Question
The leaves on my sheflera plant have a shiny sticky substance that does not feel wet, yet the floor around the plant gets spotted with what appears to be this substance dripping from the plant.  I water once a week or a little less when the soil is dry; I use city water.  The plant is about 4 ft. tall, is several years old, faces a south window.  Any advice?  Thanks.

Answer
Miriam,

Your shefflera most likely has scale. It is an insect that ataches itself to a leaf, usually the underside and never moves. It just sucks on the leaf and lays eggs that hatch out the babies fly to other areas of the plant and attcach themselves and the cycle starts again. The babies are microscopic. It will look like a small brown circle on the back of the leaf. You can scrape it off with a sharp knife or a fingernail. The shiny sticky substance is the scale's excrement. It will not kill the plant but eventually when there are enough a lot of the leaves will stat to turn brown.

To get rid of the scale you should mix rubbing alcohol with water in equal quantities and add 1 teaspoon of dish detergent per quart of this mix to it and put it in a spray bottle. Spray the plant thoroughly making sure that you get the fronts and backs of all the leaves. You wil need to spray it twice a week for 6-8 weeks to get rid of all the sacle including eggs that hatch. Consistancy is the key to winning this battle. Then you will have to watch it closely for new infestations.

There is also a product called Bayer Advanced 12 Month Tree & Shrub Protect & Feed. It is a Systemic Insecticide that you mix with water and apply the the plant once and it will be taken up by the plant systemically and kill the scale for a year. It comes in a blue bottle and you can buy it at Lowes, Walmart or many garden centers for around $20.00 a bottle. It will treat a lot of plants or a few plants for many years. You only have to apply that once a year.

Good luck with your scheflera.

Darlene