How Often Do You Water A Rubber Plant

Ficus Elastica Water-colored leaves Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels

How to intendance for a Ficus Elastica (Rubber Tree)

With its big, almost water-colored, leaves, the Ficus Elastica (as well know equally the Rubber Found or Tree) is a constitute you can't miss. It's leaves don't wait similar they could be existent, but luckily for united states of america as found enthusiasts, it's a very real plant.

The Ficus Elastica is native to Republic of india and Indonesia, so if you're trying to grow it there, you're in luck! The Ficus Elastica might not be the best plant for beginning plant owners, because it doesn't tolerate improper lighting or watering very well. If you're new to plants, you might want to accept a look at a Monstera or Alocasia before you endeavor your luck with a Prophylactic Tree.

If you're still here, congratulations! You've got a houseplant with some of the most beautiful looking (green) leaves. In this guide, nosotros're going to look at how you tin can take care of this plant and how you lot can continue it happy.

Nosotros'll going over these topics:

Watering your Ficus Elastica
The perfect pot for your Ficus
Calorie-free needs for your Rubber Tree
The perfect soil for your Ficus Elastica
Fertilizing your Safe Plant
Toxicity levels for your pets

Let's swoop right in and get to know your houseplant a little flake ameliorate! Allow'southward see what information technology needs to be a happy and thriving role of your business firm.

Watering your Ficus Elastica

Large leaf on a Ficus Elastica

The Ficus Elastica is a plant that's very sensitive to overwatering. It doesn't like to exist moisture, but likewise doesn't do well when it's in dry out soil. It's best to go along its soil moist nigh of the time and you should water it when the top 1 inch (2.5 cm) of the soil is dry out. How frequently yous should water your institute depends on a lot of things, but on average, yous should h2o your institute once per calendar week in the summer and once every 2 weeks in the winter.

Your Prophylactic Tree is very sensitive to overwatering, so when you take accidentally overwatered information technology, you can expect leaves to fall off. These leaves will turn yellow first then brown, earlier falling off.

When you detect the leaves turning yellow and brownish, make sure to stop watering it and get rid of any backlog moisture.

The perfect pot for your Ficus

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The perfect pot for plants that are sensitive to overwatering is a pot with drainage holes. These drainage holes prevent that excess moisture stays backside in the bottom of the pot. When your plant is continuing in water (having wet feet), it'due south at hazard of getting root rot and this volition kill your Ficus, unfortunately. The drainage holes help the moisture to escape the pot, so you plant is never standing in a layer of water.

Then your Ficus doesn't like to have wet feet, what does this mean for choosing a pot? It means that yous should choose a pot that can go rid of moisture quickly. The best type of pot that helps yous become rid of backlog wet quickly is a terracotta pot. This blazon of pot evaporates excess moisture quickly and helps your soil exhale.

It's all-time to skip plastic or glass pots as these types of pots don't allow the soil exhale and don't permit wet through.

Low-cal needs for your Rubber Tree

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New leaf on a Ficus Elastica

A Ficus Elastica likes bright indirect sunlight. Its bright and variegated leaves adopt a bright spot to get enough sunlight to help it stay healthy. Yet, if you don't take a bright spot bachelor at the moment, your Ficus also tolerates a spot with less sunlight. If y'all desire to keep your Ficus happy long term, it'southward best to put it in a brighter spot.

The perfect soil for your Ficus Elastica

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Ficus Elastica leaves in sunlight Photo by Tiia Pakk from Pexels

Earlier, we've discovered that the Ficus Elastica doesn't tolerate overwatering very well. It's much easier to keep your plant happy without overwatering it by using a well-draining soil. Your Ficus Elastica does like to stay in moist soil though, so we need soil that tin retain wet, but bleed away any excess water.

The perfect soil mix for a Ficus Elastica is a soil that contains something like peat moss or coconut coir to retain the moisture for a few days. The soil should likewise exist well draining, so you tin can add things like Perlite, Leca, or Smart Gravel. With the combination of the h2o retaining ingredients and water draining parts, you lot'll accept soil that retains water, but drains any excess h2o. This helps your plant stay hydrated, but not get overwatered.

If you lot want to find out more almost helping your soil retain more moisture, "How to make your soil retain more than water?" might help you.

Fertilizing your Rubber Plant

Node on a Ficus Elastica

Your Ficus Elastica is a constitute that grows quite chop-chop. In its natural growing environs, in India and Republic of indonesia, it grows very tall, ordinarily several meters tall. Indoors, it can also grow alpine and it's upwardly to you lot how tall you allow it to get. If you like its height, y'all can trim the plant dorsum and/or propagate information technology.

Your Ficus Elastica grows quickly, which ways y'all need to fertilize it occasionally. During the growing flavour, the spring and summertime, you should fertilize information technology around every 2 weeks with liquid fertilizer. When you fertilize it occasionally, you help information technology to grow healthy and you make sure the plant has enough energy to put out new leaves.

Toxicity levels for your pets

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Your Ficus Elastica has a fitting nickname: Rubber Tree. This proper name is fitting, considering your plant'southward sap contains latex. Because the sap contains latex information technology's considered to be toxic and you should go along information technology away from pets and young children. However, if you have some pet reptiles, like chameleons, rubber tree is a popular tank setups for them. Featuring thick and glossy green leaves and sturdy stalks for climbing, this establish tin easily become the center of the entire habitat. You can review all these in ReptilesLife.com. If you take a latex allergy, exist careful when treatment this institute. It's important to wash your hands later on handling this establish or wiping downwardly its leaves.

Determination

The Ficus Elastica is a plant with some of the most unreal looking leaves y'all can find. It's a found that's keen for those of y'all who like a niggling chip of a challenge. It'south not a nifty plant for beginners, because it's not very forgiving and has quite specific plant care requirements. The perfect spot for your Ficus is a spot with bright indirect sunlight. Make sure to continue it'southward soil moist, but not wet. Your Ficus doesn't like to take wet feet, then make sure your pot has drainage holes.

Thanks for reading this post! I promise it helps you to go along your plants healthy and cute! If y'all're looking for more than guides on specific plants, you can always request a institute guide or donate a found in lodge to become a guide for the found you have problem with.

Tags: tropical, moisture-loving, ficus

Posted on: Jun 26, 2021 Last updated on: December 10, 2021