Ficus elastica help--do i need to repot?
roxination
7 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (9)
zzackey
7 years agoUser
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Ficus elastica (rubber tree): best timing for prune and repot
Comments (14)Al: Oh, I do indeed have more trees! I am a bit overwhelmed by the number of pots both in and outside of my home. I am an incurable collector. I could ask you questions about them all day. . . Back in March, you answered several of my questions about making the gritty mix when I was just embarking upon that adventure. I put a few plants that were on death's doorstep in the mix then. A few didn't make it (a draceana among them), a few are thriving (the aloe and spider plant love the mix!), most have held steady and are starting to show signs of growth (shefflera, swiss cheese philodendron). So I do have a sense of the patience required when repotting before the optimal time. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of undertaking things at the right time. It's been nice to practice with the mix, learn about it's water retention, and begin to tweak it for my needs before I moved my most-beloveds into it. This week I chopped an enormous floppy jade back to it's thick base and put it in the mix. Looking forward to that development. Also a favorite cactus whose name I don't know; it's about four feet tall, main stalk about 3-4" diameter with five stalks coming off the main, so maneuvering it was an exciting project. I was nervous about that one, but glad I did it when I got in there and saw how cemented the roots were in the hardest soil I've ever dealt with. I have a ficus lyrata (fiddle fig) that also reaches the ceiling, so I'm using your advice to give it a new shape. I'm planning on following roughly the same timing for it as for the elastica. I have a very big Bloodgood maple in a pot that's too big to move. I'd love to get that back to a manageable size, but it has just leafed out beautifully and I'm thinking that it is not the right time for that. Your comments are welcome. My other big question involves conifers. I have a very sick Wilma Goldcrest Cypress, and some kind of arborvitae (I think). I've noted that you don't recommend bare-rooting these, but cutting wedges. Is that correct? What about timing? Okay, I've rambled enough. As you can probably tell now, I'm addicted (like many folks I've read on this site). Thanks again for your help. I'm really enjoying learning about the plants, seeing their roots, and giving them conditions to thrive. blessings, brenda...See Morewhat should i repot my ficus elastica robusta teneke in?!
Comments (11)PG - If you let us know where you live, or a large city you're near, we might be able to help you find what you need. Some helpful (hopefully) observations. If you think about your soil in terms of structure/aeration/drainage, and take responsibility for providing for the plant nutritionally, instead of relying on the soil to provide, it will be a lot easier in the long run. Let the soil provide a healthy home for the root system while you, through a good fertilizer program, provide the nutrients. If you want to explore why this approach is a particularly good one, just strike up a conversation. Vigor is a genetic trait that speaks more to the plant's potential. Vitality is a measure of how well the plant is coping with the hand it is dealt, culturally speaking. Poor vitality limits a plant's ability to grow to its genetic potential. When you repot a plant and it suddenly starts growing better, what has happened is, you've eliminated or reduced the effects of a limiting factor. In most cases, it's tight roots, so let's use that as an example. Tight roots limit growth and vitality. When you repot or pot up, you reduce or eliminate the limiting effects of tight roots. Most growers would call the subsequent increase in growth a 'growth spurt'. In reality, by reducing the limiting effects of tight roots, you've allowed the plant to grow a little closer to its genetic potential, which is actually what we should consider to be normal growth. Did you do something right? Yes, you did. Now though, you can put that knowledge to work by using it to figure out how to make sure your plants are always growing at a rate you once might have considered to be a spurt. Al...See MoreNew ficus lyrata & ficus elastica...cold shock?
