Umbrella Plant Care

All about caring for umbrella plants!

The umbrella plant (schefflera) is a unique-looking houseplant that’s native to Taiwan and southern China. It is sometimes referred to as an “octopus tree” or a “dwarf umbrella tree” because it remains smaller than what would grow in nature when it’s a houseplant. 

Umbrella plants are excellent choices for homes or offices because they are lower maintenance, patient plants. They’re also really pretty, with their shiny leaves growing in the shape of a flower. They come in both solid green and variegated varieties. I’ll note the care differences between the two types as we talk through care tips.

Light

Umbrella plants enjoy bright, indirect light. What does that mean? Near a bright window is great. It doesn’t like direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time, though. Too much direct light will burn the leaves.

Like many patient houseplants, you can train it to survive in rooms with less light. It will just grow a lot slower and potentially look a bit more sparse. Also like many plants that prefer higher light but can survive in lower light, it will grow toward the nearest light source.

That means your plant might lean and grow crooked. You can spin the plant slightly every month to keep your umbrella from going crazy and growing too crooked.

Growth & repotting

The umbrella plant is a faster grower. With good care, your umbrella plant can quickly outgrow its pot in a growing season. However, they are generally happy in pots that are small relative to their size. When repotting, size up to a pot that is just slightly larger than the one your umbrella plant is in now.

Umbrella plants can be tall and skinny or shorter and compact–perfect for spaces ranging from rooms with high ceilings to a smaller space on a table top. They will grow tall on their own as long as you take great care of it. Up to 6 feet or more, in fact!

To keep your plant shorter, simply cut off the new growth at the top of the plant. This will force the plant to create more shoots down the main stem, creating a bushier look. However, even if you continue to encourage lower growth, the plant won’t get too bushy. At most, it will remain under 2 feet wide. 

Water needs

The only tricky thing about umbrella plant care is avoiding overwatering. It likes soil a bit on the moist side, but it doesn’t like soggy soil. Finding that balance can be challenging and does depend a lot on the time of year, temperature conditions, and the type of soil you’re using.

Generally a good rule of thumb is to water when the couple inches of soil dry out. If you forget to water your umbrella plant and the soil dries out quickly, it will be quick to forgive and forget. But don’t make a habit of it! It might start showing some wear and tear. You can cut your watering way down—typically about in half—in the winter. 

Temperature & humidity

The umbrella plant isn’t terribly picky when it comes to temperature and humidity (unlike some other plants—looking at you, fiddle leaf fig). It generally does well in normal household temperatures, generally between about 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The plant itself does fine with lower levels of humidity.

Like variegated pothos varieties, variegated umbrella plants really thrive in higher temperatures and with more light. Solid green varieties handle lower light better.

Pest problems

Umbrella plants are unfortunately quite vulnerable to pests, specifically scale. For a while, my mom had a beautiful umbrella plant in her office that was leaving gross sticky residue all over the counter. She had no idea what it was from—it was scale!

Scale insects leave a sticky substance all around where they are setting up camp. This stickiness can then attract nasty stuff like mold and turn into a sooty mess. Scale can be hard to get rid of, but my mom just moved her plant outside. Nature took care of it! That’s the power of an ecosystem.

Spider mites and gnats can also be problematic. Since some of these pests thrive on dry conditions, misting the plant’s leaves or upping the humidity levels can help prevent them from moving in. Insecticidal soap can help get rid of them. (See my post on how to get rid of spider mites, which has a lot of tips you can use for other pest infestations.)

Toxicity

Like a lot of houseplants, umbrella plants have calcium oxalate crystals in their sap. This can cause irritation if ingested. It’s best to keep this plant away from kids and pets if they try to eat your plants. This is a leafy plant that I have to keep away from Henry, one of our cats. He loves a good fresh leafy salad bar.

Wrapping up…

I hope this overview of umbrella plant care helps you better understand what you need to do to help yours thrive! It’s well worth the effort to have this beauty as part of your collection. Happy planting!

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