Rubber Tree (Ficus Elastica) Floradania

HanifMR.com - The rubber tree with its dark green, smooth leaves is a welcome guest in the living room. With these tips, you will enjoy it for a long time.

Characteristics

Rubber Tree (Ficus Elastica) Characteristics Photo by Severin Candrian on Unsplash

General

Rubber Tree (Ficus Elastica) in General Photo by Beazy on Unsplash

The rubber tree (Ficus Elastica) belongs to the genus Ficus and is considered a classic indoor plant. While it was still present in many living rooms and offices until the 1980s, people were "fed up" with it afterward. Today he's making a comeback again. In its native East India and Indonesia, the evergreen fig species, which belongs to the mulberry family, is between 20 and 25 meters high, and its trunk is up to two meters thick.

The rubber tree came to Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. As a houseplant, it is valued above all for its dark green, coarse and smooth leaves. Like the Ficus and other species of the genus, Ficus secretes the rubber tree in cattle injuries latex-containing secretions from, can gain from the one natural rubber. However, the rubber tree (Hevea Brasiliensis) is predominantly found on tropical rubber plantations, as it is more productive.

Growth and Flowering

As a houseplant, the rubber tree grows to around 100 to 200 centimeters high and 80 to 100 centimeters wide, depending on the location and size of the pot. Its leathery leaves, up to 30 centimeters long, are alternate, with entire margins and broadly oval with pronounced leaf tips. They have two to five centimeters long petioles. The upper side of the leaf shines - depending on the variety - dark green or variegated yellow. The underside is light green. The flowering of Ficus Elastica appears rather seldom in potted plants. It has to be pollinated by the fig wasp to develop seeds. The fruit of the rubber tree is a small, yellowish-green oval but inedible fig. If the location is sufficiently bright, the rubber tree forms a broad, branched crown. On the other hand, in unfavorable light conditions, the central shoot often branches only sparsely or not at all.

Location and Substrate

The rubber tree prefers light to partially shaded and warm locations at room temperature. The temperature should not drop below 18 degrees Celsius, and you should avoid drafts. Conventional houseplant or green plant soil, or sandy soil with a high proportion of coconut fiber, are suitable substrates. In summer, you can also cultivate the Ficus Elastica outdoors on the balcony or terrace. However, it must be in partial shade here so that the leaves do not burn.

Rubber Tree (Ficus Elastica 'Abidjan') Flora Press/Visions

Watering and Fertilizing

Ficus Elastica Burgundy out from the shower. Photo by CJ Dayrit on Unsplash

Care mistakes can quickly occur when watering the rubber tree: You should water it rather moderately and only when the surface has dried off again. To keep the root ball too moist and avoid waterlogging, it can make sense to completely submerge the soil ball in water from time to time until it is soaked with water. Then he can go back to his usual place, where he feeds on the damp earth for a longer time. In spring and summer, you can feed the rubber tree with green plant fertilizer every two weeks. Repotting makes sense when the root ball is completely rooted.

Further Care Tips

Since the rubber tree leaves are very large, dust settles on them over time, which stands out well against the dark green smooth surface and, therefore, sooner or later, becomes a visual problem. For cleaning, you can put the entire Ficus Elastica in the shower and rinse it off, provided it is not too big. Before doing this, but the inner pot with the root ball in a plastic bag so that the soil does not get soaked. To prevent limescale stains, you should wipe the leaves with a soft cloth after the shower. You can also rub the leaves with a cloth soaked in beer to make them shine again. Young rubber trees grow quite quickly in good light conditions and should be given a slightly larger pot every two years in spring.

Rubber trees are also quite easy to pruning. If the tree isn't branching on its own, you can cut the central shoot over a leaf to encourage the formation of side branches. However, a dense crown only forms under good light conditions, i.e., on a large south-facing window or in the winter garden. If possible, cut the rubber tree outdoors, as you can hardly get the milky sap stains out of the carpet and clothing. Only when the secretion has dried well at the interface should you bring the Ficus Elastica back into the house.

Propagation

Anyone looking to propagate a rubber tree has several methods to choose from. On the one hand, it can be propagated by cuttings that can be cut from the side shoots. Then remove all leaves from the cuttings except for the upper one and lightly dry the interfaces here. Shorten the cutting from the top leaf to about six to eight centimeters and then place it in a narrow glass filled to a third with water. You should change the water every two days. As an alternative, you can use the cutting also put it directly into a pot with slightly moistened potting soil. Then cover the pot with foil or put it in a foil bag. It is closed with clothespins and ventilated from time to time. After about four to eight weeks, the cuttings will have roots in both cases with a bit of luck.

The rubber tree "bleeds" a little at the severed points, and white sap comes out. It is best to dab this off with a cloth and let it dry at the interface.

In spring, new plants can be obtained by mossing to rejuvenate old rubber trees and grow a new tree. The prerequisite is that the plant has as many leaves as possible. Under the leaf knot - usually the fourth pair of leaves from the tip - first make a horizontal cut with a sharp knife, and below that, make a cut through the center of the trunk at an upward angle. Then you have to spread the cut surface with a small wedge or a wooden stick. Place a well-soaked bale of moss around the open interface, press it down and wrap it with cling film. Tie the moss-foil package above and below the notch with some raffia. After about six weeks, roots should form on the wound.

Propagating Rubber Tree: The Best Methods

Anyone looking to propagate a rubber tree has several methods to choose from. We explain the individual steps.

