They can be a bit tricky to put under grow lights because they’re so big – the professional ones that hang from the ceiling work, but the aesthetic leaves something to be desired.

The cheap gooseneck ones are ok for supplemental light – it depends on how much light they’re getting. Where you live in the world and where in your home the plant is will determine whether grow lights are needed.

I live in the uk and regularly let my ficus elastica dry out completely (not on purpose lol) but will water once a month. It thrives in my upstairs south facing window. It does really well in its current spot about 6 feet away from the window. It would do well in downstairs window if I were better about watering it.

It would do FINE in my north facing window BUT if I were an over waterer it’ll probably rot – the combo of lower light and too much water would be too much.

Close to a window won’t need a light. A few feet away from the window (depending on your location) is probably fine but a cheap growlight might help in winter. If it’s pretty much in the shade then you’ll need a ‘proper’ grow light or grow bulb.

If you’re getting new leaves regularly, that’s the best indication that you’re getting enough light. They usually grow super fast in summer (though not in winter) .

I LOVED your essay. I shall write one back.

First things first, I don’t think you’re overwatering it – if the soil’s dry and the water’s running straight through, I think it’s under watered. It needs bottom watering and/or repotting – basically the roots have displaced the soil so there’s nothing to retain the water. Breaking up the soil with chopsticks helps, but sometimes the soil becomes so hydrophobic that it needs to be soaked.

The heater was probably not helping, and dried the soil out, but it’s probably just bad timing – it sounds like it’s run out of soil and nutrients. I LOVE the idea that rubber plants eat their soil, but I think they just displace it with roots.

Rubber plants like to be tight in their pots, which is probs why it’s managed just fine for so long, but there comes a point when the soil can’t retain any water – if your friends want to keep it in the same pot they’ll need a saucer underneath it to bottom water it and to add fertiliser to it regularly.

Repotting is definitely a job for your friends, so I think a solution for you would be to water it INCREDIBLY slowly – easiest way would be to get a plastic bottle with a screw cap and drill three holes in the cap, fill with water, screw the cap on, and stick it upside down in the soil – the water should drip out slow enough for the roots to absorb the water (why do they not have a saucer underneath it? This is wild).

If that’s too much of a ball ache you could try wicking water into it – get a bowl of water and a piece of string (or multiple) – put one end of the string in the soil, and one in the water – the soil will (eventually) wick water through the string. This does work but can take freaking AGES.

You could also take the whole thing out of the pot and soak it in a bucket of water.

The yellow veining does seem like a nutrient issue, but don’t fertilise until the soil is evenly moist – you risk burning the roots. A better solution would be adding some worm castings to the top of the soil and mixing it in with a chopstick.

I don’t think you need to worry about misting or light, because unless your friends moved it before they went away, this would have been an issue before. Everything points to it being a issue with the plant not being able to get any water/nutrients.

Alright well, our friends have a 20+ year old rubber tree in the corner of their living room. Yes you read that right.. 20plus years… Oh boy, tell me about it.

It has dropped as many as 28 leaves.. if not more.

>Me finding them – ‘whhaahuts this?!’

Also they recently told us this plant MEANS EVERYTHING TO THEM EXSPECIALLY THE WIFE.

me- ‘Uh oh, ugh Chad? Have you seen this big tree thing in the living room???’

Now, I consider myself a great plant keeper/grower..so is Chad.. But this rubber… It’s the freaken bain of my existence!!!

Okay J+C, friends/owners of the rubber, left us detailed instructions on all the plants. Water 2cups every 10 to 14 days.

Me- Mmmkay easy enough..

…Except for the first 3 weeks or so we watered it probs once maybe twice.. And like a 1 1/2 cups.. Because all of the other plants get strictly 1 cup. So I misread the instructions and thought this was one of the 1 cuppers..i added the extra 1/2 cup because I thought it is way to big of a plant for so little water..

