My first one of these and I’ve had it for about a year now. Kinda new to houseplants in general. Any tips help.

Hey everyone,

I’m a bit confused about my rubber plant (Ficus elastica) and whether I should change anything or just leave it alone.

Summer (when I got it)

• Got the plant in summer. It has two stems
• Placed it near a wall at the end of a west-facing window (bright indirect light, but not directly in front of the glass)
• Went through normal acclimation
• After settling in, it started a strong growth phase and was pushing new leaves. Happy me
• One leaf came out slightly damaged/deformed (plant otherwise looked fine)
• Both stems produced red sheaths (new growth points), but they stalled and never pushed new leaves

Winter

• Growth slowed/stopped (which I expected)
• No real change in the stalled red sheath — it stayed in place

Spring (current conditions)

• Moved plant to the front of the same west-facing window (much brighter, more direct light exposure)
• Has been in this brighter spot for about 2 months now
• Still no restart in growth
• The same red sheath from last year is still there — firm/smooth, but not elongating or opening

Watering

• Earlier: watered on a rough schedule (about every 2 weeks, ~2 cups each time)
• Currently: switched to watering only when topsoil dries out, then watering thoroughly and letting excess drain out
• Nursery pot has good drainage

Soil

• Still original soil from the plant store (has not been repotted since purchase)
• Not sure of exact mix or quality

Current condition

• Leaves are firm and healthy-looking
• No yellowing or leaf drop
• No pests that I can see
• Overall plant looks healthy, just “stuck”

What I’m wondering

• Is this normal rubber plant behavior indoors (long stall phase)?
• Did it simply need the brighter front-window position earlier, and now just needs more time?
• Or is the growth point likely done, meaning I should expect a new one instead?
• Should I consider checking roots or leave it undisturbed?

Trying not to overreact or keep moving it around, but also don’t want it sitting stagnant for months if something is off.

Any thoughts appreciated.

I got this Ficus in March, put it outside but it seemed to be getting sunburnt so moved it back to this spot in early April. I don’t water it often at all, using a soil meter to check when the bottom is dry. Maybe every 3 weeks? I’ve sprayed with insecticides but haven’t noticed any bugs (aside from my pesky fungus gnat issue). I’ve cut off some leaves here and there and it’s got new growth coming through but I just don’t know why it won’t stop drooping 😭

Pictures 1-4 - today
Picture 5 - end of April
Picture 6 - day I got it, mid March

Any advice?? I haven’t looked at the roots yet since I was out of soil for a while..

I've had this little tree for a few years now and I always marvel at the colors and patterns on the leaves, they look almost painted on.

Essentially, I think I might have mealy bugs on my ficus, pictures below. I am new to this so I am hoping that I am wrong. I read that I can use a diluted 50% rubbing alcohol mix with distilled alcohol and a couple of drops of dawn dish soap in a spray bottle then spray the leaves. Will it die or survive? Thank you!! Edit: 1st Time Owner who is panicking.

Hello! First time plant owner. I bought a ficus Benjamina a little over a month ago. It has currently lost 90% of its leaves. I do see new shoots propping up. I'm not sure what the issue is.

It was given to me with fast draining soil. So much that when I give it water, it immediately comes out the bottom but some does get absorbed.

I took it out to see what was going on and Claude AI told me that a plant my size should've developed better roots by now. It's suggesting I repot with a better soil mixture.

Earlier it also suggested Neem Oil in case of pests.

I know I'm using AI but I genuinely didn't know what else to do.

It's in an east facing window, I water it once in two weeks now (earlier I had accidentally watered it once a week but was told here that was too often).

I keep indoor temp at 70-72°F. I have a humidifier around it too.

I was gifted this Ficus Elastica Robusta Rubber Plant by my sister around 5 years ago at 17cm. It has been on 3 different sized pots in that time and has grown considerably. Just wondering if it need another bigger pot

Sooo… I cut the top off my Tineke about two months ago, and it’s only branching out on one side so far. There seems to be another node just below it, but it hasn’t really started developing yet. Do you think I should cut it one node lower, or just wait a bit longer in case it’s simply taking its time?

