Thanks for the reply! I did read something quickly on here about rubber plants not liking dense soil, so I guess that's the first thing I should change! Hope it helps, wish me luck...

Once you've read a bit and made a plan, check back here before actually doing anything to see if people think it's a GOOD plan, or if they have any other tips. I haven't repotted my rubber tree yet, but when I do I'll use a mix of pine bark, pumice & potting soil, probably only 15-20% potting soil. My source of pine bark at the moment is small orchid mix. You can use perlite instead of the pumice. Make sure your pot has drainage holes!

I did a lot of reading on here and for now I pruned the dead/shriveled branches, moved the tree to in front of a window (have southern exposure in our apt) because it was about 10 feet from a window, and loosened/moved some of the soil that was around the trunk/roots. Hopefully this helps, if not I'll move to repotting and change the soil mix to a formula like you mentioned.

More light is good. Don't know how strong your sun is, but if it will get a lot more in the new spot, I'd move it there gradually so it has a few days to adjust.

How's the moisture meter going? How long does your soil stay damp for? You can double check it by using a wooden skewer or chopstick - push it into the soil down to the bottom of the pot then pull it out and look at it. If it comes out dark/damp/cool/with soil crumbs clinging to it, then you don't need to water yet. Like checking a cake. Also lift the whole pot, it will be much lighter when it's dry. Only takes a sec and you'll get a feel for it pretty quickly.

How about the light meter? I tried a couple of iPhone apps and the readings were all over the show, was useless. Ten minutes entertainment value only. I figured I don't really need to know exactly anyway, but the whole exercise taught me that houseplants generally need more light than you'd think.

The tree has lost a few more leaves (but assuming it's happier with more sunshine in its new location), one of them started to get yellow markings on it before falling off (see pic). From what I've read it sounds like it's been getting too much moisture. So I recently checked the soil near the roots and it felt pretty moist which prompted me to dig out the soil around the roots and lift out the plant (just resting it on top of the soil in hopes it helps dry the roots a bit). The soil in and around the roots was also pretty moist, so I removed a bit of it, and also trimmed off a wilted root stem. The rest of the roots seem stiff, strong, and healthy - so thinking there isn't any rot (hopefully). But I definitely think the soil is holding too much moisture (like you first said robin98). Can you, or anyone, recommend a premixed brand of soil that is well draining, that I can purchase at a home improvement store? If not, what's the best potting mix formula that I can mix together myself? Thanks in advance!

Not sure if I'm reading your reply right, but you want to dry out the soil the plant is in, NOT expose all the roots to dry... You can lift the whole thing out of its pot, with all the soil still on it ie. in the shape of the pot, and sit it on newspaper or a towel for a few hours to draw some of the excess moisture out, but don't let the roots dry in the air, the fine roots will die.

Now that you know it's been too damp, you could see what happens if you let the soil dry much more in between waterings (not down to dust, just as I said previously). Then when you do water, water thoroughly so water come out the bottom, let it drain (your pot has holes, yes?), don't let it sit in water. Don't fertilise until it is growing. It will still need better soil at some stage, but repotting is an added stress, not always good while the plant is weak.

It's a judgement call : is it strong enough to handle repotting now? Would it be better if you let it get more energy reserves first by giving it less water and more sun? Or is it a do-or-die situation? I'm suspecting the latter, and I'd probably repot it now, but I have limited experience. If you go ahead, you'll need to read about how to repot (you have to keep the roots moist the whole time you're washing the old soil off and getting it into the new mix). I'd still recommend making something like 511 for it.

So I just finished repotting the tree -seemed like the best thing to do. I got a smaller pot, the one it was in was definitely more than several inches bigger than the pot the tree came it - the new pot it much more appropriate in size. It has drainage holes, and I added a some lava rocks to the bottom just to add extra help with drainage. I also used a miracle-gro potting mix soil that is specifically a "fast-draining formula" and contains the 3 ingredients you mentioned.

When I took the tree out of the old soil I got as much soil off the roots/root balls that I could, then I put the tree roots in a bucket with lukewarm water to help loosen up the rest of the old soil. After soaking for a few minutes I was able to remove the rest of the old soil around the roots and check them for damage/rot. There were a couple roots that were really soft and easily came off. After that I loosened the roots a bit, spread them a little, and put the tree in the new pot and filled it up with the rest of the soil. Finally I gave it a good watering.

Hopefully this will make the tree happy and healthy and I'll start seeing some new growth! Wish me luck!

Adding rocks or pebbles on the bottom is just a myth. It doesnt help with drainage and may impede instead.

You didn't use their "moisture control" type or soil did you? That type is far too water retentive.

Please let us know. And don't worry, it's not too late to change things.

Hey Nic, good luck! I would have only used 15-20% of the potting soil in my mix, and added pine bark and pumice/perlite to make it better draining and more aerated. Even just adding perlite to your potting soil 50:50 will improve the drainage. I'm in NZ so can't comment on your brands.

But putting it back in a smaller pot will help (even if your soil retains some water it will be a smaller volume overall) and I'm glad to hear the pot has drainage holes!

For the first two weeks after repotting, keep it in a warm bright spot out of direct sun to help it recover. You said you watered it thoroughly, so hold off with that for now, it won't be using much until the roots recover. I'm a bit concerned there'll be damage from when you put it on top of the soil to dry out, so fingers crossed.

Once it re-establishes (hopefully it does) you can put it back in that sunny window and water it as discussed earlier. Keep us posted!

this_nic, just fyi, your plant just went through a lot of stress with the whole repotting & washing & etc thing,and it's gonna look a lil sad and grumpy for awhile. be patient!

Hi Dave, I only put some lava rocks around the circumference of the inner wall of the bottom because the foot of the pot dips a bit and I thought it would help if water got trapped in the dip. The two drainage holes are in the center of the pot and have no rocks around them so drainage shouldn't be impeded.

I didn't use the "moisture control" mix because it sounded just like you said - like it could retain too much moisture, thanks for asking though! I used the Cactus, Palm & Citrus Mix which "contains forest products, sand and perlite to help prevent soil compaction and improve drainage."

Thanks Robin! The soil mix says it contains sphagnum peat moss, sand, perlite, fertilizer, and a wetting agent (https://www.miraclegro.com/smg/goprod/miracle-gro-cactus-palm-citrus-potting-soil/prod70224), so I figured it would be okay for the rubber tree based on what you mentioned. But if you think I should add something I guess I still could. I only let the roots sit out for a short period of time because I was your post soon after saying not to do that ;)

But yes, fingers crossed in any case!

Once the root forming root hair, the plant will be fine. Under abnormal metabolism, giving rubber tree more drainage is a good bet, but in normal healthy metabolism, you need to give it a denser soil, as it grow larger.

Big leaf rainforest tropical plant genetically have much faster uplifting water ability to remove excess water from it's root. They uplifting 10x water more than they need during transpiration. That's why during summer, even with denser soil, more frequent watering needed to keep them happy. And you see, no one asking help in the case of their soil too porous here in forum, since if they dry already, no one can help.

So to make it sort, water retention isn't the cause of rubber plant die. Other factor that make the tree unable to metabolism normally that is. Light and air circulation are things to consider in the long run. Soil is just a start.

Nic, I would sit back and wait now, don't disturb it again. The soil sounds better than the last one, plus you have it in a smaller pot, plus you now know more about watering and light. Just have to see if it was in time to save this plant or not. Hopefully yes!

But if not, then looking on the bright side, you now know lots more about caring for plants so you could always buy another and start again from a better position. No shame in that, we've all done it ;)

Nic, how's it doing? Any photo updates?