I seem to be getting contradictory information in my research in caring for this plant (ficus elastica). Some people have been saying that these plants can live through anything, even in a poorly lit office, while others indicate that these plats are really picky. I bought one that is quite big (needed repotting from it's 10 inch pot). It is about 12 feet away from an East facing window that gets a fair amount of light in the morning. It also gets some secondary light in the evening as the sun reflects of of a skyscraper that is a couple of blocks in front of me. They are nice plants, and I don't really mind if this one grows much, but how much do they actually need to survive? (If they can live in really low light I'm tempted to get one for the bedroom.
One of these is growing in a living room in a pot with only exfoliated vermiculite as soil in Bangalore. The growth is so vigorous that the top is brusing the 12 foot high ceiling. Of course we do have lot of light in the tropics with almost 12 hours sunlight throughout the year. I have planted a large number of these in various locations in South India and found them very forgiving. There is a problem though. If you give an inch they take an ell. In less light the leaves tend to become more green to get more photosynthesis. bioramani
they don,t need alot of light our bank has a huge one in a pore light corner looks grate I got on at OCT sale here and it servied in my living room all winter and on days I work house is dark 5 teens and I've yet too teach a one of them how too open the certains they are serviers
Although, they can survive in low light conditions, they won't thrive. They will need periods of time (weeks to a few months) where they can obtain plenty of light (bright, but not full sun). Otherwise, they tend to grow very tall with relatively few leaves as they try to stretch toward the nearest light source. You can trim them down and get them to branch if there is adequate light, giving them a more compact, manageable growth pattern. Rubber plants can be very hardy given proper growing conditions. That means proper light, proper temperature, air circulation, good watering practices, and rich, well-draining soil. One could say that for most tropical plants.
