I noticed you had a posting about your shefflera plant having a sticky residue all the time. Mine has started that and it gets on the floor and is hard to clean. I have tried insectidal soap to no avail. Have you had any answers since you posted this? I noticed there were no follow-ups. I am not able to set my shefflear outside in the summer anymore and must leave it inside all the time. When I was able to set it outside, I would just wash all the leaves everyday and it thrived very well until I took it back in. The residue started again. Sorry I can't be of any help!