Ficus rubbery (elastica)

Of the more than a thousand species of ficus, only a few varieties are suitable for cultivation at home. And the most unpretentious of them is considered to be the ficus Robusta or, as it is also called, “rubbery” or “elastica”. Even those who are thinking about placing a green “friend” on their window for the first time can be sure that they will cope with caring for it.

Appearance

Ficus robusta (Ficus robusta) or elastic ficus (Ficus elastica) is an evergreen tree from the genus Ficus, mulberry family, species Ficus rubber. The plant's homeland is the south of Indonesia (the islands of Java and Sumatra) and the southeast of India (the state of Assam). In its natural environment, Ficus Elastica Robusta looks massive and can grow up to 60 m in height, while other representatives of the species reach a maximum of 40 m. When grown in a pot for a home or office, a bush ficus or tree grows to an average height of 2-3 m .

Robusta has very decorative leaves - alternate, large (10-20 cm wide and 20-30 cm long), dense, leathery, with a glossy sheen, regular oval shape with smooth edges and a sharp, slightly elongated tip. Old leaves are dark emerald, young leaves are pinkish-brown. The central vein stands out clearly. Its color varies from yellow to dark red.

Unlike many indoor ficuses, Robusta blooms in the house. But its yellowish-green inflorescences are so small and inconspicuous that their flowering practically does not change the appearance of the tree. Then in their place small, about a centimeter in diameter, oval fruits appear - syconia. Like flowers, they have no decorative value. They should also not be eaten.

In nature, Robusta forms many long and strong aerial roots. Due to this feature, in India it is used to grow hanging “living” bridges. Throwed across a river or gorge, they represent the oldest examples of arboreal architecture, a trend that practices the use of living flora as the basis of building structures.

Many people know that rubber was originally obtained from rubber contained in the sap of tropical trees. However, few people know that the first source of rubber-bearing sap was the ficus Elastica. In Southeast Asia, it was grown on plantations specifically for this purpose.

What does the rubber ficus look like, what family does it belong to?

Ficus elastica is considered a popular plant that is used for decorating rooms. The plant belongs to the Mulberry family, native to India and Indonesia.

Ficus Elastic in a pot

Common varieties

The following varieties of rubber ficus are distinguished:

Robusta. It is distinguished by thin leaves of light green color, which darken to dark green over time. The plate size can reach 50 cm in length and 20 cm in width. A characteristic difference of the subspecies is the pronounced central vein on both sides.
Melanie. This plant has glossy leaves, their shade is rich green. In bright light they take on a red tint. The leaf blade is wide, the tips are slightly bent back. Unlike Robusta, it grows small - up to 50 cm.
Burgundy. Ficus has purple leaves that reach 30 cm in length and 10 cm in width. The central vein is red in color and not very pronounced. The cap of the flower is bright red, the petiole is pink.

Interesting! Ficus variegated is also very popular.

Medicinal properties

What are the beneficial properties of ficus:

Purifies the air from harmful fumes and converts them into amino acids.
Releases active substances that increase performance and restore sleep.
It has a beneficial effect on the energy of a living space - it helps cleanse the surrounding space of anger and anxiety.
Decorates the interior with beautiful green leaves.

The leaves of the plant can be used to treat many skin pathologies.

History of appearance

Ficus rubber, or ficus elastica, belongs to a species of plants of the Mulberry family. He arrived in Russia from northeastern India and Indonesia. In these countries, its dimensions were more impressive - up to 30 meters in height.

Rubber plant on the window

It received the addition of “rubber-bearing” to its name for obvious reasons. The milky sap of the plant contains isoprene. It produces rubber, which is used to make rubber.

Ficus Robusta: features of care at home

Caring for the ficus Elastica Robusta is not difficult. He does not need to create any special conditions. But to make the tree look healthy and beautiful, it doesn’t hurt to follow some rules.

Temperature

Room temperature is ideal for this ficus. It equally dislikes too much heat and too much coolness, and in the middle zone it is cultivated exclusively as a house plant. If the air in the room cools or overheats beyond the range of +15-28 °C, the tree may begin to shed green mass. That is why it is recommended to protect it from drafts and keep it away from heating appliances.

Watering

Ficus Robusta needs to be watered frequently: in summer - twice a week, in winter - weekly, not too much, so that water does not leak into the pan. Take settled water at room temperature. It is necessary to ensure that the moisture does not stagnate, otherwise the root system will begin to rot. Therefore, before watering the ficus, you need to make sure that the soil is dry. The crown also needs moisture and cleanliness - regular spraying with warm, settled water and periodic wiping from dust with a soft, damp cloth.

Air humidity

A sufficient amount of moisture is one of the main criteria for proper maintenance of the rubber-bearing ficus Robusta. It is desirable that the air humidity in the room where it grows is maintained within 60-70%. In winter, when heating devices are operating, a value of 50% is acceptable, but spraying in this case is carried out more often.

