Licensed representative photographPlant Guide
Dwarf Umbrella Tree
Heptapleurum arboricola
Other known names: Schefflera arboricola
A branching tropical foliage plant with palmately arranged leaflets and adaptable indoor growth.
Published source-backed guide. This guide meets Lorekeeper's published source, care-completeness, safety, and identity checks. It is source-backed, not an expert-review claim.
Toxic. Contains irritating compounds; keep out of chewing reach.
Care
- Light
- Bright indirect light; patterned cultivars need stronger light.
- Water
- Water after the upper mix dries, then drain.
- Growing medium
- A well-drained general container mix.
- Feeding
- Feed lightly during active growth.
- Temperature
- 60-85 F.
- Humidity
- Average household humidity.
- When to consider watering
- Use observed moisture, pot weight, light, and season instead of a fixed weekday.
- Watering method
- Water after the upper mix dries, then drain. Wet the root ball evenly and never leave drainage trapped in a cachepot.
- Repotting
- Repot only when roots, drainage, stability, or broken-down medium justify it; increase the pot size modestly.
- Pruning
- Remove damaged growth with clean tools and avoid unnecessary pruning during stress.
- Beginner note
- Treat reminders as prompts to observe. Record what you found, then complete, snooze, pause, or adjust the care item.
Observe the plant and growing medium before acting. A reminder is a prompt to check, not an automatic instruction to water.
Characteristics
A branching tropical foliage plant with palmately arranged leaflets and adaptable indoor growth.
Names & botanical identity
- Accepted name
- Heptapleurum arboricola
- Plant family
- Araliaceae
- Plant group
- Indoor Trees
- Other known names
- Schefflera arboricola
- Safety
- Toxic
Contains irritating compounds; keep out of chewing reach.
Growth
- Growth habit
- Branching evergreen shrub or small tree.
- Mature size
- 4–6 ft tall × 4–6 ft wide indoors
- Native range
- Taiwan and Hainan.
- Temperature
- 60-85 F.
- Humidity
- Average household humidity.
- Difficulty
- Easy
Propagation
Root stem cuttings or use air layering.
When you add a propagation to Lorekeeper, connect it to the mother plant so its history and lineage remain intact.
Problems to recognize
These links describe possible or look-alike relationships, not a diagnosis. Start with visible evidence and rule out alternatives.
- Excess moisture / root stress: Yellow leaflets can accompany a root zone that stays wet too long.
- Mealybugs: Leaf joints and branches can conceal mealybugs.
- Spider mites: Inspect leaflet undersides for stippling.
History & lineage
This familiar houseplant was long sold as Schefflera arboricola. The accepted name used here is Heptapleurum arboricola, with the former name kept searchable.
Add this guide to My Plants to preserve acquisition notes, parent plants, propagations, photographs, and future name changes in one living record.
Keep the useful part
Save Dwarf Umbrella Tree to your garden.
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