scale on Schefflera Arboricola
Quick answer
If your Schefflera Arboricola has scale, the most likely cause is: Infestation by the pyriform or heart-shaped scale Protopulvinaria pyriformis (Cockerell) (Hemiptera: Coccidae), a sap-sucking soft scale found throughout the Palearctic region, equatorial and subequatorial Africa, the Middle East, North and South America. Documented on Schefflera in Egypt, where heavy infestations cause sap withdrawal, host deterioration, excessive honeydew production, and black sooty mould covering the leaves.
Start here:
- 1. Spray Malathion at 2ml/L (the recommended dose) on infested plants until the leaves are saturated; in field trials this gave the greatest reduction in pyriform scale on Schefflera arboricola (95.37% in the 2021 season and 95.83% in the 2022 season).
- 2. As a botanical alternative, spray Aloe vera leaf extract (AVLE) at 100% concentration on the leaves; this reduced pyriform scale by 68.6% in 2021 and 71.47% in 2022 and can serve as a bio-insecticide.
Why Schefflera Arboricola gets scale
Schefflera Arboricola
Infestation by the pyriform or heart-shaped scale Protopulvinaria pyriformis (Cockerell) (Hemiptera: Coccidae), a sap-sucking soft scale found throughout the Palearctic region, equatorial and subequatorial Africa, the Middle East, North and South America. Documented on Schefflera in Egypt, where heavy infestations cause sap withdrawal, host deterioration, excessive honeydew production, and black sooty mould covering the leaves.
How to reverse scale on Schefflera Arboricola
- 1
Spray Malathion at 2ml/L (the recommended dose) on infested plants until the leaves are saturated; in field trials this gave the greatest reduction in pyriform scale on Schefflera arboricola (95.37% in the 2021 season and 95.83% in the 2022 season).
- 2
As a botanical alternative, spray Aloe vera leaf extract (AVLE) at 100% concentration on the leaves; this reduced pyriform scale by 68.6% in 2021 and 71.47% in 2022 and can serve as a bio-insecticide.
- 3
Quarantine the infested Schefflera arboricola away from healthy houseplants and prune away the most heavily sooty-mould-covered leaves before treatment so the spray contacts the scale insects directly.
Keep scale off this Schefflera Arboricola
Inspect Schefflera arboricola foliage regularly (the underside of the leaflets and along the leafstalks) for the small pyriform scale bodies and early sooty mould; isolate any new plant for at least two weeks before placing it near other Araliaceae, and avoid water stress, since weak plants show the worst scale build-up in the Egyptian field study.