Lighting

Ficus Robusta differs from its “relatives” in that it does not have strict lighting requirements. It feels good on both southern and northern windows and can make do with a limited amount of light, even when in shaded corners of the house. And if the place where it is located is completely dark, an artificial light source will easily solve the problem. He is much more afraid of direct rays of the sun. They can leave burns on the crown and cause it to wilt.

The soil

Active growth is ensured by proper selection of soil. It should be light, with neutral acidity. This can be a universal soil or a special mixture intended for ficus. To prevent moisture from stagnating and the roots from rotting, there must be a drainage layer (expanded clay or sand) at the bottom of the pot. A little sand can be mixed into the soil, it will improve its breathability. The top layer must be loosened regularly to prevent the formation of a crust.

Feeding

During the growing season (from March to November), ficus Robusta in the house needs regular feeding with ready-made mineral complexes or special nitrogen-based compounds. They have a beneficial effect on the condition of the crown, making it thicker and brighter green. Application frequency: once every two weeks. Add them to the soil in small quantities, according to the instructions on the package. When Robusta enters a dormant state (from November to March), feeding is stopped.

It is better to “underfeed” the plant than to salt the soil by being carried away by excessive fertilization. The same can be said about the concentration of fertilizers: it is better to dilute them once again than to burn the roots with an overly concentrated fertilizer mixture.

Ficus Robusta propagation

Like most representatives of the species, ficus Robusta can be propagated in several ways: cuttings, layering, seeds, leaves. In all cases, it is good to use phytohormones to accelerate root formation.

Cuttings

This method is the most convenient and common. The best time for it is the last week of winter - the beginning of spring. As planting material from which ficus propagates, you can use any cuttings: green, half or completely lignified. In this case, apical specimens are preferable to those taken from the middle of the shoot.

The procedure is as follows:

pieces of stems with 2 - 3 leaves are cut from the tops of the shoots;
The milky juice is washed off from the cut sites so that it does not clog the conducting vessels;
The sections are dried in air for an hour;
the prepared planting material is planted obliquely in containers filled with light soil with sand or clean sand.

In large-leaved ficus, and this is what Robusta is, before planting, the leaves are twisted into a tube, it is tied, and the seedling, to give it stability, is tied to a peg, which is stuck into the ground through the center of the tube.

Cuttings take root within 20-60 days. Rooting will take place faster if there is soil heating, the air temperature in the room is 24-28 °C and humidity is about 80%.

Caring for cuttings involves keeping the soil constantly moist and spraying the leaves. To maintain humidity at the required level, the cutting can be covered with a jar or plastic bag, remembering to open it from time to time for ventilation.

By layering

The second most popular method of propagation at home is layering. This is a great opportunity to bring back to life a plant that has lost the lower part of its crown. For layering, you can take fully formed shoots and even whole branches from adult ficus trees, which will be much larger in size than any cuttings.

The procedure is as follows:

on a branch you like, make an oblique cut to allow roots to appear;
so that the cut does not close, insert a match into it, wrap the area with damp moss, and on top of it with black plastic film;
Until roots form, the moss is kept moist by adding water under the film using a syringe.

After 2-3 months, when the roots have formed, the branch along with the roots is cut off and planted for rooting in a light nutrient substrate.

Leaves

Only strong and healthy specimens are selected as planting material for leaf propagation at home. They are cut off along with a piece of shoot. The cut is made obliquely and soaked in some kind of root formation stimulator.

For roots to appear, the cut shoot is placed in a bowl with warm, settled water or wet cotton wool. The leaf itself should not touch the water. When roots appear on the cut piece of stem, a rooting cup is planted. The process of germinating roots in water can be skipped; immediately after treatment with root-forming stimulants, plant them in a light nutrient substrate, cover with a glass cap or plastic wrap and leave for rooting.

Seeds

This method is usually used in cases where it is difficult or impossible to obtain material for cuttings or layering. In order not to be disappointed with the result, it is advisable to buy seeds from well-established, trusted sellers.

Before planting, it is advisable to soak the seeds for several hours in a biostimulant. Then they are laid out on the surface of the soil moistened with a spray bottle. If the planting material is of high quality, seedlings appear within a week.

How to form a crown

Ficus grows only upward, and most gardeners like lush plants. The best time to prune plants is spring. At this time, sap flow increases and favorable conditions for growth are created.

Pruning rules for crown formation:

The top of the ficus, the length of which has reached 70 cm, is cut off. The cutting is placed in water so that it takes root. New shoots will grow from the cut trunk.
In short plants, pinch the top; one shoot will sprout in this place.
Bend the top down and tie it to the trunk. After a shoot appears from the upper bud, the crown is untied and released.
A hole is pierced with a needle at 1/3 of the depth of the trunk. The operation begins from above, since the process grows only from the lower puncture. If you first pierce the bottom of the trunk, only one shoot will grow; sprouts will no longer appear from the upper punctures.

