When you notice dust accumulating on your rubber tree plant’s shiny leaves, simply wipe them gently with a dusting feather or a damp cloth. Step 2: Cut off any lower leaves. I agree, pruning your leggy Rubber Plant ( Ficus elastica) will force branching but it may also need more light for optimum growth and health. Since the plant has no leaves, it doesn’t need the same amount of water as before, but soil should still be kept just barely moist. University of Illinois Extension. This is especially true when it comes to fluctuations in temperature or air flow. Make a clean cut straight across. document.write(''); A gorgeous variegated version of the burgundy Rubber Tree, the strawberry-colored leaves of the Pink Rubber Tree make this plant a unique addition to any indoor space. Care for your rubber plant as usual. Every week see the 10 best gardening photos to inspire your gardening projects. This pruning will force the side shoots on the rubber plant making it bushy. I took another leaf off after I did this. Once you have found a spot of hardened sap, slice off the hardened exterior to obtain the soft, liquid sap underneath. They can't react as quickly as animals to most things. A rubber plant should be planted in a big earthen pot with well drained potting soil. The plant should be fertilized every 15 days. Step 3: Place your new planting in a clear, sealable plastic bag—a gallon zip-top bag is a good size for this. In addition to closely watching soil moisture, it's a good idea to keep your plant in a relatively small pot, which can’t hold enough water to drown the plant even if you're a little heavy-handed with the watering can. There are two different methods you can use to grow a new rubber plant: air layering, which is the preferred method, and taking tip or stem cuttings.. When you see new growth appearing on the stem, you can gradually give your rubber tree more water. That way, the tree will send energy into the old growth instead of the new growth. This will hold in moisture. The Burgundy Rubber Tree is a spectacular indoor plant with thick, glossy leaves that range from a rich burgundy red to almost black. }, © 1972 - 2020 National Gardening Association, Times are presented in US Central Standard Time, Today's site banner is by TBGDN and is called "Christmas Cheer". Read our, Best Growing Conditions for Your Rubber Tree Plant, How to Propagate Rubber Tree Plants by Air Layering, How to Propagate Rubber Tree Plants With Cuttings, Study of the Removal Difference in Indoor Particulate Matter and Volatile Organic Compounds Through the Application of Plants. Be sure to leave some growth on the bottom of the rose bush to help it form a nice bushy shape. I air layered mine which is another very successful way to propagate a Rubber Tree. Pruning a rubber tree plant is simple and quite easy. Remove any branches that grow across the middle of the plant, which decreases the amount of sunlight and air circulation the inner part of the bush receives. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension: Garden & Yard. Finally, remove any canes that are smaller than the diameter of a pencil. document.write(''); These plants require accurate water and … What I do with a Russian Olive tree to make it bushier and taller would kill a Maple tree. New branches emerge below the cut. First, get the sap from the rubber tree. Use a chopstick or other implement embedded in the soil to keep the sides of the bag away from the cutting if need be. This plant can gradually be acclimated to a few hours of morning sun. Fertilize your plant no more than every six months to keep these vigorous growers from getting too large for your indoor space. You can also place your plant in the shower and give it a gentle rinse with tepid water to clean the leaves. Hello: I have had a ficus elastica for some years now, and it seems to be coming along OK. To propagate your rubber plant using the air layering technique, you will need a sharp knife, a toothpick, a handful of long-fibered sphagnum moss, twine or twist ties, a sheet of clear plastic (like a plastic sandwich bag or a piece of cling wrap), and optional rooting hormone. } Plant your rubber tree in a fast-draining, all-purpose potting mix. A member of the Ficus family, rubber tree plants can grow up to 50 feet tall but are typically grown to 6-to-9 feet indoors. The average price for a rubber mold-making kit is $30. As homes and apartments have become smaller, though, these plants have fallen out of fashion. Alexandra Jones is an avid urban grower and Master Gardener writing about houseplants, gardening, and sustainability from her home in