As the title says, I got this rubber plant for free, but it was in a smaller pot and had more leaves. The leaves started drying out/getting brown and falling off. The leaf on the right was also redder at one point.
This pot, and the previous one, have drainage holes. I water it typically once a week. At first, I kept the plant in a room that would get some daylight throughout the day, but I moved it into a window that has consistent sunlight throughout the day. When I went to repot it, rhe roots did feel very wet.
by infantgambino
15 Comments
Also, I forgot to say in the post: the leaf that has been sprouting, has been doing so for awhile.
That pot looks way too big, you’re probably over watering and it’s taking too long to dry out leading to root rot. Buy a moisture probe and use that to decide when to water. I would also repot into a much smaller pot.
The plant got smaller (dropped many leaves)…. So you put it in a *bigger* pot?
That’s the opposite of what you’re supposed to do, OP. A small plant in a giant pot will take forever to grow again and may even rot out because it can’t draw moisture from the soil it’s steeping in fast enough.
I think moving to a bigger pot was the wrong choice. You always want a pot that makes sense for the root base first, not just the height. That looks like way too much dense soil. The leaves may have been browning due to wet roots killing them, honestly. I think that needs to be repotted one more time back to its last size in a bit more of a well draining soil. A ficus can dry completely in between waterings as long as you’re keeping an eye on it.
What made you think a bigger pot was required? And what do you use as an indication that it needs watering?
Put it back in a smaller pot and let it dry out fully between watering. A larger pot holds more water that the plant can’t use because it isn’t big enough, so it rots.
Water once every two weeks, much light, and if necessary a bit bio leaf-fertiliser once a month. It helped my plant after my childhood dog ate the top. (She was ok btw).
Put it back in it’s original pot and after a few days give it more light. Water when the top inch of soil is dry
They do best in high light, check for spider mites too
Just as an additional point of reference: I had a similar situation where nearly all the leaves fell off right away. Took a long time but eventually I got some new growth. So you might just need to be patient with it.
Mine was originally a free rescue just like this!
New leaf was a show stopper. Comments have some good advice already so good luck!
https://preview.redd.it/alx568t84rtf1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b7af35fa6acc197fd52a362c917fa51f84b33ec
They can go dormant at times of the year too. Depends where you are, I’m in the UK and all five of my rubber plants paused growing a month or so back. I won’t expect them to resume until next spring now.
Yes, they like be ‘cozy’ .
I echo potting to a smaller size. As an owner of this type of rubber plant, mine also has one long stem because it dropped leaves. So it can do that. Look on youtube for options on pruning. Or on air layering. This summer I put it with a grow light and it finally started pushing out leaves without much so much space in between the next leaf. The leaves are smaller but haven’t fallen off as they did before.
I have 4 of these. The pot size is fine; let it dry out a bit, and then expose it to full sun outdoors or a grow light. It’ll perk right up just like mine did.