What to Do When Rubber Plant Leaves Turn Yellow and Drop? Causes and Solutions

The rubber plant (Ficus elastica) is a common potted plant. Because of its uniquely shaped leaves, quite a few gardening enthusiasts grow it. When growing a rubber plant, it is inevitable to encounter phenomena such as yellowing leaves and leaf drop, which greatly reduces its ornamental value. But when rubber plant leaves turn yellow and drop, don't panic. You need to analyze the causes of the yellowing. Below are the 5 common causes of leaf drop and yellow leaves in rubber plants.

Rubber plants usually need repotting once a year, and the pot should be a little bigger each year. After 6~8 years of growth, repotting can be done once every three years. If not repotted for a long time, the soil will become compacted and its aeration will be poor, which will cause the fibrous roots of the rubber plant to suffocate and die, unable to absorb water and nutrients, leading to leaf drop.

When the spring temperature reaches above 15°C, repot in time. Cut off the dead roots and shake off most of the old soil. Remove the yellowed leaves, cut back the stems, and replace with fertile soil. After repotting, keep the potting soil moist, and loosen the soil once every 15~20 days to avoid repeated watering causing the potting soil to compact and resulting in root rot or root shrinkage.

Rubber plants like heavy fertilizing and heavy watering. Not fertilizing or watering for a long time will cause malnutrition, leading to yellowing leaves and leaf drop.

Add base fertilizer when repotting, remove yellow leaves in time, and fertilize once every half month, mainly with phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. During care, often observe the moisture level of the potting soil, replenish water in time, and spray water on the leaf surface every morning and evening. Note that the water temperature should be roughly the same as the soil temperature, so that too great a difference does not cause poor plant growth.

Although rubber plants like water and fertilizer, if watered and fertilized too much, especially during August~September when the weather is rather muggy, too much watering makes the pot prone to water accumulation; or if watered too much during overwintering, when the plant is in dormancy and transpiration is weak, the water in the pot cannot be discharged in time. Or else, mistakenly applying raw fertilizer, heavy fertilizer or concentrated fertilizer will all cause water damage and fertilizer damage to the plant.

Cut off the rotted roots; white milky sap will flow out from the cut. Then use plant ash to dry up the sap and reduce water evaporation. After the cut dries, replant. After replanting, be careful to control watering and fertilizing, and you may spray water on the leaf surface morning and evening.

If a room is not ventilated for a long time and the environment is muggy, a large amount of harmful gases will accumulate. Even though the rubber plant can purify the air, it is still hard for it to cope with this situation.

Open the windows in time for ventilation and keep the indoor air fresh. In winter, you can open the windows at noon when the temperature is higher to renew the indoor air.

If the care environment is unsuitable, the rubber plant is susceptible to gray mold, which needs to be prevented and treated in time.

Remove and destroy diseased leaves promptly when found, and promptly clean up fallen leaves. Appropriately increase indoor light and raise the room temperature. When diseased leaves are found, promptly spray a 600-fold solution of chlorothalonil wettable powder, once every 7~10 days, for 2~3 consecutive times, which can effectively control the spread of the pathogen.

What to Do When Rubber Plant Leaves Turn Yellow and Drop

Rubber plant leaves are relatively large and glossy, dark green on the surface, and place a home full of vitality. However, during the growing process, various problems are also relatively likely to occur. So, what should you do if rubber plant leaves turn yellow and drop?

Cause One of Yellowing and Leaf Drop in Rubber Plants

Soil compaction caused by not repotting for a long time

Rubber plants usually need repotting once a year, and the pot should be a little bigger each year. After 6~8 years of growth, repotting can be done once every three years. If not repotted for a long time, the soil will become compacted and its aeration will be poor, which will cause the fibrous roots of the rubber plant to suffocate and die, unable to absorb water and nutrients, leading to leaf drop.

Solution

When the spring temperature reaches above 15°C, repot in time. Cut off the dead roots and shake off most of the old soil. Remove the yellowed leaves and cut back the stems.

After repotting, keep the potting soil moist, and loosen the soil once every 15~20 days to avoid repeated watering causing the potting soil to compact and resulting in root rot or root shrinkage.

Cause Two of Yellowing and Leaf Drop in Rubber Plants

Not watering or fertilizing for a long time

Rubber plants like heavy fertilizing and heavy watering. Not fertilizing or watering for a long time will cause malnutrition, leading to yellowing leaves and leaf drop.