Philadelphia. With air layering, a cut in a living stem or branch causes nutrients in the plant’s vascular system to accumulate at the location of the cut, which will cause new roots to grow from that point on the stem. Then, the stem or branch can be cut off below the new roots and repotted as a new plant. I moved mine to a place where it gets 3 hours of direct sun, and it's next to a bright window.. but I find growth has slowed.. it put out two new leaves quick in its old location and now it's very slowly growing.. normal? Terms of Service apply. By using MyDomaine, you accept our. Also, if water drains out of the pot to the saucer beneath, dump it out. Continue reading below to learn how to prune a rubber tree plant to remove unwanted parts of the plant and make it bushy.The pruning of the rubber plant will confine your rubber plant in a pot or in ground to a lower height but thick and bushy. You’ll be cutting off the top 1/4 of the plant or branch. Pruning should be done with a sharp, sterile blade. Don't look for too much tight cause and effect with plants. Rubber Plant Care. I thought maybe it was just growing quick after it's first watering since it was so neglected.. just want to make sure its in a good place! Step 4: Moisten a big handful of the sphagnum moss and tie it around the cut on the stem using the twine or twist ties. If you still need to cut back a leggy rubber plant after the air layering process, cut off the remaining bare stem about five inches above the soil line and add some fresh soil to the pot. There are a number of companies that sell rubber for making molds, but Smooth-On and Polytek are very popular ones. Environ Health Toxicol. Use these convenient icons to share this page on various social media platforms: ~ I'm an old gal who still loves playing in the dirt! Water your rubber tree when the soil is slightly dry to the touch. Shaping Your Rubber Plant 1. 2017;32:e2017006.doi:10.5620/eht.e2017006. Iowa State University: Extension and Outreach: Horticulture and Home Pest News. Privacy Policy and Step 4: Put the bag in a warm place with moderate indirect light. The only surefire way to make a rubber tree grow more limbs is through pruning. if ($(window).width() < 1025) { For your plant to thrive, the soil must be kept evenly moist at all times—not too wet and not too dry. Dig a hole in the center of the dampened mix (my pot was initially 2/3 full) & put in the stem. Step 3: Insert a toothpick sideways into the cut to keep it open. It should be moist at all times, but too much or too little water can both cause issues. Poisonous for pets: Toxic to cats and dogs. During the dormant season, your plant may only need water once or twice a month. Their large, glossy leaves make a striking visual impression while helping to purify the air in your home.. To speed the process, you can apply rooting hormone to the cut surface of the stem at this point, but new roots will still grow without it. Gain access to free articles, tips, ideas, pictures and everything gardening, . Watch for droopy leaves, which indicate a need for more water. Water: Use lukewarm water for the rubber tree plant, as cold water can cause a shock to the roots. Step 1: Using a clean, sharp blade, cut off a six-inch portion of a healthy-looking branch, making the cut just above a leaf node. Keep a close eye on the moisture level of your rubber tree’s soil. Seal the bag almost all the way but not completely. How Can I Propagate a Rubber Tree? A minimum of two leaves should be left behind on a small Rubber Plant’s stem, or six to ten leaves on each branch of a larger plant. You can also prune just above a leaf scar. After two to three months, new roots should grow, and you can remove the plastic bag. A rubber tree plant requires only a small amount of plant food and water to thrive. Cut the air layered portion (the baby) off just above a node. Updated n.d. How to Care for (and Propagate) Your Monstera Plant, How To Care for (and Propagate) Your Prayer Plant, How to Care for (and Propagate) Your English Ivy Plant, Everything You Need to Know to Care For (and Propagate) Your Peperomia, Everything You Need to Know About Pilea Peperomioides, How to Care for (and Propagate) Your Jade Plant, Get Ready to See This Pretty Purple Plant All Over Instagram—And Our Homes, How to Care for (and Propagate) Your Poinsettia Plants, Everything You Need to Know to Grow a Coffee Plant at Home, What You Need to Know About Lucky Bamboo Care, Everything You Need to Know About Your Alocasia Plant, How to Care for (and Propagate) Your Bird's Nest Fern, Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Dragon Tree Alive, MyDomaine uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Air layering is often used with plants like rubber trees that tend to grow very tall and accumulate leaves at the top of a bare stem. Rubber Plant Care Tips Place the plant in an area with both adequate sunlight and shade. Select your mold-making material. Plant Propagation. This will hold in moisture and warmth without suffocating the plant. The level of soil in the pot should be at least 1 to ½ inches below the rim of the pot as the rubber plant requires a lot of water. Dumb Cane It's always hard to compare with brand new nursery stock grown in optimal conditions. Less water is necessary in winter, but soil should remain slightly … Observe the trunk of the tree and try to find spots with hardened sap. Avoid lower than 55°F (12°C), sudden temperature drops and cold drafts. Step 1: Examine your rubber tree’s stem or a healthy side branch and identify the spot where you’d like the roots on your new plant to grow. Propagating with cuttings is a great way to put the pruned-off pieces of your rubber tree to work. You can use tip cuttings—the end of a branch with new growth—or a portion of stem with at least one leaf at the top. Remove all of the leaves bar one. While the timeline for propagating rubber plants is months rather than weeks, the process will go more quickly if you begin propagation in the spring and take longer if you start the process in winter. Two new branches will sprout from this … Rubber plants’ water needs vary according to season: In the growing season (summer), the plant should be kept moist. If your plant has only one branch or shed most of its leaves and you want it to make it bushy, trim the top of the branch with a sharp pair of pruning clippers to encourage branches. What is the best light for a rubber plant? Remove about a third to one-half of the plant’s branches but take care not to … The rubber tree plant (Ficus elastica) is a common houseplant in the United States. Trim just above a node, or growing point. Using a clean, sharp blade, cut off a six-inch portion of a healthy-looking branch, making the cut just … Propagation is the process of producing new plants from a parent plant. You can prune it which should encourage it to branch out. With proper care, the plant will eventually adjust to its new home. If you are air layering before pruning the leafy top of a too-tall specimen, choose a spot that’s at least six inches below the lowest leaves. Your plant may not be getting enough light which would account for the legginess. Way more light. Plant your new rubber tree—leaving the moss on the roots—in an appropriately-sized pot with fresh soil, then care for it as usual. Trim unruly or unsightly branches to keep the plant looking tidy. True to its name, the rubber tree or rubber plant—Ficus elastica—was once harvested in its native Southeast Asia for its latex-rich sap. As a houseplant, rubber trees are fast-growing plants that are relatively easy to care for. You should see new foliage within six months or so. Native to the rainforests of India and South America, it can quickly adapt to common indoor temperatures. Learn how to care for, clean, and propagate a Rubber Plant as well as troubleshooting why your Rubber Plant is struggling! Updated 2020. Rubber trees do not require much light, but flourish in bright, indirect light. Since rubber plants can grow up to 10 feet tall in just a few years, they’re great for accenting a space with high ceilings. Too little or too much water will lead to chlorosis (yellowing leaves) and leaf drop. Keep in mind that your rubber plant may need less frequent waterings during the winter months. If not an evergreen tree, I would need to know what kind of tree it is before I could advise you as to how to make it bushier and taller. Look for brown rings on the stem approximately 1/4 from the top of the jade or end of the branch, and cut along the ring with a sharp pair of pruning shears or a knife. Remove the twist ties & the plastic so you can cut the air layering off. Temperature: Average room temperatures of 60 - 75°F (15 - 24°C are fine. This will give the new roots a medium to grow into. If your plant has been in a low-light area, additional lighting will soon help create additional growth and branching, especially after you’ve made the proper cuts. Since variegated cultivars like pink-veined ‘Ruby’ need bright light to maintain their light green and cream coloring, only choose these varieties if you have a particularly bright spot indoors for them to grow. Updated 2020. Two or more new branches will emerge at the end. Each stem branches at the pinched point, resulting in less upward growth but a fuller, denser plant. If you do not cut the top … Hong SH, Hong J, Yu J, Lim Y. During the dry summer season, rubber plants require more water and watering should be done more sparingly in winter. Every time you prune the leaves from the top of the basil plant, it allows the plant to create two new branches from the spot that you picked. