Ficus elastica. Robusta

Ficus elastica, also known as the Rubber Plant, is an unusual-looking plant with big, soft leaves. In its natural habitat, the tropics of Southeast Asia, it can grow from 15 to 30m tall and have a huge canopy of draping leaves that are over a foot long. Large trees produce small yellow fruits, but you won’t get this from your house plants!

 

All parts of this Ficus have a milky white latex, which has been tested for use in the rubber manufacturing, but commercial rubber is actually made from the sap of a different plant, Hevea brasiliensis. The latex of Ficus elastica is irritating to the skin so make sure you wear gloves. Rubber Plants are easy to grow at home. You will want to feed your Ficus monthly with liquid fertilizer during the spring and summer growing season. Only water a Rubber Plant when the top two inches of soil have dried out and avoid letting the soil get saturated. Your Ficus will like indirect, bright sunlight and will grow best if it’s in loam-based compost. They can be grown outdoors in rich, well-drained soil but they’ll need to be protected from frost and get plenty of sun.

 

You’ll need to use a damp cloth to clean the leaves regularly to help them photosynthesise. This is an air purifying plant which will make a great addition to your indoor jungle. When they’re growing under glass, they can be prone to mealybugs, thrips, glasshouse red spider mite, and scale insects. This plant should not be ingested.