Houseplant · Araliaceae
Umbrella Tree
Heptapleurum arboricola
Hand it bright indirect light and a chance to dry out, and the umbrella tree grows into one of the most rewarding, forgiving plants around.
Bright indirect
USDA 10–12
3–8 ft · 0.9–2.4 m
Overview
The umbrella tree earns its name from leaflets that shoot out from a single point like the ribs of an umbrella. It sits in the ivy family and hails from Taiwan and Hainan, where it climbs into a shrub or small tree. Bring it indoors and it stays a friendly size while keeping those glossy starry leaflets that make it such a rewarding plant to grow.
Here is what makes it so much fun to keep: it grows easily and bounces back from almost anything. It shrugs off a range of light, forgives a watering you forgot, and springs back after a hard cut, so you can keep it bushy or train an older one skyward into a small indoor tree. The one line it draws is wet feet, which is the fastest way to lose one, so let it dry out and it will keep pushing new growth.
One thing keeps it from being totally hands-off. Every part packs insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, so it is toxic to cats and dogs and off the menu for people. Set it where pets and small children cannot grab a leaf, and it will reward you with years of leafy growth.
Care
The short version: bright indirect light, a drink only once the top half of the soil dries, and a warm spot above 60°F (15.6°C). Tip out the saucer, cut it back whenever you like, and it powers out full, green growth.
Light
Set it in bright indirect light, the kind a curtain-filtered east, west, or south window throws for a few hours a day. It takes a bit of shade, but a dark corner stretches the stems thin and weak, and harsh direct sun scorches the leaves, so land it somewhere in between and it thrives.
Water
Soak it well, then hold off until the top half of the soil dries before the next drink. The one habit that trips growers up is letting water sit around the roots, so tip out the saucer every time. As fall rolls into late winter it drinks far less, so pull right back.
Soil
Pot it in a peaty, well-drained mix loaded with organic matter, in a container with drainage holes so water runs clear. It stays relaxed about pH, thriving anywhere from 6.0 to 8.0, and handles clay, loam, or sandy blends without fuss.
Temperature
Keep it warm and steady, comfortably above 60°F (15.6°C), and clear of cold drafts, vents, and air conditioners. A sudden chill is one of the top reasons leaves start dropping.
Humidity
Everyday room humidity keeps it happy, so there is no target to chase. When winter heating dries the air, a tray of wet pebbles or a quick misting keeps the leaf tips from browning.
Feeding
Feed it through the growing season, spring into summer, with a water-soluble or time-release houseplant fertilizer at the label rate. When lower light slows it down, ease back and let it coast.
Pruning
It shrugs off hard pruning and comes back stronger. Cut just above a leaf to check its size and drive bushier growth, and over the years you can train an older plant into a smart little tree. Wear gloves as you work, since the sap can irritate skin.
Repotting
Once the roots pack the pot or growth slows, bump it up to a slightly larger container of general-purpose mix, any time of year. No rush here, though, because an umbrella tree happily grows a little snug in its pot.
Size & spacing
Indoors it climbs to about 3 to 8 feet (91 to 244 cm) tall with a spread of 4 to 8 feet (122 to 244 cm). Give it room to fan out those leaves, and prune to hold it in check where space runs tight.
Troubleshooting
Almost every umbrella tree hiccup comes down to watering, light, or dry air, and the plant flags it early. Read the leaves and stems, pin the match below, and fix the cause fast before it spreads.
Wilting while the soil sits wet
When a plant flops even though the soil is still wet, the roots are drowning and root rot has moved in from overwatering or poor drainage. Slide it out, cut away any brown, mushy, foul-smelling roots, and repot into fresh, free-draining mix in a pot with real drainage holes. From there, let the top half of the soil dry and keep the saucer empty.
Fix:
- Allow the soil to dry appropriately between waterings
- Repot into fresh, well-drained potting mix and a pot with drainage holes
- Remove rotted roots and badly affected growth
Leaves letting go after a shake-up
An umbrella tree drops leaves when watering lurches from soaked to parched, and a cold draft or a sudden move can trigger it just as fast. Lock in a steady rhythm, let the top half of the soil dry before the next drink, and park it above 60°F (15.6°C) in one warm, bright spot. Hold the line and most plants bounce back with fresh leaves.
Fix:
- Adjust watering so the top half of the soil dries before rewatering
- Move the plant away from cold drafts, vents and air conditioners
- Keep temperatures above about 15.6°C (60°F)
- Give the plant a stable spot in bright indirect light and avoid frequent moves
Speckled leaves strung with fine webbing
Dusty, stippled leaves laced with fine webbing underneath spell spider mites, which swarm in when the air runs hot and dry. Rinse the foliage and wipe each leaf with a damp sponge, then hit it with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Crank the humidity up and the plant turns into a far less welcoming home for them.
Fix:
- Rinse foliage and wipe leaves with a damp sponge
- Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Raise humidity to discourage mites
Cottony tufts, bumps, and sticky leaves
Cottony white tufts wedged in the leaf joints are mealybugs, and the small brown shell-like bumps riding the stems are scale, both often trailing sticky honeydew. Zap each insect with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol, then follow up with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Pull the plant aside and repeat until no new bugs show up.
