"cas" wrote in message
...

"michael adams" wrote in message
...

"cas" wrote in message
...

I have a Shefflera Trinette house plant which is shedding its leaves at
a
rate of about 6 a day. It stands about 2ft high in a 7" plastic pot
which
is
then placed in a 9" glazed container which has gravel in the bottom
which
I
keep moist.I have had it for about seven months and brought it from
B/Q
and
it has done very well up to now.the room temp is about 70 F and it is
placed
near a window but not in direct light.It has lost about 1/2 it,s leaves
and
is looking very threadbare.can anyone help please ,thank you ...cas



This is for sheffeleras in general.

Why the gravel? Sheffleras - al that I know anyway don't need
particularly
moist conditions. In fact precisely the opposite. You can let the soil
dry
out
between watering and feeding. Also they don't require high temperatures.
It
would do just as well in an unheated room. Whether it would actually
suffer
from too high a temperature I don't know. Also they can even do well,
close
to a North facing window with hardly any direct sunlight. However the
distance
a plant is away from the window, makes a disproportionate difference to
the
amount of light it receives. Stand outside and look in through the
window
and you'll see the difference. It looks much darker inside.

Forget the gravel. The plant doesn't need a humid atmosphere. Lift it
gently out of its pot, if it's at all waterlogged. Leave the pot shaped
rootball on a sheet of newspaper with the plant supported somehow for a
few days to let the rootball dry out. But whatever you do don't squeeze
the stem too hard. Alternatively, you can shake off the compost -if you
can support the plant and let the actual roots dry off for few days. The
problem is most probably with the roots. They're not getting any air at
a guess.
Cut away any damaged black mouldy roots, they'll fall away once the
rootball has dried out, repot it in a pot with good drainage holes, and
only water it sparingly. Sheffeleras have waxy leaves but the leaves
will go a bit limp when the plant needs watering. Give it a good soak
and
let it drain. Feed it with phostrogen, baby bio or whatever in the water
around once a month between say March and September.



michael adams

...
Well thank you all for the quick response,some good advice there.the
night
time temprature drops to about 60 F i think that you are correct about
over watering , I have even sprayed the leaves thinking it would do it
good!

I've got one shefflera that's over 20 years old now (just dont ask how big
it is ) plus countless offspring - that have never been sprayed. However
it's
never been near a central heating radiator either. Occasionaly - every
couple
of years or so - the leaves are wiped over to remove any dust. Which isn't
a big problem as the waxy coating on the leaves doesn't seem to attract dust
in any case. Casting my mind back - this is all true - around 10 years ago
when it was still small enough to get through the door upright it was taken
out into the back garden one summer and left out in the rain for a few
hours.
As a treat.

michael adams

....









I will follow your advice and repot it and move from the gravel pot
tomorrow. The plant is near a window in my flat, next to the T/V .There
is
a ficus pot plant the other end that has survived my abuse ..And Sacha
,yes you are right my email name is that of an island near alderney C.
I.
with a lighthouse on it. Thats another story but not for this site.
Merry
Christmas to you all .cas