What Type of Schefflera??

just.wing.it

just.wing.it

Deadwood Head
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My Grandmother has been growing this Schefflera as an indoor house plant for 35 years.
I'm trying to get some better pics of it, because I'm so curious about it...
She lives about a 5 hour drive away, so I can't take my own pics, yet.
The leaves have some yellow coloration, is this a "Variegated" type?
I've seen other variegated plants, but they are usually uniformly edged with lighter coloration, as far as I've seen.
Any thoughts?
IMG_1585_2.jpg IMG_1595.jpg
 
aml1014 said:
Is there a bigger plant? That things definitely not 35.

Aaron
Click to expand...
Apparently it was about 3x larger at some point, and was cut back at least once.

But I have to agree with you, I'd expect more of a trunk....
Although, in reading, I see that apparently the trunks are never very woody....
I'm trying to dig a little deeper here...
I have so many questions for Granny...
 
just.wing.it said:
Apparently it was about 3x larger at some point, and was cut back at least once.

But I have to agree with you, I'd expect more of a trunk....
Although, in reading, I see that apparently the trunks are never very woody....
I'm trying to dig a little deeper here...
I have so many questions for Granny...
Click to expand...

They can get woody. I've seen seed grown Schefflara that are only 2" thick and have craggy bark. Takes a long time.

1) grown indoors as a house plant; it would have never been allowed to grow out.

2) schefflara dont ever really trunk up more than a few inches. Not that i've ever seen. Ever. There is a full tree variety of schefflara that gets huge but its unusable for bonsai.
 
KingJades said:
There are a few decent large leaf variety bonsai.
Click to expand...

Yes, there are less dwarved varieties of Schefflara arboricola than Luseanna/PVN1 that still make ok bonsai. But the variety I specifically was referring to is Schefflara actinophylla.
 
HeartThrobSethNelson said:
Yes, there are less dwarved varieties of Schefflara arboricola than Luseanna/PVN1 that still make ok bonsai. But the variety I specifically was referring to is Schefflara actinophylla.
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Nigel Saunders has a pretty good one in a tropical ficus-style. Certainly not an award winner but also not "unusable" as you mentioned.

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KingJades said:
It is a houseplant. That's why. ;)
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1) You jut killed your own argument.
2) If you think that is good bonsai, so be it, you can't teach taste.
3) Considering that the dwarf varieties are common and readily available, why waste your time with an unsuitable variety?
4) What about that tree makes it a tropical-ficus style?

Dwarf varieties will reduce with little effort...which is the goal when you work with large leaved species. See the photo attached.
 

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This is the craggy barked seedling I was reffering to. It was grown by Robert Pinder at Dragontree Bonsai in Palm City, FL. 35yrs from seed. A friend bought it.
 

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Wasn't expecting a troll war.

Take the below post lightly. This is all fun. :)

Why can't a houseplant be an indoor bonsai? Why can't we keep indoor bonsai as a houseplant? I'm willing to bet that a lot of the tropical bonsai trees that people make and sell end up as someone's houseplant if they're not crazy enough to have a greenhouse.

Your small leaf schefflera pictured is a houseplant, too. That's okay. :D

Your piece you show certainly uses a lot of technique, has *excellent* movement, and you obviously have a great leaf size. But, the craggy tree appears very uncomfortable, unnatural and honestly doesn't look good from the viewing side since all I see is the underside of the leaves, which is literally the most unattractive part. The focus on your piece is the trunk of the tree, and we know that the trunks and taper on schefflera aren't exactly noteworthy. So, you picked a bad tree to do what you did. Does that mean you shouldn't have made it? Nope. You made a tree.

The reality is that you can't teach taste because we make what we like. Some people will like it, some people won't. I *love* many schefflera bonsai, awkward foliage, poor trunks and all. The one that you posted just doesn't appeal to me. Again, that's okay. You probably love it and other people like it. Some people will argue that NO schefflera could ever be a bonsai.

Nigel's piece isn't amazing, and it's not a great tree to work with. Honestly, the leaves suck for bonsai. But he did something he likes with something that doesn't get used all of the time and for that there is no shame.
 
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KingJades said:
Why can't a houseplant be an indoor bonsai? Why can't we keep indoor bonsai as a houseplant? I'm willing to bet that a lot of the tropical bonsai trees that people make and sell end up as someone's houseplant if they're not crazy enough to have a greenhouse.
Click to expand...

And what makes you believe that? From what experience? From what observation?
 
I'll play along for now.

Lots of people up north can't keep their favorite tropical trees outside so they keep them indoors in the winter a la "houseplant". Your casual person (in my northeast climate) who buys a tree from a store or small nursery as their only bonsai because it looks cool likely doesn't have access to a greenhouse so they will come indoors and play houseplant over the winter.

Like it or not, the $20 - $50 price range is probably a future bonsai enthusiast's entry to the hobby. Belittling those people only hurts the community by pushing those people out and prevents the growth that keeps the hobby viable.
 
KingJades said:
I'll play along for now.

Lots of people up north can't keep their favorite tropical trees outside so they keep them indoors in the winter a la "houseplant". Your casual person (in my northeast climate) who buys a tree from a store or small nursery as their only bonsai because it looks cool likely doesn't have access to a greenhouse so they will come indoors and play houseplant over the winter.

Like it or not, the $20 - $50 price range is probably a future bonsai enthusiast's entry to the hobby. Belittling those people only hurts the community by pushing those people out and prevents the growth that keeps the hobby viable.
Click to expand...

You can buy a small pre-fab greenhouse for +-$50. Do your research instead of just throwing out random opinions.
 
HeartThrobSethNelson said:
You can buy a small pre-fab greenhouse for +-$50. Do your research instead of just throwing out random opinions.
Click to expand...

I'm well aware. :) Not everyone is that dedicated. Some people don't have the space or just bought the tree because they saw it at a show and it looked nice.

People enjoy them all the same and that's their prerogative.

Ok I'm done feeding the troll. :)
 
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