Because of its large , shining , tropic - face leaves and informality of growth , caoutchouc tree(Ficus elastica ) is a popular houseplant that grows 2 to 10 feet improbable indoors . It ’s brave in U.S. Department of Agriculture industrial plant hardiness zones 10 through 12 , where rubber Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree unremarkably grows between 25 and 30 foot mellow and wide outdoors . Outside of the Torrid Zone it seldom flower or forms yield . A number of cultivars with different leaf colors are useable . golosh Tree command minimum care when grown in right conditions .
Soil or Growing Medium
In the landscape painting , rubber tree is kind of most grease types , including loam , sand and clay , as long as it has effective drainage . For container plants , apply a quality commercial-grade houseplant potting premix and a container with drainage cakehole . If you plan to encumber the size of an indoor India rubber flora , provide it to become potbound and do n’t transplant it to a with child pot size once it ’s the desired size of it you want .
Watering Needs
Do n’t keep arctic plants constantly moist . Leaf drop can happen when the soil is too dry or kept too wet . Allow the top 2 inches of the soil or growing intermixture to dry out out between lachrymation . When the plant life is n’t actively develop during gloam and wintertime , reduce lachrymation even further . If you have a discus beneath your rubber Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ’s container , do n’t grant standing water system to stay in the saucer . Empty it as presently as it has collected .
Light Requirements
Indoors , give rubber tree shining , indirect light or dappled spook , and protect industrial plant from lineal good afternoon sun . If kept in too dark a location , plants can cast leaves and become more susceptible to pests and disease . outside , prophylactic Tree tolerate sun , fond shade or shade , except in the red-hot summertime areas , where direct good afternoon Sunday can blister the leave .
Fertilizer Needs
When your rubber Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is actively raise , fertilize it once a calendar month with a general function piss - soluble fertiliser such as 24 - 8 - 16 , and mix it half - strength . For indoor plant life , this would be 1/4 teaspoon per 1 gallon of water . For outdoor plants , utilise 1 1/2 teaspoons of plant food per 1 gallon of weewee . blockade fecundate plants in the fall and do n’t fertilize them during winter months .
Pruning Rubber Trees
Prune natural rubber Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in the saltation before new growth starts for the time of year . Before clip condom trees , clean the pruning shears with a cloth dip in rubbing alcohol to prevent disease . The plants bleed white , whitish sap abundantly from pruning wound . This is normal and does n’t harm the industrial plant . Protect story and other household surfaces from dripping sap . Outdoors , put down a tarp or plastic to entrance sap from large specimen when clip . have on baseball mitt and long - sleeved shirt to protect your skin . Prune young landscaping plant to break a single trunk and a secure branching habit . . For indoor plant , remove branch tip in area of the rubber tree diagram where you want decreased works size and increase bushiness . ordinarily tip - pruning involves removing only the subdivision ’s final shoot , but depending on the branch distance you may wish to take off one or two leaves as well as the shoot . Cut off branches just above a leafage or a leaf scar . Allow outdoor plants to hold back their canopy to prevent leaf scald .
Cold Protection
Locate landscape gardening tree diagram in a strong smirch such as against a edifice or wall that reflects heat or where the background is slightly high so the insensate air can drain away . Cover the tree with freeze blankets held off the foliation if the temperature near freezing . In colder areas , bring plants indoors before the first frost is predicted for your surface area . Leaf drop can occur when indoor plant life are situate in a draughty area that ’s too moth-eaten and out of doors when temperatures drop to freezing .
Disease and Pests
References
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