So …I did my usual trick of going food shopping and ending up coming home with a plant! I bought this Dwarf Umbrella Plant (Schefflera Arboricola ‘Gold Capella’) for five pounds when I saw it lurking near the tills. I’ve been enjoying reading some vintage houseplant books recently (will post on this soon) and this one appears often and is quite retro-classic. It has palmately divided leaves, and with this variegated variety ‘Gold Capella’, a lovely tonal mixture of greens and golds across the foliage. It’s suitable to be grown indoors as a houseplant as it is a smaller version to the much larger Schefflera Actinophylla – the Umbrella Tree.
CARE TIPS:
As I have just bought this plant, I can’t offer any personalised tips just yet, but will post an update if I notice anything as my umbrella plant settles into it’s new home. Generally though, I’m going to water every 7-10 days and feed with a mild Baby Bio solution every two weeks between april and october. As with some of my other similar plants, I will be using tepid water instead of cold water straight from the tap as it’s more amiable to the roots, and be wary of overwatering, Furthermore, this is one of the plants that need to be kept on the dry side – so definitely reduce watering in colder months, and at all times of year, only water when the top soil becomes dry.
I know that this plant doesn’t like draughts so that is something to bear in mind when considering positioning. It is quite adaptable in terms of lighting requirements, and less light won’t do the plant much harm – it will just grow slower than if in a sunnier spot.
Thanks for reading!
HOUSEPLANTHOUSE 