The Rubber Tree (Ficus Elastica) is a popular houseplant that can be reproduced in spring. Stretcher

The desire to propagate a rubber tree is becoming more and more common. The advantages of the evergreen houseplant cannot be dismissed out of hand: With its large leaves, Ficus Elastica looks very decorative, and the green roommate is extremely easy to care for. Since fresh, germinable seeds are only very rarely available, the propagation of the rubber tree by sowing is usually not practicable. Hobby gardeners can also use other propagation methods. Whether by cuttings or so-called mossing: The best time to multiply the rubber tree is usually spring.

How Can You Propagate a Rubber Tree?

Rubber Tree (Ficus Elastica) Beside White Wall Photo by Eli Siváková on Unsplash

• Cut off the head cuttings below a leaf attachment point and let them root in a pot with potting soil or a glass with water.
• As knot or eye cuttings, cut off woody pieces of a shoot with a well-trained eye and let them root
• To remove moss, cut into the trunk of the rubber tree horizontally and wrap a damp ball of moss around the cut.

Method 1: Propagate Rubber Tree by Cuttings from the Head

A rubber tree can be propagated particularly easily by cuttings from the head. To do this:

1. Cut off healthy, soft shoot tips that are five to ten centimeters long.
2. Use a sharp knife to cut the cuttings and make the cut at an angle below a point where the leaves are attached.
3. Remove all the lower leaves - only the top one remains.

To stop the milky juice from escaping, you can dab the interfaces with a cloth or put them in a glass of warm water.

Anyone who propagates a rubber tree with head cuttings can use glass as protection against evaporation. Friedrich Strauss

For rooting, the cuttings are placed in a pot with fresh, slightly moistened potting soils. The challenge: Due to the large leaf areas, the rubber tree evaporates a lot of moisture. To limit evaporation, you roll up the leaf and fix it with a raffia or a rubber ring to a wooden stick that you also put in the pot. Then cover the cutting with a foil, plastic cover, plastic bag, or glass - this measure also protects against evaporation. It helps to prevent the cutting from drying out so quickly. However, to ventilate it, the protection should be removed every few days. The cutting is placed in a bright, warm place in the room (at least 25 degrees Celsius in the air and ground) but without direct sunlight.

Alternatively, you can put the cuttings in a narrow glass of water to root them before they are potted. Just remember to change the water every few days. Whether in soil or water: The cuttings should have developed enough roots within four to eight weeks. When cuttings that have been planted in soil sprout, it is a sign that strong roots have been developed.

Method 2: Propagate Rubber Tree by Knot Cuttings

Rubber Tree (Ficus Elastica) Photo by Elle Lumière on Unsplash

For large-leaved Ficus species such as the rubber tree, propagation using a knot or eye cuttings is also recommended. A leafy, woody sprout piece with a well-developed eye, about two to three centimeters long, serves as a cutting. Place the cutting in a single pot with potting soil and protect it - as described above - from drying out until the roots have taken root.

Method 3: Propagate Rubber Tree by Mossing

Mossing has proven itself as a method of propagation for large-leaved plants such as the rubber tree. Flora Press / BIOSPHOTO / Jean-Michel Groult

Mossing is another method of propagation that is particularly beneficial for large-leaved plants such as the rubber tree or the indoor aralia. The method is primarily used to obtain two smaller plants from a very large plant. To moss an older rubber tree, the trunk is cut horizontally about below the third or fourth leaf base - the cut should be inclined upwards and up to a maximum of half of the trunk. For faster rooting, you can also dust the cut surface with rooting powder. In addition, a match or a small wedge is clamped into the notch to prevent the interface from growing together.

The interface is wrapped in a bag or sleeve made of dark plastic film. Tie this underneath the notch, fill the foil with damp moss and tie it to the trunk above. Alternatively, a soaked moss ball is placed around the wound, wrapped in cling film, and tied above and below the cut.

After about six weeks, the rubber tree has successfully reproduced if roots have formed: You can remove the rooted upper part and plant it in soil rich in humus. But be careful: so that the still tender roots do not tear off, you should always remove the foil very carefully after the roots have formed. Leaves usually sprout again from the remaining lower part.

Diseases and Pests

The rubber tree is generally considered to be robust against diseases and pests. When pests colonize the plant, it is often mealybugs or scale insects. You can recognize an infestation by the fact that the leaves dry up and turn yellow. As a countermeasure, the rubber tree should be isolated from the other indoor plants immediately. Neem oil can help fight plant lice. A mixture of paraffin oil, water, and washing-up liquid that you spray onto the leaves and rinsing off the leaves have proven effective countermeasures. Ficus Elastica is also very often afflicted by fungus gnats or soft skin mites.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• Why is the Rubber Tree Called That?

  Like the Rubber Tree (Hevea Brasiliensis), the Rubber Tree (Ficus Elastica) also secretes a latex-containing secretion when the bark is damaged. The well-known natural rubber can be extracted. It is used to manufacture rubber. However, the natural rubber obtained commercially mostly comes from the rubber tree, as it is more productive.

• Where Does the Rubber Tree Come from?

  The rubber tree originally comes from East India and Indonesia. At the beginning of the 19th century, the rubber tree was brought to us in Europe.
• How Big Does a Rubber Tree Get?

  As a houseplant, the rubber tree can grow between one and two meters high and up to one meter wide.
• Which Soil is Suitable for the Rubber Tree?

  Normal indoor or green plant soil and sandy soil with a high coconut fiber content are suitable as a substrate.
• Which Fertilizer is Suitable for the Rubber Tree?

  It is best to fertilize the rubber tree every two weeks with green plant fertilizer in spring and summer.
• How often do you have to water the rubber tree?

  You should water the rubber tree moderately. Only when the soil has dried on the surface, do you have to use the watering can. Alternatively, you can immerse the root ball in water until it is soaked.