I'm seeking advice about my arboricola plant

Please forgive me if my questions seem stupid.

My boyfriend and I have a tree (arboricola- umbrella tree- if i'm not mistaken) that we got from his grandmother's funeral. It has been thriving and even got some time outside this summer which really jump started it's new growth! It really enjoyed the sunlight and natural rain!

Well, as sorry as I am for it... we didn't get it inside on time. We kept thinking, "hey we should bring that in soon" but we never did. Well, we got it inside and it was definately suffering from our neglect. Well, moving on, I've been watching it inside to see what it would do (if it would bounce back on it's own).

The leaves died first then the tops of the woody stalks turned brown and soft... at this point I decided that it was not going to bounce back... not on it's own.

I continued to watch it and noticed that the brown was spreading downward so I went haywire and started cutting off the dead sections. In doing so I noticed that there is new growth toward the base of the stalks (it's trying!)

It means a lot to me that THIS tree survive- we took it from the funeral of my boyfriend's grandmother last christmas.

Did I make a mistake by trimming it down?

Do they root in water like willow trees?

What do I do to increase the odds of survival?

PLEASE HELP!

 

Hi Dorothy!

Cutting off the dead wood was not a mistake. It sounds as though it may have some frost damage. Or at least too much cold. You may also check on your watering routine. You may be giving it too much water. I have had the best luck in the cool seasons to reducing the amount of water I give all my plants. And when you water make sure that the water runs quickly out of the bottom of the pot. If is slow to drain you need to repot it in good draining soil. 1/3 peat 1/3 garden soil and 1/3 sand works well for most plants. To check for water put your finger into the soil at the bottom of the pot to the depth of about two inches, if your finger is wet do not water! More plants are killed by overwatering than any other reason.
The growth at the base of the plant is a good thing. Place the plant in a bright, warm area and if you haven't given it any fertilizer give it a weak feeding (about 1/2 to 1/4 stength. If you have been giving if fertilizer. STOP!
If the soil has a bad smell repot it.
Hope for the best and GOOD LUCK!
P.S. I root all my cuttings (and I have hundreds of them) in 1/2 peatmoss and 1/2 sand. I have never tried umbella trees though.

 

Thank you so much!! I was a little worried about it! It feels so good to know that I did it right!!

 

i just want to put an update on here to say how my plant is:

IT'S DOING GREAT!!!

I don't have a camera right now but if I did i would show you that it's thriving! It's so exciting!

Well, I just wanted to let you know that it's doing great and alabama THANK YOU!!

 

No sweat. I am glad I could help.