sunlight. In the long run, direct exposure to sunlight can lead to damage in the leaves leading to drying the leaves. You will notice the plant growing yellowish.

Watering : It is very important to understand the amount of water needed by your plant because different species of plant have different water needs. For an umbrella plant, it prefers growing in a moist soil where it can grow in a relaxed manner. This plant can tolerate not being watered for a week but it will show some signs of weaknesses if you over water this plant. Over watering will cause root rot which eventually lead to stem rot. Thus, you will water this plant whenever you notice the top soil getting dried. The plant will require more watering during the active growing months i.e. summer and spring months. You can reduce watering the plant during the winter days. Also, do not forget to empty the saucer under the pot where excess water has been collected.

Humidity : Humidity will be one of the things to consider when it comes to taking care of the umbrella. But just know that this plant is not that fussy about the humidity level. However, it is definitely suggested that you maintain some level of humidity in this plant.

Feeding : It is important to feed your plant on a timely manner. You need to have good knowledge on the requirements of this plant and have a little information on the plant before you step onto planting this plant.

For an umbrella plant, you will use general fertilizer. It is good to fertilize this plant during its active growing months, at least once in a week. You can gradually reduce fertilizing this plant upon the onset of the winter months.

Temperature : The umbrella plant grows best in a normal temperature range. It is a tropical plant and will thrive best at a temperature between 15C to 21C. You will notice the leaves falling off as soon as the extreme winter chill hits the plant body. Thus, make sure that you if maintain right temperature for this plants proper growth over the season. If possible, bring the plant indoor when the outside temperature is not favorable for the plant.

Pests and problems : Although umbrella plant is a wonderful indoor plant, this plant has shown low resistance to pests and is often attacked by scale insect and spider mites which can be quite a problem to the indoor environment. However, you can plant this plant in your home garden or just have this plant indoor when they are young and small.

Repotting : The umbrella plant being an indoor plant will grow better when being repotted. It will give rise to a fresher and healthier growth upon being repotted. You will choose to repot this plant once in two to three years time.The right time to repot this plant depends on the size of the pot and the maturity of the plant over the process of changing time. It is good to repot in a small pot. Also make sure that the soil is rich in compost manure or has a good potting mix.

Propagation : Propagating an umbrella plant is not that lot an easy method. However, most of the plant lovers choose to follow the cutting method of propagation when it comes to propagating an umbrella plant. The plant will grow at quite a high speed when you take care of good watering, right feeding and maintain light and temperature in the soil.

Uses : Having plants at home is always advantageous. The umbrella plant brings fresher joy, fresher air and liveliness to the home environment. It gives a refreshing effect to the home environment.This plant helps attract birds and is also used as food for larvae.

This plant is commonly named umbrella plant, dwarf umbrella tree, octopus and parasol plant.

It’s easy to take care of umbrella plant. It will grow for a long time.