Anyone had experience with a fig tree like this?

Hi all -

It's finally warm enough to put my f. Elastica outside and try the "side branching by laying down" experiment.

Is... this this literally all I do?

It's under some spruce trees to provide morning sun but protection from direct afternoon light (this usually lives in my bedroom so very indirect window light with grow light supplement is what it's used to)

If this worked for you, how long did you leave it on it's side before you saw that it was working?

Thanks!

How would you change things to help it grow more leaves? Is my pot too big? I water it once a week and it is in full morning sun on the balcony.

This happened yesterday afternoon. I stressed and ordered all the things I needed to make a good soil mix last night off of Amazon. Everything came in today! Went to get a new pot. I got a plastic nursery pot to put it into.

I had absolutely nothing to place this poor plant in until I am able to put it in its new home. It’s been in a bucket since the fall.

Will it be okay? I had JUST watered it the day before so the roots were wet. It was in need of repotting but I didn’t want it to happen this way. I feel so bad for it. It fell off of a table. I left it there for a split second. Then whoosh 💨 the wind knocked it over!

Any advice??? What to do and what NOT to do? I want to clip the top and propagate it for sure because it’s very top heavy.

This appeared in the last couple on months on my 50 year old ficus. What is it?

just wondering what soil would be best for this plant. my MIL found it in a dumpster. it currently has gnats but i’m working to get rid of them and think (hope) repotting will be helpful!

google says it’s a ficus microcarpa, not sure if it’s true but it looks to be! any advice is helpful!

TIA

Hello Everyone,

I have a Ficus Audrey for like 4 months, bought it from a market. Everything went well for like 1 month then it started getting yellow leaf's then starting falling. (please see the first picture), then only 6 leaf's remained (second picture).

I changed the compost with a green plants compost and Perlite and it started to grow leaf's again (currently at 3 new leaf's) (picture 3) but only on the top and my plan is to cut it in order to get more branches.

I'm watering it every other week when the compost gets dry, and I placed it in front of a window with indirect sunlight.

My questions are:

1. Is there something else that made him lose leaf's? Note that in the old compost there were no bugs etc.

2. When should i cut it and from where? I don't want him to die because the leaf's are mainly on the top now.

Thank you!

I bought this little Teneke Ruby on 75% off clearance at Lowes about a month ago, and decided to grow it on my patio (zone 10), where it gets direct sun for about little over half the day. It's has grown two BRIGHT scarlet leaves in the high-light conditions. So pretty.

I’ve never had one of these…they’ve been on my plant wishlist for ages, solely because of how my dad grew this beautiful tree.

Luckily for me, he’s moving and I was graciously gifted the plant so they didn’t have to drive across the state with a 5’8 tree.

He didn’t give me care instructions as it’s “a tree that grows. cut it, water it. just take care of it.” He’s the most casual and unconcerned naturalist/outdoorsman i know. everything he grows thrives, i don’t get it!!

This was just brought to my home ~45 mins ago and the placement of the plant is privy to how it was set up at his house. (Same orientation to window was well, has it possibly been reaching for more light at his estate?)

I do know I definitely need to give it a lot more support- there’s one 4ft. iron rod in the middle that’s definitely been grown over. Should I possibly trim it? I don’t know how to give a tree a haircut, or even if i should!! (if i choose to, is propagation possible?)

If this was yours, what would you do?! or leave it be?! I want to just leave it be… I’m feeling so many emotions about a plant right now, and I’ve done so much online/blog research, that has just led me to being nervous about fucking it up and scared i’m gonna kill my “heirloom.” Ugh! 😵‍💫

So, I’m here to ask the plant side of reddit, and curious if anybody has first hand experience/knowledge on these plants or even just plants of this size and stature…I’d kiss you on the lips for any tidbits of knowledge! (respectfully, of course.)

TLDR; how the HELL should I ensure this big boy keeps thriving? I have a semi-green thumb, and quite a few other plants. Never a “tree” or ficus. This is the oldest & most sentimental plant i’ve acquired, and I really want to give it the best life possible. Advice?