How do you grow a rubber plant well? These few tips from flower growers really work

The rubber plant (Ficus elastica) is kept in many people's homes, but some people's rubber plants are thick and sturdy, while others' are thin and tall. If the rubber plant's stems are too slender, it looks very unattractive, so how should you make the rubber plant at home grow thick and sturdy?

Actually, the most important thing to make it thicker is pruning, because if you don't prune it, the rubber plant will keep growing, always growing upward, which is not good for its horizontal development. So pruning the branches at its top helps it grow horizontally, and it will also grow side branches. Pinching off the growing tips can also control its growth; the height of pinching is best determined by the diameter of the flowerpot, and generally being similar to the flowerpot's diameter is fine. Too high or too low will both look unattractive.

When it is young, you only pinch off the relatively tender new buds at the very top, plucking them off directly. Also, fertilizing it does not mean the more fertilizer the better. If there is too much fertilizer and the nutrients are too abundant, the rubber plant will grow very fast. But growing very fast is not good for its growth condition, and its ornamental value will be especially poor. So you must fertilize regularly, and you must not fertilize frequently, and you must pay attention to the amount each time you fertilize.

Although the rubber plant is not suited to growing too tall, giving it a suitable environment to grow in is also very necessary. The rubber plant is suited to growing in a bright environment, so it is best to put it on a balcony, and you must not put it in a shaded place. If you block out the sunlight, its growth will be very poor. The potting soil it grows in also needs frequent watering, but you should wait until the potting soil is dry before watering, and water thoroughly when you do. When the potting soil has not yet dried, you must not water it; soil that is sometimes dry and sometimes wet is actually good for its growth.

It is not just a matter of thickness; if the rubber plant grows especially densely, it also gives people a very crowded feeling and looks very unattractive. So when pruning the rubber plant, you also need to do thinning work. Thinning means that when we feel the rubber plant looks a bit dense, we can remove the side buds. If the bud removal is not done in time and they have already grown big, then you have to cut off the entire branch from the very base. Only after pruning will the rubber plant grow more beautifully and grow especially well.

The best time to prune a rubber plant is early summer, just after spring has passed. Actually, it can be pruned all year round, but early summer is the most suitable time for pruning it. Pruning it in early summer will make it grow better and more robust than pruning in other seasons.

Also, because the temperature in winter is relatively low, if you want to prune in winter, you must pay attention to keeping it warm, because in cold weather the rubber plant can easily freeze to death.