I have a large schefflera (5 ft tall) with two stalks which I've had for ~10 years (don't know how long my mother had it before that...). The taller of the two stalks started losing leaves several months ago and finally 2 weeks ago lost the last remaining leaves. A couple of years ago I had the another problem with the same plant and was advised to just prune it by cutting the stalks a few inches below the troubled leaves. This worked wonderfully and both stalks came back with full lovely sets of "umbrellas". Since I had such great success with this tact last time I tried it again (only the sick stalk). The first couple of cuts I made revealed a dark sickly look in the center of the stalk so I continued snipping until I got to a part of the stalk that looked healthy. That was two weeks ago and it doesn't look like the stalk is healing. Instead the top part of the stalk (the top foot or so)has a very papery feel to it, as though the inside has shrunk and separated from the outer layer of skin. This is making me very worried and I don't know what to do. If anyone has had any experience with such problems or knows what I should do, PLEASE help!