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The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Umbrella Plant: Tips and Care
Hawaiian umbrella plants are a popular household plant due to their unique appearance and easy maintenance.
They are known for their delicate leaves that resemble an umbrella when fully grown, which makes them a perfect addition to your indoor or outdoor garden.
However, like with any other plant, it is crucial to know how best to care for them.
What is a Hawaiian Umbrella Plant?
The Hawaiian Umbrella Plant (Schefflera Arboricola) is a tropical plant native to Taiwan and Southern China.
It belongs to the Araliaceae family and can grow up to 6-8 feet tall if planted outdoors in tropical conditions.
However, when grown indoors as potted plants, they usually grow up to 3-4 feet tall.
The leaves of the Schefflera Arboricola have seven leaflets shaped like miniature umbrellas; hence it’s also called parasol plant or dwarf umbrella tree.
Care Tips
If you’re planning on adding this beautiful plant species in your home or garden space, here are some care tips that can help:
- Watering: Watering your hawaiian umbrella plant can be challenging at times since overwatering can lead to root rot while under-watering leads it wilting of the leaves.
Water only when the top inch of soil feels dry but ensure not waterlogged soil as this will lead troot rot problems
- Sunlight: These plants thrive in moderate light conditions making shade cloth-covered patios an ideal spot outdoors while bright spots away from direct sunlight work well inside.
- Fertilizer: Fertilizing your hawaiian umbrella plant is a good practice for proper growth.
Use slow-release pellets or a liquid fertilizer every two months during the growing season.
- Pruning: To maintain its attractive shape, prune regularly by trimming away any dead leaves or stems that are blocking new growth.
- Pests and Diseases: Mealybugs and spider mites are common pests that attack umbrella plants.
Ensure you keep checking for signs of pests and diseases in your plant often and act promptly to eliminate them.
Varieties of Hawaiian Umbrella Plant
Hawaiian Umbrella Plants have several varieties, each with distinct characteristics.
Here are four popular varieties:
- Schefflera Arboricola Gold Capella: This variety features variegated leaves with green edges and yellow centers, giving it an appealing look.
- Schefflera Arboricola Green Gold:The Green gold variety has green leaves speckled with yellow spots on their surface making it attractive houseplant option
- Schefflera Arboricola Trinette: The Schefflera Trinette is another variegated species featuring green leaves edged in creamy white but tends to grow slowly compared to the other types of hawaiian umbrella plants,
- Schefflera Arboricola Compacta: This unique compact species only grows up to two feet tall making it perfect as an indoor bonsai tree since you can easily control its size through pruning.
Tips for Propagation
You can propagate Hawaiian Umbrella Plant from cuttings using stem cuttings or air layering methods.
For stem cuttings, take a 4-5 inch stem just below the node and remove lower leaves.
Dip the end in rooting hormone then plant it in a well-draining potting mix that contains peat moss and perlite.
Water thoroughly, cover with a plastic bag to maintain humidity, and place it under bright, indirect light.
For air layering method gently scrape away some bark from an area near the centre of the stem being careful not to damage any branches.
Cover this spot with moist sphagnum moss held in place with plastic wrap.
After six-eight weeks roots will have formed into the moss then you can snip above this point of rooted section and plant it potting mix for further growth
The Benefits of Having Hawaiian Umbrella Plant in Your Home
Aside from its ornamental value, having hawaiian umbrella plants has several benefits:
- Purifies indoor air by removing toxins such as benzene formaldehyde found in household products
- Increases humidity levels within your home creating healthier living conditions,
- Aids stress reduction since gardening is considered therapeutic
In conclusion
Hawaiian umbrella plants are exceptional houseplants due to their ease maintenance requirements compared to other tropical houseplants making them low-maintenance options for beginners or seasoned gardeners.
Their unique characteristics like their parasol-shaped leaves make them great conversation starters among friends while adding beauty indoors or outdoors spaces.
To keep your Hawaiian Umbrella Plant healthy ensure that you water according to care instructions provided above; give adequate sunlight/shade depending on where they’re planted; prune occasionally; watch out pest infestation signs often & finally do propagate via either stem cutting or air-layering method.
