The way to Take care of a Rubber Tree
Is there an ideal houseplant? One thing straightforward to take care of, can develop for years and has a timeless magnificence? I feel the rubber tree ticks all of these packing containers. This tree has shiny, thick leaves and makes fairly an impression in any room.
My favourite rubber tree is in a scene from the film Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn. Within the scene, they’re having a lavish occasion and there’s a lovely, tall rubber tree within the room. That rubber tree is unquestionably a plant purpose for me.
Possibly sometime mine will get that huge and delightful! With correct care, the tree can attain as much as 10 ft tall (typically taller) indoors!
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The rubber tree is also called the Ficus Elastica and comes from India and components of tropical Asia. The shiny, leathery leaves give this plant a definite look. There’s actually nothing prefer it! The rubber tree has a beautiful form and is a superb choice for anybody who loves houseplants.
Potting
While you convey house a brand new rubber tree, right here are some things to contemplate with regard to potting it. It’d seem to be a good suggestion to place your plant in an enormous pot so it has a lot of room to develop, however the rubber tree prefers to be a bit crowded in a pot.
Attempt to decide on a pot that offers about 2 inches of soil round the entire diameter. It will give your plant loads of room to develop and thrive. When selecting a pot, earthenware is at all times an incredible choice. Unglazed earthenware permits the moisture within the filth to evaporate out of the pot and dry out sooner.
A glazed earthenware pot is not going to have the identical talents to let the moisture come out. I exploit each sorts of pots however a very necessary side of the pot is to verify it has a drainage gap so water has a solution to escape (sitting water will most positively kill your rubber tree).
After you have your pot discovered, it’s time to consider soil. The rubber tree likes nicely draining soil. An all-purpose indoor combine works nice, however I add some further perlite to offer the soil extra aeration.
Perlite is an natural materials that comes from volcanic eruptions and you’ll find it at most backyard shops. Scoop a few of your potting combine and place it on the underside of the pot. Then, put your plant in in order that it sits about 3 inches underneath the highest pot.
Fill in the remainder of the filth, ensuring your plant stays good and straight. Use your hand to maneuver filth down as you progress across the pot. As soon as the edges are stuffed, place a small layer of filth excessive of your plant.
As soon as the plant is potted, place it within the spot you propose to go away it (rubber bushes don’t like change). Repotting can typically make your plant drop leaves, so if this occurs, don’t fret … it’s simply getting used to its new surroundings.
A interval of relaxation is important on your rubber tree as soon as it’s been repotted and positioned in a brand new spot. Unsure about the perfect spot to place your plant?
Gentle
This plant likes to drink up the sunshine, so placement in your house is essential to take care of a wholesome plant. The very first thing when selecting a spot is to make it possible for it doesn’t have a draft, isn’t close to a vent, or has an AC unit blowing on it.
The plant will most definitely drop leaves (or it could die) whether it is close to a draft. The rubber bushes thrive on an indoor temperature of 60-70 levels Fahrenheit. Discover a place in your house with medium to vivid gentle. Brighter gentle will assist your plant develop sooner.
Should you put it in a darker spot of a room it could grow to be “leggy” because it tries to stretch towards the sunshine. In case your plant is “reaching” then simply place it in a brighter spot. The rubber tree has some lovely variegated species that do require extra gentle.
The tricolor variegated species has inexperienced, white and pink in its leaves. The white within the leaf requires extra gentle because of lack of chlorophyll ranges. They will “burn” simply so regulate the leaves.
They’ll inform you if they’re getting an excessive amount of gentle. If there may be any brown on the tip (burning), which means there may be an excessive amount of gentle hitting your variegated plant.
Again to the non-variegated rubber tree. What in the event you don’t have nice window gentle otherwise you’re apprehensive about your room being too darkish? Inserting a mirror by the plant will assist bounce extra gentle onto your plant.
One other tip to create a brighter surroundings is a white room. White paint will bounce extra gentle round! Appears so easy, but it surely actually is efficient in serving to with a low gentle state of affairs in a room.
If you wish to get most gentle in your rubber tree, then make sure that the leaves are freed from mud. I’ve discovered that the rubber tree can get fairly dusty, so examine the leaves each few weeks for mud buildup.
If there may be mud current, then a humid fabric will work nice to take away it. When dusting the rubber tree, watch out with new leaves. The brand new, skinny leaves are very fragile and if broken whereas they’re younger, then the injury will keep on the leaf its complete life.
When dusting mature leaves, ensure you place your hand underneath the leaf for help. Additional strain on the leaf might trigger it to snap whereas dusting. This has occurred to me earlier than and it’s fairly unhappy.
When it snaps, there might be a white sap-like liquid that comes from the leaf the place it was indifferent from the department. It’s utterly regular however it could irritate some folks’s pores and skin, so wash fingers simply in case it will get in your pores and skin.
Watering
Discovering a constant watering rhythm on your tree will assist provide the confidence it’s essential preserve your plant alive and wholesome for years to come back. If the leaves begin to droop a bit, then you realize your plant may be very thirsty.
