I found this written by a researcher at Central Florida Research and Education Center "Ficus elastica, the India rubber tree, wasgrown extensively as an indoor tree during the early 1950's and earlier. Today it is difficult to find commercial sources of the plant because it has been replaced with several cultivars listed below: `Decora' was a significant new cultivar at the time of its introduction, about 1950. With its broad elliptical leaves and more attractive growth habit, it soon replaced the species. `Doescheri' has the narrow leaf shape of the species and a striking variegated pattern of green, grayish green, yellow, white and a pink midrib and petiole. `Robusta' is a compact form which resembles `Decora', but is more compact and free branching. `Rubra' has dark, wine red leaves when grown in full sun. Much of the red color is lost as the plant grows under reduced light intensity. `Rubra' is also listed under the names `Burgundy' and `Abidjan'. `Sophia' is a new green cultivar with leaves which are smaller and more rounded than `Robusta'."

It's most likely shedding leaves in response to growing in low light conditions. It takes energy to sustain that many leaves, and it can't do that if it isn't receiving sufficient sunlight. I grow mine in direct sunlight almost all year long. At least until it comes back indoors for the winter. It does perfectly fine, just so long as I keep it well watered. Since yours isn't used to that much sunlight, I would suggest increasing the light it does get to bright, indirect sunlight. This will give it more of the energy it needs.

Hi, Brianna. If you can still detect moisture in the soil when you water, you're not under-watering, which would make over-watering and/or a high level of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil solution the probable cause of the necrotic leaf margins. If you're under-watering - that's easy to correct, but try not to over-correct to the opposite extreme. Using a wood dowel rod sharpened in a pencil sharpener as a 'tell' is still a very effective way to determine whether or not your plantings need water. If the dowel comes out wet or stained dark from moisture, withhold water until it comes out barely moist or dry. The trick is to water before drought stress becomes a limitation. If your plant's pot is plastic or another light weight material, hefting it whenever you walk bye and comparing it to the 'just-watered' weight is a good way to tell, too. If you've allowed the pot to dry down to less than 15% water retention, areas of the soil might have become hydrophobic and difficult to rewet. If this occurs, water can run over the top of the soil and downward between the soil mass and pot walls w/o wetting the soil. If this occurs, you'll need to soak the pot in a tub for up to a half hour to ensure you've remoistened the entire soil mass. If you're concerned that your soil might tend to remain soggy for too long a period after watering - let me know. There are tricks to deal with and minimize the impact of excess water retention. The leaf loss is PROBABLY related to low light issues, but it could be nutritional or related to root health as well. Not enough info to determine what's going on with any certainty at this point. Al

Strong work, Annie. Looks good where she is! Did you know plants are assigned the adjectives feminine and masculine in the world of bonsai, this, based on leaf shape, leaf color, and whether they have soft or angular lines. Their assigned gender determines what color and shape the pot should be, even whether the pot is glazed or unglazed. N/a - says: I have about a 4.5 ft high rubber plant (bottle green leaf) whose main stem, about halfway up, has been woody. I placed small cuts above the leaf nodes (where earlier leaves had shed before I received it) in order to encourage (horizontal) branching. This often works, and works best in the summer, but the notches need to be deeper than most think they need to be. The notch should be at least 1/8" in height, slightly wider than the leaf/bundle scar, the bottom of the notch 1/4 -3/8" above the top of the scar, and all cambial tissues including the cambium should be cut away cleanly down to sapwood. Instead a couple of apex leaf buds have from this time(over 4 weeks ago) have remained unopened whereas previously they had been opening every few days. This confuses me. Each branch has a single apex (or none, if it's been pruned/pinched off). Immediately proximal (toward the trunk) to the apex is the area where extension growth occurs. I'm guessing you're saying you have some axillary buds near the top of the tree that normally open in a few days, but these are stalled and not growing? The leaves are drooping (bar 1 which has remained perked up) but not discoloured or curling. Leaves of several of the popular larger leaf Ficus (elastica, lyrata, benghalensis, .....) tend to change their spatial attitude after wilting occurs; and the duration and severity of the wilt plays a big part in how close to their original spatial position they can be restored. I water it cautiously making sure the soil is dry at least 5 inches from the surface and as it is a more clay based soil. By "clay" do you mean its a baked clay soil (like Turface MVP?) or clay soil from the landscape? As I say despite it was thriving quite well albeit from a main stem that was mostly bare- the growth was all happening at the top. Once you answer the questions I had, I'll be able to address that point. I think I‘m going to have to examine the root system, much as I would not like to disturb it. If the exam shows the tree needs a full repot (includes bare-rooting, root-pruning, and a change of soil) it might be a stroke of good fortune for the tree. Al