Polyscias balfouriana (balfour aralia)

Japanese name: ポリシャス バルフォリアナ
Scientific name: Polyscias balfouriana

[Overview]
In its native habitat it is an evergreen tree 6–8 m tall, but it is usually grown as an evergreen shrub to small tree 2–5 m tall.
It has few branches, and the branches grow upward, giving a slender form.
The branches are green with gray lenticels.
The leaves are alternate and trifoliate; the leaflets are almost circular, 5–20 cm across, thick, with coarse, rounded teeth.
The petiole is as long as 5–20 cm, and the leaflets also have long stalks.
In young trees, simple leaves are mixed in.
Umbels gather at the branch tips, forming conical flower clusters 30–80 cm long as a whole.
The flowers are green, 5-petaled, about 0.5 cm across; bisexual flowers seem to be borne at the tip of the cluster and male flowers on the sides.
The fruit is a spherical drupe.

[History]
A cultivar called Fukurin-aralia was introduced to Japan at the end of the Meiji era.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings.
It is safest to keep it at 10°C or above for the winter.
It prefers fertile, well-drained soil in sun to partial shade.
It tolerates shade, but in poor light it becomes leggy and the leaf color is poor.
Water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
Low humidity in the air makes spider mites more likely, so it is good to mist the leaves from time to time.
From spring to autumn, apply slow-release chemical fertilizer placed on the soil, or give liquid fertilizer once a month.
Pests and diseases include aphids, scale insects and spider mites.

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