Propogation of Scheffalera?

Can anyone give me any tips on how to propogate a Scheffera (Umbrella Plant)? We have one that Trish bought me a couple months after we got married. It was about 18" tall at the time. Now it's about 8 feet tall - the pride of all our houseplants. We call him "Mr. Tree". ;-)

I'd like to propogate him.

Tip cuttings and air layering.

What are tip cuttings? How would you root a tip cutting?

Sorry for being so short on explanation. When I do tip cuttings, I cut approximately six inches or so of new growth and put the cutting right back into the same pot of soil from the plant. It works on average 80% of the time for me, and sometimes not. After about six to eight weeks you'll know if it's taken root by gently tugging and feeling a resistance. Then you can gently transplant and baby the new plant.

I've had no luck with trying to root any cuttings of the umbrella tree in water. If anyone else has, please step up and tell us your secret.

Thanks for the help LGT. I'll give this a shot!

Dave..you can also try air layering, as LGT mentioned.
To air layer, scrape away a half inch surface band of bark from new growth on the upper branches of the tree. Dust the exposed area with some Rootone. Moisten a handful of spagnum moss, squeeze out the extra water, then wrap the moss around the dusted cut area. Wrap a piece of black polyethylene plastic around the moss. Seal it tightly on the top and bottom with tape (electrical tape works well). When roots are well formed in the bag, cut off the stem right below the bag and remove the plastic sheet. Pot the new growth but cut back enough of the top growth so that the roots can support it. Good luck :)
Trish

Dave: You can take the tip cuttings, plant in their own container of moist soil. I use a pencil to drill a hole in the soil for the stem[about 4 inches deep.] Put in the cutting and cover with a baggie, with scissors cut a few holes in baggie. Secure with a rubberband around the baggie at rim of pot. When the cutting shows sign of new growth or when you get resistance from tugging on the cutting, you can remove the baggie. You have a new plant.

Does anyone know if scheffs will form roots along the stem(above the root ball) if planted more deeply into the soil? (I believe these are called advantitious roots, or something like that...). This might be a way of dealing with scheffs that have gotten leggy...sort of like planting tomato plants deeply so that they form more roots. ..j.