A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Rubber Tree?

We have what I think is a rubber tree. It was given to my other half when his late wife passed so it is very special to him. We repotted it last spring. The problem is its very leggy and the leaves are falling off. We keep it in the bedroom window, it gets about 6 hours or so of indirect sunlight. I am not allowed to water it, because if I do, it will die. I think he waters it on a weekly basis. Should we be pruning it? Or is the leggyness normal for this plant?

Any help or suggestions would be great and I will try anything to get this thing to look good.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm if it is indeed a ficus elastica *rubber plant* then it needs to be kept moist. I water mine every day with about 2 cups of water. but mine's in a giant pot too, so i donno ^.^ but ya, i think if you keep the soil moist, it'll be much happier. Mine's also in artificial light for most of the day with about 3 hours of filtered sunlight at most. Its been growing pretty tall all summer! It was about 6" when i got it, and now its 2ft. that's over the course of 3 months

I think there are some definition problems here that need clarification.

"Legginess" usually means that there are long sections of stems in between leaves. This occurs when there is less than ideal light available. However, a plant that has lost many of its lower leaves for a variety of reasons is sometimes called "leggy" even though it is getting adequate light. I am not sure which applies in your case.

"Indirect light" is the light that comes in a window throughout the daylight hours, but is not shining directly onto the plant.

So when you say that your plant gets 6 hours of indirect light, does that mean that it is getting another 5 to 6 hours of direct sun? Or does that mean that you are closing the blinds or shades after six hours of daylight? Which direction does your window face and how far away from the window is the plant?

Do you have a photo that you could e-mail to me?

*edit* nevermind ^.^

Ok, by leggy I mean that all the leaves are at the top and the lower ones have fallen off. The window it is in is a west facing window. It never get direct sunlight. I do have pictures and I will forward them to you. And I forgot the rest of the questions you asked

If I need to I will move the plant. I just cant let this one die.