Question
I have a schefflera, approx. 7 years old, that has enjoyed the same east-facing window during cold months, and a place during the summer months on the north side of my house (on a deck). It is/was approx. 7 ft tall and I have never pruned it as I like the exotic-looking way the stems grow in every direction. It almost reaches the ceiling, though it isn't bushy. It has thrived until a few weeks ago.  The upper/newer leaves have started turning black and wilting/drying/curling/dying. I have cut off numerous of the leaves (the entire leaf stalk) just to have to cut off another one a few days later with the same symptoms. My poor plant has been reduced now to about 4-5 ft tall. I haven't done anything different lately so don't know what is going on.  I just examined one of the almost-dead leaf groups, and on the bottome side of the leaves, there appeared to be almost microscopic "things" like grains of salt but extremely few of these. In rubbing the underside of the leaves, there was an extremely tiny bit of cobwebs (maybe this is just bad housekeeping on my part).  I just noticed that one of the lower/older leaf groups is showing the same symptoms of leaves turning black/drying up/curling and wilting (starting at the tip of the leaves and working back). PLEASE HELP ME!!  I love my plants..Jan

Answer
You probably have spider mites. If you have a handheld shower, take it to the shower and spray it thoroughly. This will wash a lot of them off. Then put a teaspoon of dish soap in a  quart of water and put it in a spray bottle. Spray it thoroughly every other day for 2 weeks. Make sure you get the tops and bottoms of all leaves. Keep repeating to get any eggs that hatch. After 2 weeks watch it closely for new signs of spider mites. You can remove the brown leaves, they will not turn green again but the stems will sprout side shoots. Be patient and persistent. Good luck.