Umbrella Plant

This umbrella plant (Schefflera or octopus tree) is a tropical plant that makes a very easy-going house plant.

All plants need some light, but this umbrella plant naturally grows underneath the rainforest canopy so will thrive even in quite low light - most rooms in the house will be suitable as long as it is not in direct sunlight. It is happy at a normal room temperature, and if gets really hot in the summer you can mist it with ordinary tap water to cool it down.

In the spring and summer when the plant is growing it will need to be watered fairly often, but in the winter when the plant is resting watering is not so important. The trick is to wait for the top of the soil to dry out and then water heavily. It"s best not to stand your plant in water and a feed just once a year with general purpose house plant feed is fine.

As the plant grows it can be repotted in a larger pot. In the right spot your umbrella plant could get to up to 8ft foot in a couple of years. To restrict growth however, keep slightly cooler and darker and restrict pot size.

Brown tips to the leaves are the result of a dry atmosphere, try giving you plant a good misting and water more regularly. Yellow leaves and slow leaf drop over time are a sign of overwatering, so make sure you give the top of the soil time to dry out before watering.