Fix:
- Dab insects with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol
- Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Repeat treatments and isolate the plant until cleared
Twisted, scarred new growth
New leaves that push out curled or scarred usually mean aphids piling onto the tender tips or thrips scraping at the surface. Blast the aphids off with a jet of water, treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, and snip away any badly warped growth. Jump on them early, before the numbers climb, and you turn it around fast.
Fix:
- Rinse off aphids with water
- Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Remove heavily infested growth
Stretched, thin stems chasing the light
Long, weak stems and yellowing leaves mean the plant is hunting for more light. Shift it to a brighter window with curtain-softened sun for a few hours a day, snip the leggy stems just above a leaf, and it charges back fuller than before.
Fix:
- Move to a brighter spot with bright indirect light (an east, west or south window with curtain-filtered sun for 3-4 hours daily)
- Prune leggy stems just above a leaf to encourage bushier regrowth
Brown leaf tips when the air dries out
Browning tips and the odd dropped leaf usually flag dry air, and it strikes hardest in winter once the heating fires up. Perch the pot on a tray of wet pebbles, keeping the base above the water, and mist the leaves or cluster it with other plants to pump up the moisture around it.
Fix:
- Raise humidity by setting the container on a tray of wet pebbles (pot not sitting in water)
- Mist the foliage or group with other plants
Toxicity
This is the toxic Schefflera, not the safe umbrella pine, so learn the difference. Every part holds insoluble calcium oxalate crystals that the ASPCA flags as toxic to cats and dogs, sparking a burning mouth, drooling, and vomiting if a pet chews it. No part is safe to eat, and the sap can irritate skin, so keep it away from animals and children and pull on gloves before you prune.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Moderate
The ASPCA lists this plant as toxic to cats. One bite of a leaf sparks an instant burning in the mouth, then heavy drooling, pawing at the face, vomiting, and trouble swallowing.
Dogs Moderate
Dogs react the same way the ASPCA flags for cats. Chewing any part fires up intense mouth and tongue irritation, drooling, and vomiting, since the same sharp oxalate crystals are at work.
Horses Caution
The plant is no everyday pasture risk, but the calcium oxalate crystals would sting a grazing horse's mouth and may set it drooling. Keep it well out of reach to stay safe.
Rabbits Caution
Do not let a rabbit nibble it. The same irritant crystals can burn the mouth and turn the gut sour, so this is not a plant to hand over or leave within reach.
Livestock Caution
Goats, sheep, and cattle would feel the oral burning and stomach upset the oxalate crystals bring on. The plant rarely meets farm animals, but treat it as off limits.
Birds Caution
A curious bird that bites a leaf can wind up with an irritated, burning mouth from the crystals. Keep companion birds clear of the foliage.
People Caution
No part of this plant is edible. Chewing it irritates the mouth and throat, and the sap can leave sensitive skin itchy, so wear gloves when you prune and keep the leaves away from small children.
The sap can irritate sensitive skin; wear gloves when pruning or handling
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Nearly every umbrella tree sold for the home is the dwarf type, and a handful of named cultivars stand out, mostly for their variegation or their tidy, compact habit.
'Gold Capella'
A gold-variegated dwarf umbrella tree flashing leaves splashed and edged in bright yellow.
'Trinette'
A crowd-favorite variegated dwarf umbrella tree, its leaflets marbled in creamy yellow and green.
'Variegata'
A variegated pick showing off the same starry leaves streaked in pale and deep green.
'Compacta'
A compact, slow-driving dwarf umbrella tree that stays shorter and denser, a smart pick for a tight space.
How to propagate
Multiplying umbrella trees is easier than you might expect, with a few routes to pick from depending on the plant you already have.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Spring to summer · Several weeks to root
The quickest route to a whole new plant. Snip a tip or stem cutting in spring or summer, plunge it into a moist potting mix, and it fires out roots over the next several weeks. Keep it warm and shaded from direct sun while it roots in.
Air layeringModerate
Spring to summer · Several weeks
A clever move for a tall, leggy plant you want to bring down to size. In spring or summer, wound the stem, wrap it to trap moisture, and roots break out there over several weeks before you cut the young plant free just below them.
SeedModerate
When fresh seed is available · Slow
Doable, but the patient path. Sow fresh seed whenever you can grab it and settle in, since sprouting and those first weeks of growth crawl along next to a rooted cutting.
Myths
The umbrella tree is safe for cats and dogs to chew on.
The ASPCA flags it as toxic to both. Its leaves and stems carry sharp insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, so a pet that bites in gets a burning mouth, heavy drooling, and vomiting. Keep this plant well out of reach of cats and dogs.
Every umbrella tree acts the same way outdoors in a warm climate.
Two very different plants answer to this name. The big umbrella tree, Schefflera actinophylla, is a non-native invader listed as Florida Invasive Species Council Category I, while the dwarf umbrella tree you grow indoors is naturalized but holds no such invasive listing.