I bought a Schefflera plant about 2 months ago from a local garden center. I left the plant in it's original pot although I placed it inside a larger pot. It gets light from a west facing window. I have noticed that the leaves from the lower branches are turning yellow and eventually dropping. I have been watering it about 1 a week taking care that it doesn't sit in water. I have not fertilized it. Any advice on how to stop the leaf drop? Thanks.
It very well could be that dropping of older leaves is normal for this plant.
I don't know, that does sound kind of drastic.
sometimes you can be surprised by what you find if you slip the plant out of its pot and see what the soil and roots are doing down there. It may be much wetter or drier than you think.
Leaves drop when plants are too wet or too dry, when there is a high level of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil, when roots are congested, when there are nutritional deficiencies of the mobile nutrients, after sudden or prolonged chill, from insect predation or disease, and when light levels are inadequate. In order to ensure you eliminate the limitation causing the leaf loss, you need to consider each of the factors mentioned or get yourself on a program that you can rely on to have the bases covered. The first step is an appropriate soil, the right light and appropriate temperatures. After that, the rest is easy.
This might be helpful: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1226030/
Al
