How Often Do I Water Rubber Plant

Everything Y'all Need to Know for Your Safe Tree Constitute Intendance

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In recent years, the ubiquitous fiddle leaf fig has dominated all other entrants in the competition for most pop in-house tree-like plants. Only nosotros recall it'due south fourth dimension to give this understated but stately tree — with its large, deep green leaves — a second expect and another gamble. Here's how to maintain a rubber plant as a hitting role of your dwelling decor for years to come.

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About Condom Plants

Safe trees, formally ficus elastica, tin can be enjoyed as either medium-sized house plants or grown to become focal point, beautiful indoor copse. If you're patient plenty to grow your own, plants that outset out younger when you buy them adapt better to indoor living than starting with a more than mature found. They tin grow to impressive heights inside a few years, especially if you put the plants outside during the summertime. Keeping the plants in small-scale pots will restrict their growth, if you desire to go along them smaller.

(Image credit: Emily Billings)

Soil for Condom Plants

Rubber plants don't like to sit in water, so a well-draining soil is important. Business firm Constitute Expert suggests, in particular, that a "well-draining and well-aerated potting soil is needed. 1 office peat, 1 office pine bark and 1 part fibroid sand (or perlite) is a good mix."

Low-cal Requirements

Safety plants similar bright low-cal and a lot of it, simply not direct sunlight. A sunny spot shielded by a sheer curtain is oft perfect for rubber plants. You can tell if your prophylactic plant needs more calorie-free if information technology becomes leggy, its leaves lose their luster, and lower leaves fall off.

Watering and Fertilizing Your Safe Plant

Condom plants' water needs vary co-ordinate to season: In the growing flavor (summer), the establish should be kept moist. This includes wiping the leaves with a damp cloth or fifty-fifty misting them. During the dormant season, your found may only need water once or twice a month. Watch for droopy leaves, which indicate a need for more water. Leaves that turn yellow and chocolate-brown and drop signal over-watering.

Mist during any flavor if they air is too dry, especially heated dry out air similar that which might occur during wintertime indoors.

Another tip is to h2o with lukewarm water. Flower Store Network explains, "Let cold tap water to stand until room temperature equally this allows chlorine to evaporate and reduces the daze that cold h2o can cause to constitute roots."

Fertilize your rubber plant during the growing season only, every bit is typical with most indoor plants.

(Image credit: Emily Billings)

Pruning and Re-potting Rubber Plants

Aside from removing dead or dying leaves, condom plants don't require much pruning. However, for shaping, proceed the following in listen: Don't cut off the top until your plant reaches the desired height. When y'all practice cutting off the pinnacle, your plant will co-operative out. Y'all can always prune to your desired shape by cutting back unruly branches. Pruning in spring or summer is best merely not absolutely necessary.

If yous don't re-pot your plants, they will non grow. Even so, don't put rubber plants in pots that are too big. Transplanting to pots that are near an inch bigger in diameter than the previous pot is a skilful rule of thumb.

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Propagating Rubber Plants

Once your friends and family see how gorgeous your prophylactic plant is, they'll probably want one of their ain. Although information technology doesn't always work perfectly, rubber plants are one of those plants that you can just hack a piece from and stick in soil and they can grow. Allowing the sap to dry, dipping the cut in rooting medium, and adding a heating pad under the pot with the cutting in information technology tin can increase your chances of success.

You lot tin as well air layer, which Gardening Know How explains: "Some other method, called air layering, is where you make a cutting in a healthy prophylactic tree houseplant, put a toothpick in the hole, so pack damp moss around the cut. After that, yous wrap information technology with plastic wrap to keep the moisture level higher. One time roots begin to appear, cut the branch off and institute."

To promote new leaf growth where leaves have fallen, cut a notch in the node from which the foliage cruel.

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Indoor vs. Outdoors

If you alive in U.S. zones 10 and 11, you tin grow rubber plants outdoors. (If you are able to protect them during the winter, zone 9 is possible as well.) Otherwise, go on them in a container to bring in during the colder months, one time it dips to 30 degrees. Place them in shade, or dappled dominicus, where they tin abound up to 100 feet. Due to their size, they brand cracking space dividers and privacy screening on patios and decks.