| Description | Variegated Dwarf Umbrella Plant (Heptapleurum arboricola variegata) A relatively easy plant to grow for the moderate to bright areas of the house. Can be grown as an indoor plant or outdoor landscape plant in warmer climates. |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | (hep-tuh-PLUR-rum)(ar-bor-eh-KOL-uh) |
| Plant Type | Indoor Foliage, Tropical herbaceous shrubs |
| Hardiness Zone | 10-12 |
| Sunlight | bright to moderate |
| Moisture | It can with stand some dryness but prefers evenly moist. If allowed to get to dry it will drop a lot of leaves. |
| Growing Media | average house |
| Temperature | average house to average house plus |
| Flowers | In nature, it produces small red flowers on a 1- to 1.5-foot-long panicle. They are followed by red fruit when ripe. The birds eat this fruit and disperse its seeds, making it a Pacific Island Ecosystem Risk (PIER). Seldom, if ever, will it bloom as a house plant. |
| Fruit | The fruits are round, orange drupes about 1/4 inch in diameter that become black when mature. |
| Leaves | Dark green whorled compound leaves, with irregular cream-colored variegation. Leaves are borne on long petioles. The color of the leaves will depend on the growing conditions, especially the amount of sunlight. Color will range from cream to yellow, |
| Dimensions | At least 3-4 feet tall by equal spread. It will reach up to 25 feet in native sites. |
| Maintenance | Needs pruning to shape the plant, will tend to stretch especially in indoor culture, can be pruned very hard, hard pruning is best done in the spring when the plant will start actively growing |
| Propagation | seeds, cuttings, air layering |
| Native Site | Native to India to Malay Peninsula, Philippine Islands, Australia and Hawaii. |
| Misc Facts | Named in honor of Samuel von Brassai, a 19th-century Hungarian Botanist. AKA: Schefflera arboricola variegata, Heptapleurum arboricola variegata, Variegated Arboricola |
| Author's Notes | I have grown this plant for many years and have found it much easier to grow than the larger Umbrella plant (Schefflera actinophylla). I live in hardiness zone #5 and have found that this plant will take all the light you can give it when growing indoors (except maybe a big south-facing picture window). If possible, move the plant outdoors during the warmer months in bright light. It is amazing how much they will grow. |
| Notes & Reference | #275-North Carolina Botanical Garden ((https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/), #274-Site Authors' observations and growing experiences of this plant |
Cart
