The groundhog called for an early spring. The weatherman says it could drop below freezing three nights this week.
Regardless of which expert is correct, the 16-year old schefflera house plant was moved outside this weekend. It may be too early but I cannot take watching this poor plant drop another leaf. Yes, constantly picking up the dropped leaves is frustrating but I'm sad that it hasn't adjusted to the thermostat this year. Maybe it's getting too old. Maybe it just wants to go outside and play.
Bad move? What are the 'official' rules on moving house plants? (I should've grabbed a farmers' almanac!) Aunt June used to wait until Memorial day when she opened the pool but that's just unrealistic. Right?
Comments (8)
Add commentCan't You
Put it outside on the leaward side of your house or better yet a carport that gets some direct sunlight.
Frost and cold
could kill it. Don't leave it out there! It might survive a night or two of freezing temperatures in a pot but this is too early. But the Labor Day (not Memorial day?) or some say after Easter, is the savest bet. I think this is a tropical plant?
Leaf Drop
Ms. Overby, the following link gives several suggestions as to what could be contributing to the leaf loss on your schefflera.
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/houseplt/msg0217495616675.html
Most sources of information about schefflera, however, do agree on one point. The plants do not like temperatures below 60 degrees. We may well have temperatures in the twenties in the next week, so moving your plant outside right now is premature. You will probably lose it. The following link includes some excellent information about proper care of one.
http://houseplants.about.com/od/foliageplants/p/Schefflera.htm
Beep, beep, beep
Consensus - bring her back in the house
It's as bad as a ficus tree.
Well phooey.
This thing is worse than a ficus tree about dropping leaves when it's unhappy.
Ok, on your advice, I'm moving the monster back inside this evening.
It's my only house plant so I definitely don't want to lose it.
I think it's considered tropical. It loves warm weather but the leaves burn in the direct hot sun.
Thanks for the advice; I'll wait until Easter.
Change of heart
I'm so glad you've had a change of heart. A few dropped leaves is merely a symptom of the anticipation of spring.
I have two very large elephant ear plants (6 yrs old) and a Meyer lemon tree (2 yrs old) that I winter in the my garage under a grow light (which is illuminated 24/7). The elephant ears have new growth and the Meyer lemon tree has new blossoms (this past season I picked about 30 lemons).
I won't put them out on the back patio until the end of March, barring potential freezing temperatures.
Oh, I'm so jealous of your
Oh, I'm so jealous of your lemon tree!
The lemon tree
I didn't think it would survive the first winter in the garage, so I just crossed my fingers. It did just fine. Tom put it on a base with rollers so I could roll it out into the sunshine when temperatures were in the 50's or so and when it rained. I think it's the periodic sunshine that helps it survive.
Question
Is it really a house plant once you put it outside?!?!?
Awww, Buzz, come on!
Yes.
And it's still called a lawn chair if it's sitting in the living room.