Solution

Add base fertilizer when repotting, remove yellow leaves in time, and fertilize once every half month, mainly with phosphorus and potassium fertilizer.

During care, often observe the moisture level of the potting soil, replenish water in time, and spray water on the leaf surface every morning and evening. Note that the water temperature should be roughly the same as the soil temperature, so that too great a difference does not cause poor plant growth.

Cause Three of Yellowing and Leaf Drop in Rubber Plants

Too much watering or fertilizing

Although rubber plants like water and fertilizer, if watered and fertilized too much, especially during August~September when the weather is rather muggy, too much watering makes the pot prone to water accumulation; or if watered too much during overwintering, when the plant is in dormancy and transpiration is weak, the water in the pot cannot be discharged in time. Or else, mistakenly applying raw fertilizer, heavy fertilizer or concentrated fertilizer will all cause water damage and fertilizer damage to the plant.

Solution

Cut off the rotted roots; white milky sap will flow out from the cut. Then use plant ash to dry up the sap and reduce water evaporation. After the cut dries, replant. After replanting, be careful to control watering and fertilizing, and you may spray water on the leaf surface morning and evening.

Cause Four of Yellowing and Leaf Drop in Rubber Plants

Improper ventilation

If a room is not ventilated for a long time and the environment is muggy, a large amount of harmful gases will accumulate. Even though the rubber plant can purify the air, it is still hard for it to cope with this situation.

Solution

Open the windows in time for ventilation and keep the indoor air fresh. In winter, you can open the windows at noon when the temperature is higher to renew the indoor air.

Cause Five of Yellowing and Leaf Drop in Rubber Plants

Infection with gray mold

If the care environment is unsuitable, the rubber plant is susceptible to gray mold, which needs to be prevented and treated in time.

Solution

Remove and destroy diseased leaves promptly when found, and promptly clean up fallen leaves. Appropriately increase indoor light and raise the room temperature.

When diseased leaves are found, promptly spray a 600-fold solution of chlorothalonil wettable powder, once every 7~10 days, for 2~3 consecutive times, which can effectively control the spread of the pathogen.

What to Do When Rubber Plant Leaves Turn Yellow: Rubber Plant Care Methods

What to do when rubber plant leaves turn yellow? The rubber plant has an obvious trunk, few branches, and aerial roots. It has high ornamental value and is a famous potted foliage plant. Small and medium plants are often used to beautify living rooms and studies; medium and large plants are suitable for placement on both sides of the entrance hall of large buildings and in the center of the lobby, appearing majestic and magnificent and able to reflect a tropical scenery.

I. What to Do When Rubber Plant Leaves Turn Yellow

1. Not repotting in time: if the rubber plant is potted, it must be repotted in time, because over time the soil will become compacted, and the soil will lack nutrients, and drainage and aeration will both become less good, so the leaves will turn yellow and even drop.

Solution: in spring, repot or refresh the pot, then cut off the four roots and yellow leaves, then replace with new soil, and water appropriately.

2. Lack of fertilizer: if fertilizer is lacking, especially during the growing season, a lack of fertilizer will cause leaves to turn yellow.

Solution: add appropriate fertilizer when changing the soil, and fertilize appropriately during the growing season.

3. Low temperature: if the temperature is low in winter, the rubber plant will turn yellow, especially in the north, where autumn is already very cold.

Solution: so be sure to keep the temperature above 5°C.

4. Water accumulation or lack of water: although the rubber plant likes a warm and humid environment and also likes plenty of fertilizer, too much fertilizer and too much water will cause root rot, and if water is lacking, especially in summer, it will turn yellow very quickly.

Solution: cut off the rotted roots and yellow leaves, then repot, and water only after the roots have grown out.

5. Low humidity: if the humidity is too low, transpiration becomes very important, so if water is not replenished in time, the leaves will turn yellow.

Solution: water and replenish water in time.

6. No indoor ventilation: foul air also causes leaves to turn yellow, and if carbon dioxide is high, this situation can also occur.

Solution: place it in a place with circulating air.

7. Not receiving light: if light is lacking, the leaves lack chlorophyll and will inevitably turn yellow.

Solution: provide a certain amount of light every day.

