Schefflera needs potting on

Here is my tornado-shaped Schefflera in the stairwell. The taller it's grown and the nearer to the light from the north-facing window, the more it's expanded in width.

How do I get a support into the larger pot this plant needs without damaging the roots? Not counting the trolley it sits in, the plant is about a metre tall.

 

Take all the stones out.. take it outside put some sheeting out.. lie it on its side and pull the plant gently, from the bottom of the stem.. it should come out of the pot then. Then prepare the new pot (assumingly bigger) with soil and pot back it with the top of the soil slight below the level of the previous soil line (not too much though). It should transplant fairly well.. Shefflera arboricola are tough plants.

I notice yours has pointed ends to the leaves whereas mine has rounded leaf ends.. this needs some research..

 

Thanks for good explanation @stephenprudence, my big issue is: how to put a nice strong stake in to support the top-heavy main stem, without damaging the root ball?

 

Theyre tough plants, I recently had to stake one that I have growing outside because of it's tendency to lean over whilst it's main stem is still developing.. if you don't want to break roots, put the stake at the edge of the pot and then use it like a barriade, so the stake is like / rather than | if you get what I mean? It would be difficult to unsettle a Schefflera though, as it has a thick tap root usually. Better still are the ones you buy from houseplant section... the thicker woven hessian supports, which don't bury down too much in the soil.

 

Stand the existing pot inside a larger one. Fill the gap between the two with gravel. That will stop it falling over Dunno if "falling over" is the whole problem, of whether the stem is too weak to support the plant, but if you make the base solid you might get away with tying a cane to the plant (without having to insert it into the pot itself - i.e. just by reinforcing the stem)

 

@Kristen, I just feel like it's underpotted. It's a third taller than the cane presently bound to it and volume of plant : volume of container seems wrong. Opinions?

 

Yes, could be. Laying it down and knocking the pot off will show you how congested the rootball is - if it isn't then slip the pot back on and stand it back up again, if it is pot-on to a bigger pot

It looks very stretched though. I know Schefflera can grow quite vertically, "flushing" from the top rather than putting on side growth, but even for a Schefflera it looks rather pole-like to me!

 

In Florida this is a low-growing shrub (2-3' max) that thrives in shade and dappled sun. One of my neighbours here in UK has an indoor Schefflera about 2m in height and quite thick and bushy in circumference. I was fascinated by the difference. Never would've imagined a Schefflera would do as this one has done.

Stakes at an angle had not occurred to me. That would work. Great idea!

@Kristen, the lower leaves don't show as much variegation as the upper, hence my assumption about reaching for the light. Will check the roots as you advise -- no sense potting on if it won't help. Many thanks!