How to care for a rubber tree

A rubber tree plant is also known as a Ficus elastica. These large trees can grow up to 50 feet tall. When learning how to care for a rubber tree plant, there are a few key things to remember, but rubber plant care isn’t as difficult as one might think. Starting with a young rubber tree houseplant will allow it to adapt to being an indoor plant better than starting with a more mature plant.

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When it comes to rubber plant care, the correct balance of water and light is crucial, as with any plant. You can control the amount of light and water it gets, which is important because they shouldn’t have too much of either.

Light
When you have a rubber tree houseplant, it needs bright light but prefers indirect light that isn’t too hot. Some people recommend putting it near a window that has sheer curtains. This allows plenty of light, but not too much.

Water
The rubber tree plant also needs the right balance of water. During the growing season, it needs to be kept moist. It is also a good idea to wipe off the leaves of your rubber tree houseplant with a damp cloth or spritz it with water. If you water the rubber tree plant too much, the leaves will turn yellow and brown and fall off.

During the dormant season, it may only need watered once or twice a month. If the leaves begin to droop, but not fall off, increase the water you give the rubber tree houseplant gradually until the leaves perk back up again.

Once you know how to care for a rubber tree plant and it is growing well, you can begin the propagation of indoor rubber tree plants. In order to promote new leaves on a current rubber tree houseplant, cut a slit in the node where a leaf fell off. This will allow a new leaf to grow quicker.

There are a couple different methods for creating new rubber tree plant cuttings. The simplest is to take a small branch from a healthy tree and put it in good potting soil or water and let it root. Another method, called air layering, is where you make a cut in a healthy rubber tree houseplant, put a toothpick in the hole, then pack damp moss around the cut. After that, you wrap it with plastic wrap to keep the moisture level higher. Once roots begin to appear, cut the branch off and plant. All these things will lead to successful rubber plant care.

Source: Shari Anderson
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