Dwarf Umbrella plant - Schefflera Arbicola

Where I live in Malaga these plants (sometimes small trees) are very common both as exterior and interior plants. The image above is of one in my apartment. While I have never seen them flower indoors it is quite common to see them flowering outdoors all over town.
I realize that the correct name for these is "schefflera arboricola" but I got used to calling it "arbicola" and since it is easier to remember it kinda stuck. The image below is of what I believe is the "fruit" of the Dwarf Umbrella plant, at least this is what forms after the flower.
Dwarf Umbrella plants can be very floppy and unruly so it can help to use a bamboo or cane shaft to keep the stems from flopping over. This plant has the tendency to grow multiple stems from its base.
One very creative idea that I have seen for this plant can be seen below. This idea makes the plant look more like a tree even though it has multiple stems.
A burlap fabric is wrapped around the stems to create the look of one thicker "trunk". Very neat idea.


  1. Do you have any idea how to take care of it? How much water, sun etc it needs? I just bought one, but can't seem to find that information.

  2. The last time I purchased one of these plants I place it by a window where it had some direct sunlight for a few hours a day. It did well for a while and then it started loosing its leaves. When I moved to a different city I gave it to a friend who placed it in a well lit but not direct sunlight situation and kept the soil moist but never soaked and never with standing water at the roots. After about a month the plant perked right up and started growing healthy again.

  3. Someone told me that it is toxic to birds if they chew it.is that right.

  4. Do you know if the wood from these plants is safe if birds chewed it