🌿Ficus Elastica (Rubber Plant)🌿

-Plants and Gardening-

Care, facts and all the knowledge I can give to you

So basically, the Rubber Plant is my favourite at the moment. I absolutely love it. I think it’s the most beautiful plant I did ever see in my whole goddamn life. If I see one in public I weep and rejoice over its beauty. The idea that I could one day have a big ol’ tree in my house makes me just:

In this I will try and tell you what I’ve learned about them, how to care for them and what I do with my rubber plant to keep it looking so BEAUTIFUL.

Light

Rubber Plants do best in areas that have full sun to partial shade. With the Rubber Plant an East facing window would be the best option, giving it full sun in the mornings as the sun rises, and as it sets more shade. This for me is my bathroom, which I find convenient as the mist from the shower is good for the leaves of the Plant. Remember to rotate your Rubber Plants pot (for me I do it every time I see a new leaf start to form) as this allows for the plant to grow straight up and not wonky as plants naturally grow towards the light.

(Above: the red spike-like leaf is actually new growth and will deepen in colour as it grows)

If you feel like perhaps your Rubber Plant is needing more light, I sometimes will move it for an hour or so to a brighter window. I do this if the leaves are looking a bit droopy (Droopy leaves can also be a sign of over watering) but if the soil is dry and still droopy I plop him at a South Facing window to give him a bit of love.

Watering

This big lad requires a humid and moist environment, which was lucky for me as my bathroom has an east facing window.

Spray Rubber Plants regularly- especially if you live in a humid climate. I spray the leaves and with a cloth wipe them, making their leaves look beautiful and shiny. As my bathroom is small with a radiator I will often spray the air, and sht the door to allow a nice moist (hehe) but warm environment for the plant. I think this technique will work well in winter, when watering is at a minmum and it can get quite chilly for plants.

(Above on the right you can see what happens if the rubber plants leaves are not spritzed. They can become dusty and this can lend itself to encourage mites and other critters to eat their beautiful foliage.)

Use room temperature water for this dude because he can get really shocked if you water him with cold water. ( A bit high maintenance if you ask me but in plants we trust.) By leaving water out it to go to room temperature it allows any chlorine to evaporate from water and less shock to the roots than cold water. I use a fertilizer in the spring and summer (growing periods) once every two weeks.

Reduce watering in winter as this is when plants naturally have a wee rest, so they won’t need that much. As I live in a cold climate I’ll water once every two weeks as the cold air seems to make it harder for any excess to evaporate. If the heaters are on I’ll spray the air to make sure it doesn’t get too dry.

TOP TIP: Yellow leaves generally mean they have been watered too much, cease from any water, remove any dead leaves so the plant doesn’t have to work hard to try revive it.

Repotting

When I purchased my Rubber Plant in late Winter, I was told that it was going to have to repotted very soon. It is best to repot the Rubber Plant in late Winter/ Early Spring as at this point it is semi-dormant and will be less prone to Transplant Shock ( More high maintenance from this guy, it’s like he wants to die).

I repotted my Rubber Plant in a terracotta pot, as the clay helps absorb any excess water and reduce the risk of root rot. I bought an All-Purpose house plant soil and mixed in with some compost to give the right nutrients going into the growing season. I have also heard using cactus and succulent All-Purpose soil is suitable for Rubber Plants as it is very good for drainage.

New Growth

So in recent times I have started to see new growth in my Rubber Plant. In the spring and summer months you will start to see red buds pop up in the middle (see above photos). When this happens you can expect to see new leaf soon (woo woo). Since my new leaf has came in I have been putting my Rubber Plant outside, as the weather has been a lot hotter. This gives it a little bit more heat and more even, direct light for longer periods of time without being interrupted by shade. I find this has been making my new growth grow in a lot larger and deepen in colour quicker.

Thanks for reading my craze for Rubber Plants. I hope to write more on propagation when I have actually done it with this particular plant, as it is still quite small, I don’t want to start experimenting. (Potential to ruin my baby is not a risk I’m willing to take).

If anyone has a Rubber Plant themselves and have any tips on how they grow them feel free to comment to message, as I'm always wanting to learn new ways to keep my children growing strong!

The next plant I will be reviewing is the spider plant so stay tuned for that!

Chloe🌿