8. It may be infected with gray mold. Gray mold is a fungal disease common in open-field and protected cultivation and relatively difficult to control. It is a low-temperature, high-humidity type of disease. The pathogen grows at 20~30°C, and when the temperature is 20~25°C and the humidity stays above 90%, it is a period of high disease incidence.

Solution: diseased leaves should be removed and burned in time. Increase indoor light and raise the room temperature. Or use a 1200-fold solution of 50% vinclozolin wettable powder, or a 600-fold solution of 40% chlorothalonil wettable powder, sprayed alternately, once every 7 to 10 days, for 2 to 3 consecutive sprays, which can effectively control the spread of the disease.

II. Rubber Plant Management

1. Temperature: it likes warmth, and the most suitable temperature for growth is 20~25°. It tolerates high temperatures and can grow well above 30°. It is not cold-tolerant, and the safe overwintering temperature is 5°. Variegated varieties are slightly less cold-tolerant, and the overwintering temperature is best maintained above 8°. Low temperatures will cause a large number of leaves to drop.

2. Light: it likes bright, diffused light and has a certain ability to tolerate shade. It does not tolerate strong direct sunlight; when the light is too strong, it will scorch the leaves, causing yellowing and burnt leaf edges. It should also not be placed in too shady a spot, otherwise it will cause a large number of leaves to drop and make the beautiful markings of variegated varieties fade. From May to September, shade should be provided, or the plant should be placed in a spot with plenty of diffused light. At other times, it should be given plenty of sunlight.

3. Watering: it likes a moist soil environment, and during the growing period water should be supplied fully to keep the potting soil moist. In winter, watering needs to be controlled; when the temperature is low and the potting soil is too wet, root rot is easily caused.

4. Environmental humidity: it likes a humid environment. During the growing season, on sunny days when the air is dry, frequently spray water on the branches, leaves and the surrounding environment to raise the relative air humidity.

5. Fertilizing: because it grows rapidly, nutrients should be supplied in time to keep the plant growing vigorously. A nitrogen-based fertilizer should be applied 2~3 times a month. Varieties with colored markings grow relatively slowly, so the number of fertilizing times can be reduced, while increasing the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer to make the markings on the leaf surface bright and beautiful. If too much nitrogen fertilizer is applied, or nitrogen fertilizer alone, the color of the markings will fade and even disappear. In September, nitrogen fertilizer should be stopped and only phosphorus and potassium fertilizer applied, to improve the plant's cold resistance. In winter, the plant goes dormant and fertilizing should be stopped.

6. Pruning: in spring, prune together with moving the plant out of the shed, removing the forked branches, inward-growing branches, dead branches and thin weak branches inside the crown, and cutting back the shoots that stick out beyond the crown, so as to keep good ventilation and light inside the plant and maintain a rounded tree shape. If the crown is too large, the outer branches can be cut back as a whole. During the growing period, remove overly dense branches at any time and cut back long branches.

7. Repotting: usually repotting is needed once every 2 years. It likes fertile, loose, well-drained sandy loam; the growing medium can be made by mixing garden soil, leaf mold and coarse sand, along with farmyard manure added as base fertilizer.

III. Care and Pruning

The growing medium can be made by mixing peat soil, leaf mold, river sand, etc. Slightly acidic is best. Rubber plant leaves are thick and fleshy and do not have very high water requirements. In the high temperatures of summer and the dry environment of autumn, pay attention to watering and just keep the medium moist. You can also spray water on the leaf surface. After winter begins, the temperature drops, so watering should be controlled and the medium can be slightly drier. Rubber plants do not have high fertilizer requirements; during the peak growing season, using a compound fertilizer once every half month is enough, and no fertilizer is applied in winter. The optimal growing temperature is 20~30°C.[5]

Pruning

Generally done in late spring and early summer together with pruning. Choose one-year-old woody middle branches as cuttings; keep three buds per cutting, cut off the lower leaf, fold the upper two leaves together and tie them with plastic, or cut off half of the upper leaf, to reduce water evaporation; to prevent too much milky sap from flowing out of the cut and affecting survival, promptly smear the wound with plant ash; insert the prepared cuttings into a cutting bed with river sand or vermiculite as the medium; after inserting, keep the cutting bed at relatively high humidity and frequently sprinkle water on the ground (but do not let water accumulate), to raise air humidity. At a temperature of 18-25°C and under semi-shade conditions, roots will form in about 2-3 weeks.