The Hawaiian Schefflera “Gold Capella” is a bushy, upright houseplant with masses of small, shiny, leathery, green and gold patterned leaves. The schefflera plant originally came from Taiwan and, when grown as an outdoor plant, even flowers. These plants can be tall impressive trees, bushy floor plants, small table plants, or even be small enough to be used in a dish garden. A Hawaiian Schefflera is a bushy, upright houseplant with masses of small, shiny, leathery leaves. The original Hawaiian Schefflera has solid green leaves; the Hawaiian Schefflera “Gold Capella” has gold and green leaves; and the Hawaiian Schefflera “Tribute” has white and green leaves. All schefflera plants, also called arboricolas, are considered poisonous and should be kept away from pets and children. Read more about common houseplants that are poisonous in Don’t Feed Me to Your Cat: A Guide to Poisonous Houseplants. Hawaiian Schefflera plants are great table or floor plants for home or office, and they are also excellent plants if you want to try your hand at creating a bonsai plant.
Plant Care
Light
The brighter the light the faster and fuller a Hawaiian Schefflera plant grows. Variegated Hawaiian Scheffleras like the “Capella” require more light than solid green Hawaiian scheffleras. Direct sun burns the leaves of all types of schefflera plants.
Water
Water well and then allow the top 1/3 of the soil to dry out before watering again. This might be an inch or two in a small pot and 5″ or more in a large pot. Green leaves fall off and new growth turns black when a Hawaiian Schefflera is over- watered. Leaves turn bright yellow when it is under-watered.
Fertilizer
Fertilize monthly in the spring and summer with a basic houseplant food diluted to 1/2 the recommended strength. Avoid feeding schefflera plants when they are not actively growing.
Temperature
Hawaiian Scheffleras are fine with basic household temperatures. Try to keep all Schefflera plants out of cold drafts and away from heaters and air conditioners.
Humidity
Grow well in normal household humidity.
Flowering
Hawaiian Schefflera plants flower in the wild but very rarely indoors.
Pests
Spider mite, scale, aphids, and mealy bugs can all be a problem especially on the new growth.
Diseases
Bacterial diseases such as Leaf Blight and fungal diseases such as Leaf Spot may cause problems.
Soil
Use a well-aerated loose soil that retains water but still drains quickly.
Pot Size
Hawaiian Scheffleras prefer to be root-bound in small pots.
Pruning
If a Hawaiian Schefflera gets too big or too thin and leggy, aggressively prune it back. Schefflera plants love to be pruned. New growth appears directly below the cut in the stem so try to make your cut above a stem leaf node.
Propagation
Stem cuttings and air layering
Poisonous Plant Info
Hawaiian Schefflera plants are mildly poisonous with a #1 toxicity Level.
FAQ
The leaves on a Hawaiian Schefflera turn black and die and green leaves fall off when the plant is over-watered. You should also check to be sure there are no pests such as Mealy Bugs, Aphids, or spider mites feeding on the new growth.
Solid green Scheffleras do very well under those conditions, although the new leaves may be smaller and the plant a little less bushy than if it were in better light. The Capella variety needs more light to maintain the yellow coloring in the leaves.
The leaves of your Hawaiian Schefflera are losing their color and the webs on the plant are both caused by the plant pest spider mite. Spray with the “ green solution” every 10 days for at least a month.
Your Hawaiian Schefflera isn’t getting enough light to sustain the variegated leaves so the new leaves all come in green. Move your plant to a brighter location if you want it to produce yellow leaves again.
Scheffleras, both Hawaiian Scheffleras and Umbrella plant Scheffleras, develop yellow leaves when they do not get enough water.