Hello, I just bought this "tropical tree" at Home Depot. It didn't have a tag and the employee couldn't identify it. It's about 5 feet tall with leaves about the size of my hand. Here's a link to a picture of it: http://hometown.aol.com/lthommes/myhomepage/index.html thanks for any help!
Gongrats, You are in possession of a good old rubber plant (Ficus elastica) and one of the most tolerant and obliging houseplants ever. In its native countries, it becomes a huge tree and is farmed for the production of latex. Here, it is just a stalwart houseplant that does well just about anywhere you can keep it fairly warm, relatively dry (or at least not over-watered) and out of draughts. It will survive relatively low light, but can tolerate scorching sun if properly acclimated. Once it gets too leggy, you can easily take cuttings (through the "layering" method) and repot. Bingo, a friend for life! Now why does it not surprise me that Home Depot would not be able to correctly label or identify a rubber plant....???
Yes! THANK YOU so much for posting the picture and helping me to identify my rubber plant! And thanks so much for the general care tips. You guys rock!
