I somehow forgot to take photos of this Ficus (elastica decora, also known in English as India rubber plant) before I radically cropped it a couple of months or so ago. It had grown almost as high as the window. Its stem was bit crooked and the small pot in which it was planted was now almost tipping over from the weight of it. The tree had to lean against the window to keep upright. It also had never been replanted in a bigger pot or even had any new soil added for I-don't-know-how-long. It kept growing anyway.
But it had now reached a height that suggested something had to be done anyway. So finallly I radically cut it down to about a third of its size. From what I cut off, I took two cuttings and put those in water. One was the top of the plant, one just a piece of the stem. Somewhat to my surprise, the one that was just a piece of the stem (with two leaves) was the one most eager to sprout new roots. The top part proved more reluctant; but a few days ago I planted both of them - even the one on which roots were not yet to be seen (except perhaps as few little white dots at the bottom). So far, neither of them seems to have any protests.
The cropped mother plant (top photo) was replanted in connection with cutting it, and seems happy with that, as it now seems to be producing a couple of new sideways shoots.
I know that the mother plant in turn was once cropped from an older plant, which I think I had in turn cropped from another... Actuall I'm no longer sure how many "generations" back to the original plant.
What's unusual about what I'm now calling the Mother is that it never dropped more than one or two its lowest leaves. (Usually they do, when they continue to grow.) Which is why I waited so long to cut it in the first place; and decided to keep the Mother as well.
Keep me posted on the cuttings. Actually, I have been thinking about buying one for a long time. Any tips, good or bad? I have heard they need very particular care and are fussy.
ReplyDeleteGinny, as should be rather obvious from my post, I don't find them fussy at all, but rather the opposite. It's the oldest plant I have and still alive :) I think that like so many others they need some light, but not too much direct sun, and to neither be overwatered not left to completely dry out.
DeleteIn the summer of 2021, my sister-in-law sent me a small potted rubber tree from England (via a florist service, of course). It looked healthy and good when it arrived, and still does so now, two years later. It has grown to almost twice its original height and I think I have only found two dropped leaves from it in those two years. So far, I have not yet replaced its soil or added new soil, but I know it will need a bigger pot before long.
ReplyDeleteYour cuttings look healthy, and I love the idea of them being the youngest in a succession of generations from one original mother plant!
Seems to confirm my experience of them, Meike!
DeleteI had a rubber plant for years, bought at a garden centre in their "Exotic Species" section. It resided in the dining room for years until it started to grow along the ceiling. It was a very spindly plant, so I cut it right back and gave cuttings to friends and re-potted a couple myself. I don't think any of them, including the original plant, grew, they all shrivelled up and died!
ReplyDeleteSorry you didn't get your cuttings to survive, Carol. Sometimes it's hard to tell why one suceeds or not. Sometimes I don't find it worth trying, but sometimes I (like now) I like to give it a go.
Deletebig smile on my face, about your Family of Ficus! love it! my children from the hanging plant in the kitchen, that lived a few months in water, wanted to be in dirt and got tossed in the trash. cuttings are the way to go. you have such a nice garden inside and outside on the balcony..
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandra. Just keeping cuttings in water for a while can actually be a nice decoration for a while even if one doesn't get round to planting them all. (Doesn't work with every kind of plant, but works well with others...)
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