Comments (5)I missed the 4th picture from the top, which shows the leaf arrangement to be 'opposite' (leaves arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the branch). Ficus leaves are alternate (arranged singly along the stem in alternating locations). So whatever it is, it's not a Ficus. Some good Samaritan who's better at IDs than I, will come along and tell you what it is. Your soil should be something you can water to beyond the saturation point (so you're flushing accumulating salts from the soil) without the need to worry the soil will stay soggy so long it affects root health or function. Your soil choice is probably going to have more impact on how easy/ difficult it will be to keep your new pals healthy. I'm not sure how much effort you want to put into learning about the importance of soil choice and it's impact on plant vitality; if you're interested this link covers it, and probably represents the largest step forward a container gardener can take at any one time. The goal for fertilizing containerized plants can easily be described. Ideally, we would work toward ensuring that all the nutrients plants normally secure from the soil are in the soil solution at all times, in the ratio at which the plant actually uses the nutrients, and at a concentration high enough to ensure no deficiencies yet low enough to ensure the plant isn't impeded in its ability to take up water and the nutrients dissolved in water. This goal is easily achievable using one water soluble synthetic fertilizer. You CAN use organic forms of nutrition, like fish/seaweed emulsions or various types of meal, but that makes it much more difficult to achieve the goal. I use Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 because it has ALL the essential nutrients in the ratio at which plants actually use the nutrients, and it gets most of its N from nitrate sources, which helps to allow plants in low light conditions to remain compact and helps keep them from getting leggy. Al...See MoreFicus Elastica leaves drooping and falling off
Comments (87)i think plants can recover without leaves too though. trees shed theif leaves in autumn and still grow it back. dont know about ficus elastica, but its a tree too if im right. Not quite. You are right about one thing-plants can come back after a complete defoliation if they have enough energy to do so. Here's the thing-you're comparing deciduous trees with tropical plants. Deciduous trees are made/are used to annually shedding their leaves during the autumn season. They store up tons of energy during the growing season and store it in their branches and trunk before shedding their leaves (I think-I'm not too well versed with this kind of thing) However, tropical plants are a different story entirely. Their natural habitat does not see a proper winter (temps below freezing, snow, etc.). They have more or less consistent warm temperatures all year. They are not designed to annually shed their entire foliage system; nor are they adapted to withstand winter conditions. I believe they do store energy, but not to the same extent as deciduous plants do-tropicals don't worry about the winter season. This means that if something happens which causes all of their leaves to drop, the plant will be stressed. If conditions return to normal, the plant should slowly grow all its leaves again. Too much of this, however, and the plant may run so low on energy reserves that after one final defoliation it will be unable to push a leaf and will die. It's important not to mix deciduous trees and tropical plants-if you put your ficus outside during the winter and treat it like a deciduous tree, it will most likely die and not come back during spring. If exposed to cold temps (below 50*F) cold damage will occur to its leaves and/or branches. If it stays too cold for too long, the roots themselves may freeze-resulting in the death of the plant. Now onto your plant- but i have to worry less about overwatering with perlite anyway, right? Again, not exactly. Perlite helps with a little aeration, but unless the soil mix contains a LOT of perlite overwatering will still be a problem. Keep using the wooden dowel method for the future. How are outdoor temperatures right now in your area? If it's warm enough, perhaps you could put it outdoors and let nature work its magic. I'm honestly unsure whether or not it'll come back, but I do agree with what others have said-if this plant does end up dying, don't feel so bad about it. It'll be important that you understand exactly why it died, so you don't make the same mistake again with future plants....See Moreroxination
7 years agoUser
7 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years agoroxination
7 years agoDave
7 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years ago
Related Stories
DECORATING GUIDESThe Dumbest Decorating Decisions I’ve Ever Made
Caution: Do not try these at home
Full StoryHOUSEPLANTSPlay Up Some Fiddleleaf Figs for a Lively Indoor Tune
Strike a dramatic chord in a minimalist scene or a country note in a rustic setting — fiddleleaf fig plants harmonize with any style
Full StoryHOUSEPLANTS8 Essentials for Healthy Indoor Plants
Houseplants add so much to our homes — and can thrive when grown in the right conditions. Keep these tips in mind
Full StoryHOUSEPLANTS10 Top Plants to Grow Indoors
Brighten a room and clean the air with a houseplant that cascades artfully, stretches toward the ceiling or looks great on a wall
Full StoryHOUSEPLANTS8 Houseplants You Can't Kill
They're forgiving and let you forget. Houseplants don't get any easier than this
Full StoryCONTAINER GARDENSHappy Houseplants, Happy People
Potted plants add life and beauty to a room. Learn easy ways to keep them healthy
Full StoryHOUSEPLANTSSimple Pleasures: Grow a Cheery Indoor Garden
Let houseplants work their magic on your rooms and you. These ideas will get you growing
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDES5 Best-Behaved Trees to Grace a Patio
Big enough for shade but small enough for easy care, these amiable trees mind their manners in a modest outdoor space
Full StoryCONTAINER GARDENSFreshen Up the Bath With Lush and Healthy Plants
Learn how to choose and care for plants that will do well in your space
Full StoryHOUSEPLANTSOutsmart Winter — Make Houseplants of Your Garden Growers
No need to watch Jack Frost play Wreck the Rosemary. Bring your garden inside for the winter, using containers and these guidelines
Full Story
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)