Rubber bushes prefer to dry out however they don’t prefer to grow to be bone dry. One other solution to inform in case your plant is de facto thirsty is whenever you’re watering and the water runs out rapidly by the soil. Soil with extra moisture will take longer to empty. If the water runs straight by, then give it one other good soak.
The rubber tree enjoys beneficiant watering however make sure that it has time to dry out to keep away from root rot (this occurs when the plant is waterlogged or if it sits in water too lengthy).
If root rot occurs. then your plant doesn’t have an incredible probability of dwelling anymore, so keep away from overwatering in any respect prices. As a rule of thumb, let the highest 2/3 of your plant’s soil dry out earlier than watering your rubber tree once more.
You can even stick your finger within the soil 3-4 inches) and really feel if there may be any moisture or choose up the pot and really feel if the submit is heavy from holding moisture. After watering your rubber tree, if any water drains into your saucer, discard the additional water so the plant doesn’t sit in water and get root rot.
Watering period will rely in your local weather and humidity ranges. Should you reside in a drier local weather, then your plant will should be watered extra incessantly. As soon as you determine your plant’s rhythm/period of drying out, a watering routine must be very easy to stick to. This plant loves consistency and can develop higher with a gentle routine.
Pruning
The rubber tree can develop tall if left unpruned. If left unpruned, your tree could have one lengthy trunk. If that is your required look, then nice! It will make your tree develop vertical sooner!
Should you’d prefer to have extra of a “bushy” tree, then you should utilize your fingers and pinch off a brand new rising tip to advertise the plant to create extra branches.
Should you snip or prune a department, then that half will break up into two branches as soon as the brand new development is available in. Pruning is an thrilling behavior that produces nice outcomes over time.
Fertilizing
The rubber tree likes to be fed with fertilizer to advertise development. Fertilize your tree within the spring/summer season (the rising season), however again off within the fall/winter months. Fertilizing your plant each different watering session is an effective rule of thumb.
I like utilizing a liquid fertilizer that I can add to my water.
Realizing my fertilizer is a liquid provides me the peace of thoughts that the fertilizer is evenly distributed all through the water (in contrast to granules or a powder combine). When selecting fertilizer, it is going to have three letters on the package deal: NPK.
The “N” stands for Nitrogen. Nitrogen helps with chlorophyll manufacturing, which ends up in photosynthesis, which ends up in a much bigger, more healthy plant! The “P” stands for Phosphorus. Phosphorus helps with preserving the roots of your plant wholesome and promotes root development.
The final letter “Okay” stands for Potassium. Potassium helps your plant distribute vitamins. It additionally helps your plant struggle off illness. Consider it as an immunity booster on your plant! A regular fertilizer for houseplants will work nice on your rubber tree.
Ensure to learn the label of your fertilizer and comply with the directions. I like utilizing half of the beneficial fertilizer quantity with the rubber tree. Utilizing an excessive amount of fertilizer could cause your plant to burn.
Burning implies that too many vitamins have been saved within the root system they usually can not settle for/soak up water anymore. If there’s a probability that your plant has had an excessive amount of fertilizer then give it a very good watering to flush the roots. Don’t fertilize the subsequent week in order that your plant has time to recuperate and relaxation.
What if Your Rubber Tree is Dropping Leaves?
While you repot your rubber tree or transfer it, it is vitally frequent for it to drop a few leaves because of shock. Previous leaves will fall off right here and there as they age out as nicely. That is completely regular!
What in case your rubber tree drops a bunch of leaves on the similar time? This isn’t regular and it might be because of overwatering or different points. In case your tree’s leaves start to droop, flip yellow and finally fall off, then that is most definitely because of overwatering.
The yellowing of the leaves known as Chlorosis. Chlorosis implies that chlorophyll just isn’t forming in your plant. It’s wonderful that vegetation can inform you what they want by their coloration.
In case your leaf is popping yellow, it’s doubtless a name for assist. Again off watering and ensure your plant is drying out between watering in order that it doesn’t get waterlogged.
If it continues to occur, pop your plant out of the pot and examine for root rot. The quickest solution to inform in case your plant has succumbed to root rot is discovering mushy, black or darkish roots. Should you see this, typically your plant will be saved however there’s a probability the roots are completed and the plant received’t make it.
Should you can, snip the lifeless roots out of the foundation system and place the plant in a pot of recent soil (not the waterlogged soil from the earlier pot). Give your plant a while and hopefully it is going to come again to life!
Another excuse your plant’s leaves might be turning yellow is a scarcity of sunshine. If so, then set your plant in a brighter spot so it could absorb extra solar. The solar is like medication on your plant and this might treatment your leaf drop drawback. Additionally, make sure that the plant just isn’t close to a draft as this will even trigger the leaves to drop.
The rubber tree’s temperament is fairly easygoing and it’s a welcome boost to any plant lover’s house. I hope the following pointers assist and also you’re in a position to take pleasure in your rubber tree for years to come back! -Janae
