Schefflera delavayi

Schefflera delavayi, related to our indoor scheffleras, is a botanical species native to the mountains of China and northern Vietnam. As such, it is a robust plant capable of withstanding short freezes of around -10°C (14°F). It is also a very ornamental evergreen bush, forming a superb lush bush with tiered branches adorned with beautifully cut foliage that curls under the effect of cold. In summer, it buzzes with bees with large white-cream panicles that will give way to clusters of black fruits. This amazing Schefflera deserves to be tried in mild climate gardens: give it partial shade and soft, moist but well-drained soil.

Delavay Schefflera belongs to the araliaceae family. It is found naturally in high-altitude forests in the south of China and northern Vietnam, not far from streams or in cool valleys. This plant appreciates fertile, humus-rich and moist soils, but adapts quite easily to any good garden soil. In China it grows in the humus of the undergrowth on a limestone subsoil. Little is known about the limits of this Schefflera, which is very rare in cultivation, especially in terms of hardiness.

It is a bush with a spread rounded habit, slightly weeping, reaching an average height of 2.50 m (8ft), or more than 3 m (10ft) in favourable regions, its spread will be approximately equal to its height. Its growth is more or less rapid depending on the growing conditions. The branches bear persistent leaves in the terminal part. Each leaf, sometimes reaching 40 cm (16in) in length, is divided into 5 elongated and leathery leaflets with a pointed tip, two smaller ones at the base, shiny dark green on the upper side, but lighter underneath. Like some Rhododendrons, the leaflets tend to curl slightly in on themselves under the bite of the cold. The very small flowers appear in summer, from June to August depending on the climate, and last for several weeks grouped in large upright and branched panicles of 25 to 50 cm (10 to 20in), appearing above the foliage. Small blackish fruits then follow. 

Schefflera delavayi is undoubtedly a very beautiful bush for an exotic-inspired garden.  Once established, it is superb as a standalone plant in a shaded area, or in a group. It is also interesting in association with trees and shrubs that also appreciate moist to wet soils such as hydrangeas, its Aralia cousins, or Colocasia. In a more exotic setting, choose to associate it with beautiful Asian plants, such as caramel tree, Japanese maple, Fatsia, or Arisaema for example. Maples and flowering dogwoods, often magnificent at the end of the season, are also very beautiful companions for this plant. Gardeners can also grow it in a large pot to protect during winter.