Question
Hi Will,

I live in an apartment in North Carolina (Raleigh/Durham) and received a large schefflera about 2 months ago, just before going out of town for 5 weeks.  It did not seem to be in the best shape -- somewhat yellowed, dusty, a bit droopy, and the base was a mess of stems and roots, with fine roots coming out the bottom (but no water in the saucer.  The pot was about 14" wide at the top and 9" at the bottom.)  I didn't have time to deal with it then; I asked a friend to water it (sparingly -- I watered one to death a few years ago) during my absence.  Indoor temps stay around 75-78 degrees.

Now that I'm back, I've noticed several things.  1) It's greener, but is still dropping a few leaves, which I assume may be due to the fact that it is receiving much less light in my apartment than it did in its former "digs."  This time of year, it receives light only in the late afternoon.  
2) It is still rather droopy, and watering perks it up for only a day or two, so I went ahead and repotted it in the next largest size pot that I could find (18"?).  I did not attempt to break up the root ball, however. The soil in the old pot was damp all the way down but not smelly or "ishy."
3)Most disturbingly, all the new growth (of which there's quite a bit) is badly twisted/mangled. Some of the twisted leaves are beginning to blacken around the edges.  This phenomenon is "system-wide," in that it's occuring all over the plant wherever there is new growth.

I looked pretty carefully and found 6-7 brownish spots (scale?) on 4 or 5 older leaves, which popped off with my fingernail.  Can't find any of these elsewhere.  Maybe from an old problem?  or one just starting?  I cannot find evidence of any flying critters, dusty white things, or sticky spots (except where the leaf curl is so severe that the leaves appear to be ripping).  Any ideas what is causing the leaf curl?  Do I need to place the plant back in its original container? Do I need to worry about the "scale?"  Could the cause of the leaf curl be contagious to my other plants?

I will send you photos of the leaf curl and plant.  Thanks!

Answer
Hi Nikki,

It's great to get a question from someone who knows a lot about plants and provides relevant information.

Photos always help, so please do send some along to me at the address below my name.

Unless you find evidence of scale or spider mites on the new growth, then I suspect either cramped roots or irregular watering as the cause of the new leaf curl and blackening. From your description, I don't think you have a scale problem, but check the new growth carefully or send me some closeup photos.

When repotting, it is very important to loosen the roots around the outside of the rootball before putting it into a new pot. This loosening (and tearing) of the roots will help them integrate better with the new soil. If they were cramped before, they may still be cramped, even in the larger pot.

Only very large (over 6-feet tall) Scheffleras require pots larger than 14 inches. So it is possible that the repotting was unnecessary, particularly if the bottom of the rootball was remaining wet.

Finally, while you were gone, you cannot be sure how well it was watered. It may have been kept too wet or allowed to dry out too much. Either could cause the symptoms you are now observing.

Lots of possibilities; no definitive answers. Send me the photos and let me know what you think. We can then go from there.

Will Creed
[email protected]