The dwarf umbrella tree is a beautiful plant that can easily be grown indoors. The plant’s leaves form in groups of up to nine. They’re oval and long with pointed tips.
While you can reasonably grow this plant indoors, you must remember that you may encounter certain problems. Once you’ve noticed that your dwarf umbrella tree is dying, it is pertinent to find out why so you can deal with the problem before it is too late.
Ultimately, a handful of issues can cause your dwarf umbrella tree to die. For instance, there is a risk that the plant is not receiving adequate lighting, the humidity is too low, the temperatures are incorrect, or the soil hasn’t been watered enough.
Within this guide, readers will learn more about this tree and the primary reasons it is dying.
You’re Overwatering It
First, you must remember that new growers tend to run into various issues. Since they’ve never grown plants before, there is a chance that they’re going to overwater their trees.
Unfortunately, this happens frequently. Typically, you should only water this plant once a week. Adding too much water to the soil could eventually lead to root rot.
If this happens, you’re going to experience additional problems and the plant could die. Thankfully, it isn’t difficult to rectify this problem. For starters, you should avoid watering the tree for one week or longer.
Stick a finger into the soil. If the top one or two inches of soil are wet, don’t water again. Wait until the soil dries. You’ll also need to remove excess water.
If you place a tray under the pot to collect excess water, be sure to empty it. Once you’ve realized that you’ve overwatered the plant, you should add more warmth to the soil.
Increase the temperature of the soil by using lights or heaters, but don’t overdo it.
When necessary, you can try repotting the tree to another bucket. Just remember that this could cause extreme stress. Therefore, it should be your last option.
[Related Article: Why Are My Prayer Plant Leaves Curling]
You’re Underwatering The Tree
On the other hand, you might not be watering the plant enough. If it doesn’t receive enough water, the leaves will begin turning pale and dropping.
When left underwatered for long periods, the dwarf umbrella tree could die. Again, this is an easy problem to rectify if you catch it early.
Once you’ve detected the signs of underwatering, place the plant in your sink. Turn on the water to soak the soil. Allow this to continue for up to 10 minutes to increase the moisture level of the soil.
Make sure that the soil has drained completely before putting the plant back.
You can also try increasing humidity. Misting the leaves with water can help. Alternatively, you can try using a pebble tray to add more humidity to the plant.
You may be able to add fertilizer to save your tree. Doing so will add more nutrients to the soil to ensure that the tree can thrive. However, you must be very careful when picking fertilizers.
Make sure that you get the right type because some can be harmful to certain plants.
Either way, drenching the soil is the best way to save your plant from underwatering.
Pest Infestations
When plants and trees aren’t properly cared for, they can experience a handful of issues. Although some are easy to fix, others are difficult.
Unfortunately, a pest infestation is going to be difficult to solve. Spider mites, aphids, mealybugs, and other pests want to infest your dwarf umbrella tree so they can consume the nutrients.
Once this happens, the pests will be absorbing nutrients that should be going to your tree. You can’t let this problem persist because it will kill your dwarf umbrella tree quickly.
Instead, you should immediately take steps to deal with the problem. First, move the plant away from others since you don’t want the pests to spread.
Then, you must eliminate the bugs. Spraying the plant with a combination of water and dish soap can help. If bugs remain, try using rubbing alcohol and water.
A 50/50 mix should do the trick. Remove any dead bugs carefully. If you’re going to create compost, don’t place the bugs in your trash.
Otherwise, they could damage the soil and lead to more infestations.
Get rid of branches and leaves that have been damaged by the infestation. In some cases, you’ll have to replace the tree.
The damage might be too much. This is why you have to work swiftly to deal with the problem before it kills your dwarf umbrella tree.
Inadequate Sunlight
Remember that your plant needs plenty of sunlight. Growing it outside makes it easier to guarantee that the tree will receive enough sunlight to thrive.
However, you have to be diligent about providing enough sunlight when growing this plant indoors. Schefflera arboricola plants need plenty of sunlight throughout the day.
If you want the plant to grow swiftly, make sure it receives at least six hours of sunlight each day. However, the tree can easily survive when receiving just four hours of light per day.
Putting your tree in the right spot can make a world of difference.
However, you also have to be careful about giving it too much light. While insufficient light is bad, too much light can cause the leaves to turn brown.
Over time, this will lead to sunburn too.
Correct Temperatures
Finally, be sure to maintain the correct temperature to ensure that your plant is thriving. The good news is that dwarf umbrella tree plants are hardy in this category.
They can survive in temperatures between 50 and 100 degrees. For the best results, try to maintain temperatures between 60 and 90 degrees.
Using a thermometer is a good way to guarantee that your tree is receiving enough heat.
Summary
Dwarf umbrella trees are hardy, but they can die when experiencing certain conditions. As a grower, it is pertinent to provide this tree with just enough water, the right temperatures, and plenty of sunlight.
There is a fine line here since overdoing it could lead to issues too.
