Indoors
Umbrella plant
Schefflera arboricola
- Cat: toxic
- Dog: toxic
- Light: bright, no harsh sun
About the plant
The umbrella plant comes from Taiwan and southern China, where it grows as a shrub or a small tree. Its leaves are made of several leaflets spreading like the spokes of an umbrella. It is easy to prune and shape, and it lives indoors for years.
Umbrella plant and pets
- Cat
- toxic
- Dog
- toxic
- Signs
- calcium oxalates: burning and irritation of the mouth, lips and tongue, drooling, vomiting, difficulty swallowing
If a cat or a dog ate this plant and shows signs, contact a vet straight away.
Instead: safe for cats and dogs
Care
- Watering
- about every 7 days in summer (April to September), every 12 in winter
- Light
- bright, no harsh sun
- Air humidity
- normal
- Temperature
- 15–28 °C
- Feeding
- April to September, every 3 weeks
- Repotting
- every 2 years, in spring
- Grown
- in a pot
It takes pruning well and bushes out quickly. Dropping leaves usually mean too much water or a draught.
This is a rough guide for a flat in Poland. In flowers every plant also has its own watering interval, which learns from how the soil was.