Hello. I was rehabbing a home last year (late spring, early summer) and I saw the neighbor toss this huge plant in the back of the truck. As a plant lover, I had to be nosy and ask him what he was doing with it. He was getting ready to take it to the burn pile. The story was that he and his wife got the plant as a gift for their wedding 10 years ago. The plant was placed next to a very bright, sunny window and it just GREW and GREW and GREW. It had 6 stalks from the soil that grew straight. They started cutting it in places when it got too tall (8-10ft), so then it started growing shoots that would branch out. The plant got so scraggly at the top and they didn't want it anymore. So, I TOOK IT. When I got it home, I just left it on the porch where it didn't get direct sun until mid summer. took it out of its original pot and the roots had been bound up together so tightly there was no way I could separate the 6 stalks. Wait, I WAS able to pull loose 2 stalks, which I cut up and dipped in root hormones. The "mother plant"? I put it back in its original pot and put more dirt in it, now with only 4 LONG stalks, tied together in the middle (they are all pulling away from each other, so when I tied it up, it stood almost straight up and was holding itself). I then placed the original plant and the ones I cut up on the porch. I took the 6 new plants and the mother plant inside the house and left it alone except for watering for the next few months. In December, I noticed new leaf sprouts but it took forever to open up. They all lived EXCEPT FOR 1 (because I thought it was dead, so I took it out in the garage where it really died). Most of them are on their 2nd leaf sprout, while 2 have yet to "open" up. Now, the mother plant. It started branching out (growing shoots on the side, instead of growing upwards). I have moved it around often in the house. Although it's branching out, the leaves are quite small, between 1inch - 4 inches, instead of the other 8-10in other leaves. I am liking the way it looks right now, except for the HUGE leaves on top of the plant (remember, it has 4 stalks). It looks weird with the new smaller leaves growing out at the bottom while the older leaves are so much bigger at the top. What could I be doing wrong with the plant? What should I do with it? Why are the leaves so small? Should I completely chop off half of each stalk? Should I get rid of any of the stalk? I'm sorry for the long post and thank you for taking the time to read it.
I guess no one really cared for the long story about my rubber plant(s). That's all right. Here's an update, and I believe I answered my own questions. I recently moved the rooting rubber plants to spots in the house where they get plenty of sun during the day and I let the soil completely dry out before watering again. I noticed the new leaves are much larger, proportionate to the older leaves on the plants. The mother plant, where I took the rooting plants, used to be in a semi-bright room where it doesn't get any direct sunlight at all. I guess this is why the new leaves are much much smaller. The new spot it has get plenty of direct sun during the day before tapering off to semi-bright --- and the new leaves seem to open up bigger. Just FYI if anyone is interested.