The juice that appears after pruning is removed with a damp cotton swab. A month after pruning, the soil in the ficus pot is fertilized.

Transfer

Ficus Robusta grows quickly in the house, as in nature, so it has to be replanted regularly. In addition, he needs a transplant after the store. If the plant was purchased already rooted and grown, it cannot be left in the old container. The right time can be determined by the condition of the roots: when they become visible on the surface of the soil, it is time to change the “home” for the flower.

The basic rules for transplantation are the same for all ficus trees:

The diameter of the new pot should be only slightly larger than the previous one: for small bushes - by 2 cm, for large trees - by 6 cm.
Young trees are replanted every year, those older than 4-5 years - every 2-3 years, then as the space in the pot is developed.
The root collar should not be buried: the place where the roots begin should be felt even in a tall mature tree.
If a flower is purchased or given as a gift, after the store it is given several days to adapt and only then replanted.

The most successful method of replanting is considered to be transshipment, when the tree is moved along with a lump of earth, due to which its root system is not injured. The tree is watered abundantly, carefully removed from the old container, the trunk is placed in the center of the new container, the bottom of which has already been filled with drainage and some soil, and the free spaces around it are filled with fresh soil. Then the soil is lightly compacted and topped up so that a distance of 2-3 cm remains from its surface to the edge of the pot. This will ensure more convenient watering. At the end of the procedure, the flower is watered again. Transplantation is carried out in the same way after purchase.

When replanting, an adult plant often remains in the same pot; only the roots are lightly removed from the old soil and replaced with fresh soil. The same situation arises when replanting, due to the fact that the plant has lost part of its roots as a result of drying out or overwatering and rotting.

Reproduction of the rubber plant

Flower growers practice four main methods of propagating this plant.

Leaves

For this purpose, strong and undamaged leaves with internodes are selected. Reproduction by leaves is carried out in several stages:

The leaf is cut obliquely, partially capturing the shoot. The cut can be treated with a root formation stimulator.
The leaf plate is placed in a container with water or wrapped in wet cotton wool. Only the shoot should be in the water; the plate itself should not be in contact with it.
When the shoot takes root, it is planted in a small container with a nutrient substrate and covered with polyethylene or a cut plastic bottle. The rooted leaf is then transplanted into a permanent pot.

Important! The leaf cannot be planted until the milky sap formed on the cut has dried.

You can skip the stage of placing it in water. In this case, immediately after treatment with the stimulant, the shoot is placed in a nutrient substrate and covered with plastic film. You will have to wait about a month for root formation.

By layering

The propagation procedure by layering is carried out as follows:

The branch is freed from leaves and neat oblique cuts are made on it at a distance of 3 cm from each other.
To prevent the incision from becoming overgrown, a spacer (for example, a match) is inserted into it, wrapped in damp moss, and wrapped with plastic film on top. The structure can be fixed with tape.
Moss needs to be moistened regularly by introducing moisture with a syringe until roots form (within 2-3 months).
After the roots have formed, the branch along with them is cut off and planted in a permanent pot with nutritious soil for rooting.

Cuttings

Cuttings are the simplest and most convenient method most often used by gardeners. Cuttings are usually carried out in early spring. The material for planting is any cuttings: young, partially or completely woody.

Important! For this method, specimens from the top of the crown are best suited.

Cuttings include the following steps:

The stems are cut diagonally at a distance of two to three leaves from the top of the shoot.
The cut areas are washed from milky juice and dried.
The cutting is placed at an angle in a container with nutritious soil with the addition of sand. It is recommended to strengthen each cutting with a support. You can also place the planting specimen in water and transplant it into the ground after roots appear.

Rooting occurs in one to two months. You can speed it up by slightly warming the soil.

To care for cuttings, it is necessary to regularly moisten the soil and spray the leaves. To maintain humidity, you can create a kind of greenhouse by covering the cutting with plastic film or a plastic bottle.

Video about ficus cuttings:

Seeds

It is very important to purchase seeds from reliable sellers, since only the use of high-quality raw materials can guarantee a satisfactory result. Robusta seeds are planted as follows:

Robusta seeds are planted as follows:

before planting, the material for sowing is pre-soaked for several hours in a biostimulator;
then the seeds are laid out on a pre-moistened soil surface without embedding them in the ground;
The first shoots should be expected in a week.

Ficus Robusta does not require special care and feels great indoors, so even novice gardeners can grow it. You just need to take into account some of the features of keeping this plant, and then it will decorate your home or office for a long time.

