How Fast Does a Schefflera Grow?

Growth Rate

• The umbrella tree has a rapid growth rate, which arborists consider to be more than 25 inches a year. Under good growing conditions it will fill in space rapidly to create a screen between properly lines or a dense windbreak. An umbrella tree spreads by large surface roots, which can be restrained by growing the tree in a container on a deck or patio. It has only a mild tolerance for drought and does not like salt.

Description

• Thin, thorny multiple trunks arch outward, bearing slender leaves growing alternately on long stems. If you trim the multiple trunks to a single trunk, the tree will grow taller. If grown in full sun, umbrella trees yield small red blossoms in 3-foot wide clusters growing above the foliage. These clusters look like the ribs of an inverted umbrella or octopus tentacles, depending on your imagination. It may flower in the summer or fall in Florida and in April through October in Hawaii. The flowers yield 1/2-inch wide purple fruits.

Indoor Growing

• The umbrella trees make a striking tropical ornamental when grown indoors. It likes warmth and humidity, and grows rapidly indoors if given a sunny location and protection from the hot afternoon sun. You can take it outdoors during the summer. Water the tree regularly, but moderately and reduce the watering from fall through late winter. It rarely will flower when grown indoors.

Invasiveness and Toxicity

• Umbrella trees spread by birds that eat their fruit and excrete the seeds. The umbrella tree is highly invasive in Hawaii. The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council lists it as an invasive species that has displaced native plants in southern Florida. Handling umbrella tree foliage can cause dermatitis, and consumption can cause burning in the lips, mouth and throat. A child who handled an umbrella tree has been reported to have suffered fever, skin lesions and painful joint swelling.