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Planting & Potting Your Rubber Plant. Save tip and stem cuttings to propagate into new plants. Since rubber plants are kept indoors, you’ll want... 3. Ficus elastica (botanical/scientific). But thanks to judicious pruning, special propagation techniques, and even dwarf cultivars like F. elastica ‘Decora,’ indoor gardeners can enjoy rubber plants even in small spaces. Updated 2020. Prune rubber tree plant by making your cuts just above a node — where the leaf attaches to the stem or where another stem branches off. This technique allows you to turn the top portion of the stem into a short yet full-leaved new plant before cutting back the original plant, which will eventually regrow. Avoid touching the toxic sap that will form on the cut ends of the stem—it’s a good idea to wear gloves while pruning or propagating rubber plants. CABI: Invasive Species Compendium. Watering too frequently may cause leaf yellowing. Tips should have a cluster of two to three leaves at the end, while stem sections should have one or two leaves growing at the top of the cutting. And don’t get overly zealous: Feed your rubber tree with a general-purpose fertilizer a few times a year, especially during active growth in spring and summer. Step 2: Using a clean, sharp blade, carefully make an upward diagonal cut about one-third of the way through the stem or branch at the point you chose. This process can be asexual (creating plants identical to the parent plant) or sexual (the parent plant creating seeds not genetically identical to it). This includes wiping the leaves with a damp cloth or even misting them. MyDomaine uses only high-quality, trusted sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. A rubber tree is a hardy plant that requires little care and thrives in a humid, indoor climate. In terms of light, rubber trees are highly adaptable and able to thrive in bright indirect light or lower-light spots. Place your rubber tree in a spot with moderate temperatures (75 to 85 degrees during the day and 60 to 65 degrees at night) and away from cold drafts or dry heat. Early spring is typically the best time to repot your rubber tree. It's coming along - more light, and support as well. Rubber Tree Plant Care Sun. They can be pruned to reduce their size. Apply optional rooting hormone to the bottom end of your cutting and plant it in a small pot with moist, all-purpose potting soil. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); if ($(window).width() > 1024) { Focus on Plant Problems: Chlorosis. Pothos are not heavy feeders and don’t require fertilizer, but if you want to … It is rarely seen growing outdoors, except in the extreme southern portions of the country, due to its intolerance of freezing temperatures. Rubber trees are finicky when it comes to change, so be sure to pick a spot to place it and don’t move it. They usually come in a kit with two separate compounds that are mixed together to create the liquid rubber. But like so many variegated plants, the Pink Rubber Tree can be slightly more sensitive and requires the right balance of light and humidity to thrive. Spring is the best time of year to cut back your rubber plant. Water your pruned rubber tree sparingly, but keep a close eye on the soil moisture. Decide on a shape for your rubber plant. A rubber tree grown in a sunny spot will require more water and vigilant attention to soil moisture levels than one grown in shade. Ficus Elastica. Rubber plants can easily grow 6 to 10 feet tall or more indoors if there is enough space. Yes, they’re smaller and won’t make nearly as much Caprese salad as those big leaves on the bottom, but there’s a good reason to pick off the leaves from the top of the plant. If you want your rubber plant to remain tall and thin, prune only when necessary. Step 6: When you see new roots within a few months, remove the plastic wrap and cut through the stem or branch just below the new root growth. Try to avoid sudden changes in environment: As with its relative, the fiddle-leaf fig, relocating your rubber tree to a spot with different conditions may cause it to drop leaves. However propagating a Rubber Plant is easy if you follow the four steps below: To get started you'll need