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Rubber Plant leaves weak and drooping - help!

6 years ago

My beautiful three-year-old rubber plant is looking weak and the leaves are drooping, one even broke from the stem. It has plenty of light every day, I repotted the three stems last spring and I water it once a week when it feels dry the first inch of soil. Its far away from the drafty window and the heating. It might be that the air of the new flat is too dry, or that I'm underwatering but I'm not sure.... I think that if I don't do something it's going to die! Help! What should I do?

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Comments (9)

fawnridge (Ricky)
6 years ago
Your rubber tree is growing. As it grows, it will begin to shed the lowest leaves. They first droop and then they turn brown and then they fall off. It's a phenomenon called life.
sperezmartinez
Original Author
6 years ago
Sorry Ricky, but you didn't have a look at the picture or the text properly. It's the top leaves that are drooping, (not dropping). Also, I don't need any explanation on how "the phenomenon of life" works. Hope that someone else has some helpful advice.
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There are several fungal issues that affect the stems of ficus at the soil line, most originating in the roots because of a soggy soil. If your plant wilts/droops while the soil is still damp, it's a pretty sure bet root function is severely compromised or root rot is in play. You can remove the soil and prune any remaining roots back to healthy tissue and repot, or adopt a wait & see approach & withhold water until you're absolutely sure the soil is almost completely dry. How you described the condition of the trunk at the soil line leaves me doubtful the plant will recover. Al
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Matt - that one plant tolerates what's killing others in the same pot is something less than a reason to think it's appropriate. Your problem is likely a combination of soil choice and watering before the plant really needs watering. There ARE some things you can do with conventional containers to reduce water retention, but that's not a conventional container. Reducing water retention and a little less exuberance from the quarter of the plant tender would likely go a long way toward at least changing the pot/soil/watering habit combination from potentially deadly to something the plant will tolerate. You might find this helpful. Al
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That your plant needs staking is clear indication it wants more light. Whether or not you can GIVE it more is the question. The visual symptoms of over-watering and under-watering are the same; this, because both result in the plant's inability to move enough water to the leaves. Both cause leaf abscission (shedding) and wilting. If your habit runs to watering while you can still detect moisture in the soil with your finger, you're over-watering. If your plant has dried down to the point of wilting, under-watering might be a player in the drooping because leaves of F elastica, once they've lost turgidity, are often unable to recover to their former spatial position. This would also explain why the newer leaves haven't developed a pendulous habit. Over-watering causes the same symptoms. I'd start monitoring moisture levels in the soil with a wood dowel rod, ends sharpened in a pencil sharpener. Stick it deep into the pot - if it comes out stained dark or wet, withhold water. Do flush the soil, as suggested, by pouring a volume of room temp water equal to at least 10X the volume of the pot it's in slowly through the soil. Fertilizer is important. Fertilize immediately after flushing the soil with an appropriate fertilizer. Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 is a very good choice as your 'go to' fertilizer for all your houseplants. One of the first symptoms or root congestion is lack of extension (lack of visible growth). I'd make a plan to repot next June, if you're in the northern hemisphere, hopefully into a medium that allows you to water correctly w/o worrying a prolonged period of soil saturation will limit root function and/or wreak havoc on root health. If you have concerns about the effects watering correctly might have on your plant, let me know and I'll help you mitigate any potential limitations. This is just me, but I would have pruned the plant several times to ensure it was self supporting. Shorter plants can't flex as much as a taller plant, so shortening the trunk is essentially a quick way to strengthen it. Al
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How much direct sun is it getting? What kind of soil? I live in Vegas and over the winter, I water mine about once every 3 weeks but it is really dry here. I let mine get really quite dry and then thoroughly drench the soil but my soil is pretty fast draining. It is also in full indoor direct sun by a southern window.
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laticauda
6 years ago
Can you please describe what you do when you water it? Did you pot it up or just replace the old stuff?
sperezmartinez
Original Author
6 years ago
I usually water it once a week during the winter and two times with less water during the summer. In spring I use an organic liquid fertilizer once a month. I replaced the pot to a terracota pot and topped up the soil last spring.
sperezmartinez
Original Author
6 years ago
I usually water it once a week during the winter and two times with less water during the summer. In spring I use an organic liquid fertilizer once a month. I replaced the pot to a terracota pot and topped up the soil last spring.
laticauda
6 years ago
Can you describe what you do when you water it? What do you mean you use less water?

Was it in a plastic pot for the years you had it before? You say you topped up the soil? What does that mean? Did you not remove the old media from the roots?
sperezmartinez
Original Author
6 years ago
I've just taken the plant out of the pot and the soil looks very dry, I've read that you can soak it in water to help it regain the moist that it needs.

It was in a plastic pot for two years, then changed to a terracotta pot (which was wet) for a year. I cleared the root ball as much as I could and then used new potting soil to pot it.
laticauda
6 years ago
You still haven't described how you water the plant. You also didn't answer what you mean by using less water?

You'll probably want to put it back into its original pot with a fast draining mix. I find plain terra cotta dries too fast for most plants (even some succulents).

Yes, you can soak it. What kind of potting medium did you use?
Ekor Tupai
6 years ago
Top leaves are thinner, get the most of light and evaporate water more than lower leaves. If evaporation rate more that it able to handle, it will drooping. Air flow evaporate water just like heat, so maybe it's the cause. Try other spot.

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