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How to care for a Ficus Elastica (Rubber Tree)
With its large, almost water-colored, leaves, the Ficus Elastica (also known as the Rubber Plant or Tree) is a plant you can't miss. Its leaves don't look like they could be real, but luckily for us as plant enthusiasts, it's a very real plant.
The Ficus Elastica is native to India and Indonesia, so it's used to higher temperatures and lots of humidity. If you're just starting out with houseplants, you might want to hold off on taking care of this plant for a little bit. It's not the easiest plant to start your journey with. Instead, you might want to have a look at a Monstera or Alocasia. These are great plants to start with before giving the Ficus Elastica a try.
In this guide, we're going to look at how you can take care of this plant and how you can keep it happy.
We'll go over these topics:
Let's dive right in and let's learn how we can take care of a Ficus Elastica or Rubber Tree in your house!
How do you water a Ficus Elastica?
The Ficus Elastica is a plant that's very sensitive to overwatering. It doesn't like to be wet, but also doesn't do well when it's in dry soil. It's best to keep its soil lightly moist most of the time and you should water it when the top 2.5 cm (1 inch) of the soil is dry. It's important to check whether the top of the soil is dry before you water because this will help prevent overwatering your plant.
How often you should water your Ficus Elastica depends on a lot of things, but on average, you should water your plant once per week in the summer and once every 2 weeks in the winter. This time can take longer if your house is colder or more humid or you might have to water it more often if your house is warm and dry.
Your Rubber Tree is very sensitive to overwatering, so when you have accidentally overwatered it, you can expect leaves to fall off. These leaves will turn yellow first and then brown, before falling off.
When you notice the leaves turning yellow and brown, make sure to stop watering and let any excess moisture drain out of the pot. If the soil isn't draining properly, it's also a great idea to repot your plant in soil with excellent drainage.
What are the light requirements of a Ficus Elastica?
When it comes to sunlight, your Ficus Elastica can tolerate quite a large range of sunlight exposure. It can tolerate low light, but if you want it to thrive in your house, you'll need to give it bright, indirect sunlight.
Put it in a spot that gets some direct sunlight but not too much. A great place for your Ficus Elastica can be near a window that gets direct sunlight in the morning, but none during the hottest hours of the day.
If you don't have a spot like this, you can also put it a few meters away from a south-facing window. This way, your Rubber Tree won't get scorched by the sun and will still get enough light to grow strong.
What is the ideal soil mix for a Ficus Elastica?
Photo by Tiia Pakk from Pexels
Earlier, we discovered that the Ficus Elastica is quite sensitive to overwatering.
To help your plant stay healthy and prevent overwatering, you should use well-draining soil for your Ficus Elastica. Keep in mind that your Ficus still likes to grow in soil that's lightly moist most of the time, so it shouldn't drain all of the moisture right away. It should hold onto some for a few days.
The perfect soil mix for a Ficus Elastica is soil that contains things like peat moss or coconut coir to retain moisture for a few days. The soil should also be well-draining, so you can add things like Perlite, Leca, or Smart Gravel.
By mixing 1 part of the moisture-retaining ingredients with 1 part well-draining ingredients and 1 part general potting soil, you'll have soil that retains moisture but drains any excess moisture to the bottom of the pot. This helps your plant stay hydrated, but not get overwatered.
The peat moss, coconut coir, perlite, Leca, and Smart Gravel also add some structure to the soil. This helps the soil to stay light and fluffy, letting oxygen flow freely to your plant's roots.
If you want to find out more about helping your soil retain more moisture, "How to make your soil retain more water?" might help you.
What is the right type of pot for a Ficus Elastica?
In this plant care guide, I've mentioned a few times that the soil will drain any excess water to the bottom of the pot. If you're using a pot without a drainage hole, the excess moisture will stay in the pot and your plant will stand in a puddle of water. This is the ideal situation for root rot to develop. We don't want this.
The perfect pot for a Ficus Elastica is a pot with drainage holes. These drainage holes prevent the excess moisture stays behind in the bottom of the pot. The drainage holes help the moisture to escape the pot, so your plant is never standing in a puddle of water.
So your Ficus doesn't like to have wet feet, what does this mean for choosing a pot? It means that you should choose a pot that can get rid of moisture quickly. The best type of pot that helps you get rid of excess moisture quickly is a terracotta pot. This type of pot evaporates excess moisture quickly and helps your soil breathe.
How do you choose the right size pot?
So the ideal pot is a terracotta (or ceramic) pot with a drainage hole, but how do you choose the right size? And does the size of the pot matter?
The short answer is yes. The size of the pot is very important for your plant's health. Pots that are too large hold onto a lot of moisture, moisture your plant can't all absorb within a week. This moisture will stay behind and will cause your plant to be overwatered which might lead to root rot.
The ideal pot size is a pot that's 2-5 cm (1-2 inches) larger than the root system of your plant.
A pot that's slightly larger than the root system of your Ficus Elastica gives it enough space for the plant to continue growing, but also makes it much easier to prevent overwatering your plant.
How often should you fertilize a Ficus Elastica?
