A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum need suggestions for rubber plants

i have some rubber plants the green ones and burgundy ones and the green ones have around 25 inch tall and they are in a small pot , they have been in that pot for around a year and still using same soil as when i repoted them from the nursery pots they came in , my question should i leave them in those pots or should i change them to a larger pots ????? i have them indoors in the balcony and when there is some wind they have fallen : ( , and some have broken either at middle or at near the soil top as seen in one of the pictures, and regarding the one that its stem broke at near the soil top , should i leave it like that or should i split that plant in 2 plants ( the complete one and the broken one ) cause as you can see it doesnt look so estetic good looking : ( , and one of the green ones is tending to bend and arch and the lower leaves are sort of leaning down and not in leveled or upward is this normal or has it to with either the soil or the small pot or something else ?????
i have read rubber plants like sort of being on the dry side of the soil so i let the soil dry out before watering again , but the soil after 3 or 4 days dries out again , could be the soil they have no longer usable and i need to take out that old soil and refill-replant them with new fresh soil ??????

around 3 months i feed them with pellet fertilizer ( the small ones similiar to osmocote ) is this the corect fertilizing method for them or not ? or should i use something else ?


regarding the burgundy rubber plants they also fell cause of the wind toping them down and had to replant the top part that broke in another plant , comparing the 2 types ( green and burgundy ) the green ones seem to grow more than the burgundy , is this apreciation correct or is it something that also has to do with the pots , fertilizing, watering , light method ?????
also on the burgundy at the lower leaves some brown -burned type areas show , what could that be , and what could be done to correct it ????

im planing to take the plants one green and one burgundy to the office , it has air condition at around 68 F and has bright fluorecent lights in the ceiling so , would you say they can be in that ambient ???? have read they are good air cleaners and would like to have them there for that and for their good looks , so would like your sugestions and advices , thanks in advanced

Welcome, teino. I would definitely repot them.
Here is some info on the care of your rubber trees .

thanks tina for your response and interesting link : ) , but would like if you or someone could advise me to the one that has the broken stem near the top of the soil , should i take that part out of the plant and divide it into 2 plants ?????

You could do that if you would like. Rubber plants are pretty tough plants and should recover from either choice. And the one that is drooping/bending over, you can either prop up with a stake or just trim it back to upright growth so it isn't weighing down. They respond well to pruning for shape and come back fuller and healthier.

welcome to the forum taino_tree
I've had much success with my rubber tree, They do grow tall so keep that in mind and have bamboo stakes to tie them up with. When ever mine toppled over Via wind and the top broke off I simply stuck it back into the soil. OF course you could always start another plant with it as well. Personally I use 1/2 cactus soil & 1/2 potting soil when I pot or repot it up, mine seems to like it alot.
Sometimes I've waited as far as two years before I repotted it depending if it was root-bound or not :wink:
I water when I put my finger in it and it was dry to the second knuckle,, they don't like being over water.If you're going to take it to the office remember it'll be inside so you won't have to water it as often, also watch for insects inside,, any white powdery webbing substance found on it will have to quickly be wiped off with rubbing alcohol on either tissue or cotton balls to control infestation . Seems being inside long term is subject to more things like that so as a tip watch for that!

thanks angelblossom for the response and tina both have been helpful with the answers , by the way as said im using pelet fertilzers ( the osmocote similar type ) around every 3 months is this a good fertilzer for rubber plants or should i use something else ????? as the ones im gona take to the office , maybe they will need fertilizer less frenquently , right ????? thanks in advanced for your answers : )

I used fertilizer on my rubber tree once a year,, In the spring when temps at night are consistently above 55 all night I take my Rubber tree out and leave it out all the way thru fall when temps drop below 55 at night I bring her in. Mine grows so fast and tall during that time I only fertilize it Once, and that's because it's been inside all winter and needs a boost to bring it out of it's cabin fever . Other then that one time I don't do it again until the next spring. Every three months to me is too often,, If you feel you need to for the one outside I'd say once in spring and once in late summer. As far as the one inside goes probably I would do the same as for the one out side. :wink:
In the spring I use Superthrive,, and a dose of miracle grow, I've not experienced the pellet feeders.

ok gonna folow your sugestions for the fertlizing method : ) , but one of the plant is in old worn out soil , should i take out the plant and crumble out that old soil and repot it in a bigger pot with fresh new soil ???? is that the corect way to fix old worn soil in plants ?

Yes, If it is truly worn soil I would discard it and use all new potting mix.

oh Sure,, you don't ever want to mix the old with the new UNLESS it is Rootbound with a soil ball on it and even then I would consider rinsing the roots with tepid water.
Just don't go up a size more than 2 inchesin diameter or depth when changing pot size.

Use a coarse textured soil with fairly large particles of drainage material, such as coarse perlite or lava rock to repot your rubber plant or you can place 1 to 2 inches of pebbles stones at the bottom of your pot. This permits good drainage and root development of your plant and even reduces the chance of overwatering due to slow drying process.