Crown formation and pruning

In its natural environment, Ficus Elastica generally grows only upwards and to gigantic sizes. Robusta at home does not reach such a height as in nature, but still, so that it does not quickly reach the ceiling, it looks neat and decorative, it needs pruning and shaping of the crown.

All work is carried out in early spring, during the active growing season. This will awaken the axillary buds, from which lateral shoots develop. From the end of October to mid-January, it is better not to touch Robusta.

There are several rules on how to properly trim a ficus:

The shoots are cut at a height of 3-5 leaves from the top, without leaving a stump, to prevent the appearance of fungi or rot.
Thin stems are cut straight, thicker ones - at an angle.
The wounds are treated with crushed charcoal or an antifungal solution.

If a transplant into a new pot is required, it is carried out either 3-4 weeks before trimming the ficus or 3-4 weeks after.

Formative pruning includes not only shortening the shoots, but also directing them in the desired direction using wire and tension devices. Before pruning, the shoot is fixed in a certain direction. After some time, the wire can be removed.

To obtain a more luxuriant crown, pinching the tops is carried out. Unlike other ficus, after removing the top, Robusta sometimes does not form a “fork” and continues to grow into one shoot.

Despite the fact that Ficus Robusta is evergreen, the lifespan of its leaves is limited. Therefore, in addition to shaping, it also requires sanitary pruning. It is carried out as necessary throughout the year.

When and how does it bloom

Ficus Melanie - home care

The flowering of ficus Robusta has no decorative significance. Its inflorescences are small, no more than 1 cm in diameter, collected from several yellow flowers with a green tint and are almost invisible among the massive leaf plates.

Robusta blooms extremely rarely and barely noticeably

In the natural environment, flowering can begin in May - June.

Additional Information! At home, ficus blooms in the rarest of cases.

Changes in care during the flowering period

If the rubber ficus Robusta blooms indoors, it needs to increase watering and spray the bushes more often.

Diseases and pests

Ficus Robusta is resistant to diseases and pests. Of the latter, it is most often attacked by spider mites. A good result in getting rid of it is obtained by spraying and washing the leaf plates, as well as throwing a plastic cap over the crown for 3-4 days. Most diseases are the result of improper care: sunburn or lack of lighting, excessively high air temperatures or drafts, waterlogging or lack of moisture, frequent changes of location. Main problems you may encounter:

The ficus has dropped its leaves, they dry out and fall off. Sometimes adult specimens shed green mass in order to renew the crown with new growth. But more often this phenomenon is caused by dry air, insufficient watering, soil depletion or exposure to pests.
Leaves curl. Most often, the reason is improper watering: the plant either does not receive enough moisture or receives it in excess. How to save him? Optimize watering.
The leaves are turning yellow. Iron deficiency is the main factor causing yellowing. To eliminate it, the soil must be fertilized with iron chelate or ferrovite.
The leaves turn black. Perhaps the black spots and dots are sunburn. The danger is that pests easily penetrate into such places. It is best to remove the affected leaves and treat the roots and crown with a fungicide.
The trunk is rotting. Remember again how often you need to water your ficus. The problem is most likely this.

Interesting Facts

Ficus elastica Robusta can be safely kept in residential, public and office spaces and not only for interior decoration. This flower perfectly cleanses the air of toxins, and, according to popular belief, also serves as a talisman against dark forces.

There are many signs and superstitions associated with the ficus Robusta. One of the most interesting is related to pregnancy. They say that given to a childless couple, it has magical properties and helps them have children. To get what they want, future parents must place a green friend in the bedroom and take good care of him.

Another sign for ficus Robusta is that despite the fact that its flowers are small and inconspicuous, its flowering means a quick profit or a large gift. Maybe that’s why tubs of this rubber plant can often be found in the accounting departments of various institutions.

Many people doubt whether this plant can be kept at home. Reviews from experienced ficus growers say that it is not only possible, but also necessary, especially in a children's room. It purifies the air from toxic fumes, phenolic compounds, trichlorethylene and benzene, emitted by synthetic materials from which furniture, decoration and many items in the house are made.

According to Feng Shui, ficus is considered a symbol of well-being, wealth and prosperity. Anyone who starts it at home receives a powerful source of energy every day. For those who are close to him, he acts as a psychotherapist: he calms irritable people, and gives self-confidence to indecisive people. And how true this teaching is, you can find out by growing Robusta elastic at home.

Folk signs and superstitions

The exotic appearance and ability to purify the air from accumulated phenolic and benzene compounds contributed to the appearance of “supernatural abilities” in the indoor ficus:

cleansing the aura of the home from negative energies;
protection from evil spirits;
maintaining financial balance in the house;
balancing the temper of the owners.

Did you know? Suspension bridges are woven from the aerial roots of giant elastic ficus trees in Indonesia.
Proper care and maintenance contribute to the emergence of a new family member: Robusta will thank you for your care with clean air, a feeling of warmth and comfort in the house.