Your Ficus Elastica is a plant that grows quite quickly. In its natural growing environment, in India and Indonesia, it grows very tall, usually several meters tall. Indoors, it can also grow tall and it's up to you how tall you allow it to get. If you like its height, you can trim the plant back and/or propagate it.
Your Ficus Elastica grows quickly, which means you need to fertilize it occasionally. During the growing season, the spring and summer, you should fertilize it around every 2 weeks with liquid fertilizer. When you fertilize it occasionally, you help it to grow healthy and you make sure the plant has enough energy to put out new leaves.
When you fertilize your Ficus Elastica with a liquid fertilizer, make sure to dilute it with the water your use to water your plant. This is convenient but also helps you to prevent over-fertilizing your plant. Overfertilizing your plant could cause a chemical burn on your plant's roots and will kill it if you don't drain the excess fertilizer from the soil.
Draining the excess fertilizer from the soil is quite easy if you use a pot with drainage holes: Water your plant deeply and let the excess moisture drain from the pot for around 5 minutes. Your plant is now properly watered and any excess fertilizer will have drained from the pot. Win-win!
How often should you repot a Ficus Elastica?
When your Ficus Elastica has been growing bigger than expected or there is simply not enough room in its current pot, it's time to repot it. Signs that your Ficus needs repotting include yellowing or wilted leaves, roots poking through the drainage holes of its pot, and slow growth.
As we've already discovered earlier on in this plant care guide, we should find a pot that's only slightly larger than its root system to prevent overwatering. When you're repotting your Ficus into a bigger pot, find a pot that's one size up or around 2-5 cm (1-2 inches) larger on each side. This will give your plant plenty of space for new growth.
On average, you should repot your Ficus Elastica once every 1-2 years depending on how quickly your plant is growing.
When and how do you prune a Ficus Elastica?
Pruning seems like a scary thing to do to your plant, but it has many benefits. Pruning may help shape your rubber tree by removing any dead leaves or branches. By pruning these dead leaves and branches, your plant not only looks better, but it's also a great way to prevent pests from getting to your Ficus.
Pruning encourages growth by cutting off parts of stems and branches, increasing the number of nodes over time.
The best time to prune your Ficus is during the spring because it'll be the growing season for your plant and it'll have months to recover and grow afterward. During the fall and winter, your Ficus won't grow (as quickly), so this isn't the right time to prune your plant. Unless you're pruning dead leaves or branches, you can prune those all year round.
When you prune your Ficus, be sure to not remove too much of your plant at once, as this can cause harm and shock your plant.
Cut-off stems can then be used for propagation; each stem cutting can be potted separately in its own container and grown out to become an adult plant. Let's look at that a little more!
How do you propagate a Ficus Elastica?
When you've pruned your Ficus Elastica and you've got one or more stems, you can propagate these to grow new plants. Propagating a rubber tree through stem cuttings is quite easy!
Cuttings of a Ficus Elastica need a lot of humidity to start growing roots, so you'll need to prepare a pot with the right growing environment.
Begin by carefully cutting off a side branch around 7-10 cm (3-4 inches) long from the main plant. You can also remove individual leaves, as you can also propagate these.
Take your cutting and put this in a glass of water while you prepare your pot. This will prevent the cutting from drying out. Prepare the pot with well-draining, but moist soil and put your cutting in the soil. Take a small Ziploc bag, or a larger see-through plastic bag if your cutting is larger, and place this over the cutting.
This plastic cover will trap humidity and provide your Ficus cutting with the ideal growing environment. Make sure to put your plant with the plastic bag in a bright spot, but not in direct sunlight.
After a month or so, you should start to see roots growing and you have successfully propagated your Ficus Elastica. At this time, you can also remove the plastic bag and care for it as if it were any normal Ficus.
Is a Ficus Elastica toxic to pets?
Your Ficus Elastica has a fitting nickname: Rubber Tree. This name is fitting because your plant's sap contains latex. Because the sap contains latex it's considered to be toxic and you should keep it away from pets and young children. However, if you have some pet reptiles, like chameleons, a rubber tree is a popular tank setup for them.
Featuring thick and glossy green leaves and sturdy stalks for climbing, this plant can easily become the center of the entire habitat. If you have a latex allergy, be careful when handling this plant. It's important to wash your hands after handling this plant or wiping down its leaves.
Conclusion
Ficus Elastica is an eye-catching houseplant that requires a bit of extra care to ensure it thrives. With the right light, water, and pruning routine, you can keep your Ficus healthy and happy for years to come. Remember not to over prune as this could harm or shock your plant and be sure to keep it away from pets due to its toxic sap content. Now that you know how to take proper care of your Ficus Elastica, all that's left is to enjoy your new plant!
Share this plant care guide with your friends and family to help them take care of their Ficus Elastica in their house!
Thank you for reading this post! I hope it helps you to keep your plants healthy and beautiful! If you're looking for more guides on specific plants, you can always request a plant guide to get a guide for the plant you have trouble with.
Tags: tropical, moisture-loving, ficus
Posted on: Jun 26, 2021 Last updated on: Feb 3, 2023
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