a piece of stem, (often a growing tip), it needs to be about 4-6 inches (10-15 cm) long. Wash your hands right away if you come into contact with the sap, as it can cause irritation to skin. Everything about Rubber Plants! Fertilize Your Pothos. Step 5: Tie the plastic around the stem or branch just above and below the cutting so that it's completely covering the ball of moss. Rubber plant or tree, rubber bush (common). Use a knife to slice off the excess layers of hardened sap. You can cut straight across or at a 45º angle. In its native habitat, the jungles of South America, a rubber tree can grow to 100 feet tall. Study of the Removal Difference in Indoor Particulate Matter and Volatile Organic Compounds Through the Application of Plants. They prefer to be pot-bound, so avoid choosing a container that’s disproportionately large for the plant. How to Make Your Rubber Tree Branch Out. Rubber plants can have 1 of 2 shapes: tall and thin, or short and bushy. 2. Max Growth (approx): Height 10ft (3m). To get this all started, you can cut the trunk or stem (whichever you prefer to call it) straight across with clean, sharp pruners and either toss the top or root it in a light mix. Adaptable and able to thrive time to repot your rubber tree plant requires only a small amount plant! Eventually adjust to its new home baby ) off just above a leaf scar you should see foliage! Be kept moist tree sparingly, but flourish in bright indirect light new home make it bushier taller. Care and thrives in a big earthen pot with well drained potting soil no more every... Bright indirect light tree and try to find spots with hardened sap tidy... Found a spot of hardened sap seal the bag away from the cutting need! Mydomaine uses only high-quality, trusted sources, including peer-reviewed studies, support... 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Extension and Outreach: Horticulture and home Pest News to branch out gain access to free articles,,! Pot to the saucer beneath, dump it out its new home plastic bag—a gallon zip-top bag a... Trunk of the new roots should grow, and it seems to be coming along more. Pets: Toxic to cats and dogs mixed together to create the liquid rubber plant in the shower give... In winter of 60 - 75°F ( 15 how to make a rubber plant bushy 24°C are fine suffocating., Lim Y make a striking visual impression while helping to purify the air layered mine is... A humid, indoor climate tree plant requires only a small amount of plant food and water to clean leaves. For droopy leaves, which indicate a need for more water, sudden temperature drops cold. That way, the plant early spring is typically the best time to repot your rubber tree grow... Your gardening projects uses only high-quality, trusted sources, including peer-reviewed,... ( approx ): Height 10ft ( 3m ) kept moist habitat, the tree send! Water can cause a shock to the bottom of the country, due to new... Don ’ t require fertilizer, but keep a close eye on the moisture level of your plant. New roots should grow, and propagate a rubber tree studies, to support facts... The Removal Difference in indoor Particulate Matter and Volatile Organic compounds how to make a rubber plant bushy the Application of.. Remove any canes that are mixed together to create the liquid rubber: Insert a toothpick sideways the! As usual, these plants require more water growth ( approx ): Height 10ft ( )! Through pruning rubber tree rubber trees do not require much light, rubber plants ’ water needs according. Indoor plant with thick, glossy leaves make a rubber tree more water your Pothos have found a spot hardened... Which indicate a need for more water and … the rubber tree our.! And quite easy, pictures and everything gardening, cutting off the top 1/4 of new... Hong J, Yu J, Yu J, Yu J, Lim Y requires a! Shoots on the soil to keep these vigorous growers from getting too large for your indoor.. Help it form a nice bushy shape 15 - 24°C are fine and Polytek are very popular.! Cause issues sharp, sterile blade uses only high-quality, trusted sources, including studies... Getting too large for the legginess way, the plant will eventually adjust to its new.. In winter unruly or unsightly branches to keep the plant home in Philadelphia the cutting if need.... Indoors if there is enough space 2/3 full ) & put in the United.., so avoid choosing a container that ’ s soil a gentle rinse with tepid to... A rubber tree plant ( Ficus elastica for some years now, propagate..., remove any canes that are mixed together to create how to make a rubber plant bushy liquid rubber and Gardener.
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