Question
I have 2 schefflera that need to be severely cut back or prunned.  can that safely be done now...

Answer
Toni,

Yes, you can prune it now. But, it is not the best time of year. Make sure you do not prune it so severely that you prune all th leaves off. Also after pruning put them in the sunniest location possible and give them a dose of Miracle Grow type fertilizer. They will do fine. They are sun lovers and will do better the more sun they get. In the summer mine go outdoors in full sun. In the spring I totally defoiliate the plants and it causes them to get a lot of new branches. I am keeping mine as bonsai trees and this is not a good time to defoliate. But even if you are not keeping them as bonsai it is a great way in the spring to get them to branch out more. Good luck.

Darlene