Duckfoot wood is also called goosefoot wood.
There are 6 possibilities for causing this appearance:
1. Insufficient light, 2. Strong light burns, 3. Overwatering and root rot, 4. Insufficient watering, 5 lack of fertilizer, 6, burns due to excessive fertilization
Propagation method:
Sowing and cutting propagation, but cutting method is the main method.
Harvest the black spherical berries after January, mix them with fine sand and rub them to remove the skin and pulp, then rinse them with water to remove the empty seeds to get clean and full seeds, which can be harvested at any time For subsequent sowing, you can also germinate by hiding in sand first, and then sow in pots or on the ground after the cracks in the seeds appear white. Use leaf mold soil or sandy soil to sow in pots, and the soil covering depth is about 1 to 2 times the diameter of the seeds. The suitable temperature for seed germination is 20℃ to 25℃. Keep the pot soil or seedbed moist. If you pick and sow as you go, the seedlings will emerge in about 15 to 20 days under suitable temperature conditions. If you sow seeds after germination in the sand, It can be unearthed after a week at a moderate temperature. Grows well. After emergence, the seedlings should be shaded in a timely manner, provided with full sunlight in autumn, and covered with mulch to prevent cold in winter. As long as the ambient temperature of the local space in the seedbed is not lower than 5℃, it can generally survive the winter safely. Leave the bed to cultivate for one year, then transplant with wider distance, or use it directly in the pot. It is worth noting that because the sown seedlings cannot completely maintain the excellent traits of the parent plant such as yellow spots, generally horticultural varieties with yellow spots cannot be raised by sowing, but can only be raised by cutting, layering, division and other methods.
The appropriate period for propagation by cuttings is from March to September every year. The goosefoot wood is prone to sprouting leggy branches. In spring, cuttings can be combined with repotting and pruning. Cut off 8-10cm long branches or branches, remove the lower leaves, and insert the cuttings into a planting bed made of river sand or vermiculite. Cover with plastic film to maintain high air humidity and place in a cool place. When the temperature is 25°C, potted plants can take root in 4-6 weeks.
Cultivation and management:
The soil for potting can be a mixture of peat soil and humus soil plus about 1/3 of perlite and a small amount of base fertilizer. Fine sandy soil can also be used for potting. Indoor cultivation can grow well if it can see about 4 hours of direct sunlight every day, and it can be viewed in a bright room for a longer period of time. The amount of watering varies depending on the season, and more water is needed in summer. Water once a day to keep the pot soil moist, and water once every 3 to 4 days in spring and autumn. Too much moisture or waterlogging can easily cause root rot. Fertilize once a week during the summer growth period. Granular fertilizers such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium can be used to loosen the soil and then apply them. For species with variegated leaves, apply less nitrogen fertilizer. If too much nitrogen is applied, the patches will fade and turn green. Schefflera grows slowly and is prone to leggy branches, so regular shaping and pruning is required. Every spring before new shoots sprout, the pots should be changed, part of the old soil should be removed, and new soil should be used for potting. When old perennial plants become too bulky for indoor cultivation, they can be pruned in conjunction with repotting.
The reasons why the seeds in the fruits of Schefflera plants are not full or the seeds are missing: First, in the first 1 to 3 years of cultivating flowers and trees, because they have not yet reached full reproductive maturity, they produce Most of the seed grains are hollow and therefore do not have seed kernels; generally, the seed grains produced after 3 years can be used for normal seedling cultivation. The second is that during its embryonic development after pollen fertilization, it encounters unsuitable environmental conditions, or is too different from the original environmental conditions, causing the embryonic plant to terminate development, resulting in empty seeds. Third, it is best to have more flowering plants. Flowering plants of different varieties should be placed together to create conditions for their pollen to spread freely, which will help them breed full seeds.