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Aug 31, 2015 6:39 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: aud/odd
Pennsylvania (Zone 6b)
Garden Ideas: Level 1
They are really growing this year. I am trying to decide if I am going to put them in bigger pots or root prune. I do not want them to get much taller they are 5' now.


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Sep 3, 2015 5:53 AM CST
Name: Christine
NY zone 5a
Deer Charter ATP Member Region: United States of America Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Tropicals Region: New York
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They look awesome, I really like the deep purple color. I have the variegated one and I hate that as soon as it comes in it will loose its pretty colors Sad
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Sep 3, 2015 5:56 AM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
@Cinta, growing rubber trees root-bound will slow their growth. Re-potting to a larger pot, whether you root-trim or not, will encourage more rapid growth. Judicious stem-trimming will keep your plant(s) at whatever size you want as well as encourage branching.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
Last edited by drdawg Sep 3, 2015 5:57 AM Icon for preview
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Sep 3, 2015 8:00 AM CST
Name: Lin Vosbury
Sebastian, Florida (Zone 10a)

Region: Ukraine Region: United States of America Bird Bath, Fountain and Waterfall Region: Florida Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Birds Butterflies Bee Lover Hummingbirder Container Gardener
Yep, you can prune Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica) by lopping off the branches to keep a desirable height ... and you can pot up those lopped branches which will take root for more plants!
~ I'm an old gal who still loves playing in the dirt!
~ Playing in the dirt is my therapy ... and I'm in therapy a lot!


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Sep 3, 2015 9:50 AM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
I agree That's what I do.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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Sep 3, 2015 10:15 AM CST
Name: Lin Vosbury
Sebastian, Florida (Zone 10a)

Region: Ukraine Region: United States of America Bird Bath, Fountain and Waterfall Region: Florida Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Birds Butterflies Bee Lover Hummingbirder Container Gardener
I have two very sad Ficus elastica plants (the variegated variety), their pots sitting out in the shrubbery because they got horrible sunburn two years ago ... both have needed pruning and repotting badly for a long while.
Sighing! Maybe when the weather cools a bit (if that ever happens!) I'll get around to repotting them.
~ I'm an old gal who still loves playing in the dirt!
~ Playing in the dirt is my therapy ... and I'm in therapy a lot!


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Sep 3, 2015 10:23 AM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
Mine are not variegated. One variety is the typical, lighter green colored leaves and the other is a variety that has burgundy-green leaves.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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Sep 3, 2015 10:49 AM CST
Name: Lin Vosbury
Sebastian, Florida (Zone 10a)

Region: Ukraine Region: United States of America Bird Bath, Fountain and Waterfall Region: Florida Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Birds Butterflies Bee Lover Hummingbirder Container Gardener
The regular F. elastica grows like a weed and gets gigantic here in parts of Florida and the roots can cause issues if a tree is planted too close to walkways, driveways and house foundations. I always heard it was invasive here in the state but it's not on the invasive list like a few other Ficus are. There's a cultivar in the database called 'Burgundy' that looks identical to the regular F. elastica to my eyes but it's said not to grow as large: http://garden.org/plants/searc...

One of mine is the 'Decora', labeled as such when I purchased it a few years ago; but the other was left here by the former homeowners and I haven't looked at it close enough to determine which cultivar it might be. I know it looks somewhat different from Decora and may be 'Variegata'. I need to get it out and look closely at the foliage to see if I can determine a name.
~ I'm an old gal who still loves playing in the dirt!
~ Playing in the dirt is my therapy ... and I'm in therapy a lot!


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Sep 3, 2015 11:33 AM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
Needless to say, all my plants are potted. They all have to come in each fall. I cannot tell you the number of ficus/jade/scheflera/aloe I have had to leave out because of lack of space in the greenhouses for them. I have probably lost over 100 plants over the last two decades because of winter-kill alone. Sighing!
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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Sep 3, 2015 12:54 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: aud/odd
Pennsylvania (Zone 6b)
Garden Ideas: Level 1
I feel confident at root pruning but I certainly am not in your League Ken. Rolling on the floor laughing I just know if I loop off the top it will be the end.

I nicked the stems to make it branch last year so I am getting more branches now. I picked these up in little 4" nursery pots years ago. I always killed the green one so I was taking a chance at keeping these alive and have been surprised how big they got from those little tiny pots.

In the one big pot is Ficus Burgundy Robusta, in the other pot I have two plants Ficus Elastica Belize and Fiscus Elastica Tricolor
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Sep 3, 2015 1:23 PM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
Other than freezing them to death, I don't think you can kill a ficus with even minimal care. Experiment with one or two of the side branches, and root those cuttings right along side the "mother" plant(s). I bet that you will not only get branching from those cut-ends, you'll also get newly rooted cuttings. I just love to experiment. That's part of my learning process.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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Sep 3, 2015 3:50 PM CST
Name: Tiffany purpleinopp
Opp, AL @--`--,----- 🌹 (Zone 8b)
Region: United States of America Houseplants Overwinters Tender Plants Indoors Garden Sages Plant Identifier Garden Ideas: Level 2
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Me too! If I'm not experimenting, I'm bored. I put this Ficus in the ground for a temporary summer vacation (2 individuals, but always treated as "a plant.") Then got bored with that, and pulled most of the leaves off of one. Sure enough, it's started to make side branches. I'm supposed to be leaving the other trunk alone to compare, but I can't promise how long that will last...
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Sep 3, 2015 4:27 PM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
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drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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  • Started by: Cinta
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