Ficus elastica: Caring for Rubber Plants at Home

This blog tends to focus on outdoor gardening and outdoor spaces, but we’re adamant that caring for indoor plants is gardening, too. There are many different approaches to indoor gardening, from grow lights and hydroponics for an indoor veggie garden to easy-care succulents and cacti to a small pot of herbs. We’d like to focus today on a classic indoor houseplant that appears in homes and offices around the world and with good reason. The rubber plant—scientifically known as Ficus elastica—is strikingly beautiful, relatively easy to care for, and adaptable to indoor spaces. So let’s dig in and learn more about this popular plant!

A quick warning: the sap of Ficus elastica is toxic and can cause health issues for both people and pets. Please take appropriate precautions where necessary.

What are Rubber Plants?

Let’s start with an important distinction: the rubber plant (Ficus elastica) is a different species than the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) from which commercial rubber is derived. Both plants produce a sticky latex sap that can be used to manufacture rubber or latex, but they are different species.

Rubber plant is native to South and Southeast Asia. In its natural habitat or other tropical locale, it can grow up to 100 feet/30.5 meters tall, with huge, imposing trunks and branches. This makes it popular as a shade tree, found in parks and town squares around its native range. This is helped by its characteristic bright, shiny oval-shaped leaves, which can be between 4-15 inches/10-35cm in length. While the fruits are technically edible, they’re not tasty and are rarely consumed by humans—although we’re told that many bird species like them.

One of the most remarkable things about Ficus elastica in the wild are its roots—large buttress-type structures that often poke out of the ground and emerge from the side of the tree. In some parts of tropical India, local people will often train the roots to grow over streams, chasms, and other obstacles to form living bridges! While you’re unlikely to be able to do that with the rubber plant growing in a container at home, it’s a cool piece of trivia about this fascinating species!

Caring for Rubber Plants at Home

When grown indoors, rubber plants tend to be much smaller than their outdoor counterparts, typically coming in at between 2 and 10 feet/0.6 to 3 meters depending on circumstances, care, and pruning. Heads up: larger plants may require support to stay upright and a larger, wider container to ensure they don’t tip over.

Rubber plants can tolerate a relatively wide range of conditions for a tropical plant but they prefer dry, loose soil, medium temperatures (think room temp), and moderate humidity. This is what makes them a perfect fit for most indoor spaces—they thrive under the conditions found in many homes and offices.  Ficus elastica requires regular watering but over-watering should be avoided as this plant really does not like overly wet soil; yellowing leaves are a sign of over-watering. This is especially true in autumn or winter when the plant is dormant, so adjust your watering schedule accordingly. A loose potting mix is best for container soil.

While indoors, rubber plant is unlikely to flower but its shiny foliage and striking shape make up for that. A peculiar feature of this plant is that the leaves do require regular dusting with a damp cloth—dust accumulation can interfere with the plant’s respiratory processes and damage its foliage. Pruning to retain the desired size and shape should be done in the spring with a clean, sharp pair of shears.

Other than the potential for over-watering, rubber plants don’t have many issues. They’re not especially prone to pests, especially indoors, although mealybugs are occasionally a problem. Once again—the sap is toxic and can cause skin/eye irritation, stomach upset, or worse, so please take care around children and pets.

A Classic Indoor Plant for Any Space

Ficus elastica has been a popular indoor plant for over a century, and with good reason—it’s flexible, easy-ish to care for, and fits well into most spaces. It’s beautiful, interesting, and just a lovely thing to have around. If you have one, we’d love to hear about your experiences growing rubber plant. If you’re looking for an addition to your interior garden, we encourage you to check them out!