So our first thought to all these dropping leaves and bone dry soil was, ‘Hell! it needs water!’ .. So I picked up watering it once every 10 days and the leaves… They keep falling…

So we FINALLY tell J+C and sent them into a panic while telling us, ‘YOUR OVER WATERING IT!! DONT WATER IT FOR A WHILE!!!’

Now They’ve had this plant for 20plus years they obviously know what they’re talking about right??

Well…MORE leaves have dropped and Chad and I are both thinking after both if us stick our fingers down into it, ‘This plants soil is soo dry on top there is no way its being over watered!’

So we start reading and reading and reading… Over watering it, under watering it, nope it’s over watered… Oh wait no it’s underwater.. Nono Aaactually this site, somthing like-‘Rubbers survival guide’ or ‘How to bring your rubber back from the dead’ … Something like that, says we are DEFinitely over watering it!!

Me- well sh**.

Sooo now that I’ve lost complete faith in looking anything up on Google. I started typing in maybe its the electric fireplace we kept on a lot the last few weeks… Bingo!
That’s probs it. So some other wedsite..somthing like, ‘Death from heaters for rubbers’ or ‘Rubbers gettin to hawt’ – Somthing like that..says to mist the leaves also make sure the soil is aerated with a chopstick by breaking up the roots a little and getting plenty of water in them.. Also place it in a light but not light, kinda some light is okay, but not to direct.. Maybe some indirect light.. Just show the light to it basically… Oh rubbers are light lovers tho..yup just show it to the light. Or maybe put it in the north easterly west facing Southern corner of your house. That should do the trick.

Me- well sh**.

So I start misting the leaves..my hand goes to my forehead.. I’m staring at this poor rubber tree.. And realize my misting the last couple days only seems like it’s not doing it any good.. It’s telling me it needs help. It’s owners do such a good job with it. They keep it outside in the summer and bring it in in the winter. Year after year.

Now here’s the real facts.

-The plant is 20+ years old.
-Its soil does NOT hold any water. When it’s watered it just pours out the bottom,onto the hardwood floor.
-Its a big a$$ tree. There’s no picking it up to test the weight of the huge ceramic pot it’s in for water presence.
-The leaves are NOT black on the tips.
-It gets indirect light next to a large window but all the leaves are standing upright vertical almost.
– The soil hasn’t been replenished and I read on one or those aforementioned sites that they eat their soil? Is this correct? So does it need to be topped off?
– The leaves that have dropped have yellowing coming from the inside of the middle going out to the edges (I think) and when you look at the leafs they are striped with yellow stripes going horizontal all the way down the leaf.
– leafs are Def thin and curling from the edges inward. (I think)

So my questions are:

-Do we need to take this tree out of its pot to check its roots?
-Should I be saturating the dirt with water and waiting a couple hours then making sure it’s all drained out?
-Or soaking the dirt completely and draining it and leaving it alone?
– Move it to another area in house with more light?
– Adding more dirt to its roots?
-Feed it some type of ‘rubber tree food’ in its water?

I’m sorry for such a long comment. I’m so lost on what to do with this plant. I’ve never let a plant die… Ever. I’m normally the rescuer so my heart is literally in pain for this big guy.. Or.. girl.. Erm…this big tree!

Thank you for your help and reading my novel I’ve just written you. You are awesome and I can’t wait for your reply!!

With hope,
Tess and Chad.

The soil needs to dry out between watering – have you checked the roots? Get it out of the pot and look at them. Remove any that are mushy and put it back the soil.

You could also need brighter light – rubber plants do ok in lower light, but if it’s struggling, brighter light can really help. Keep me updated!

Could it be sunburn? Usually it would show in multiple leaves, but it’s not unheard of to only affect one leaf. Check the roots for root rot too (chop off any gross bits and make sure the soil is nice and airy).

If it’s only one leaf and the other leaves seem ok, I wouldn’t worry too much, especially if it’s an older one.

I bought a Tineke over a week ago, one leaf started to have some black, dried spots at the edges. Now I’m very worried….