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#1
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Advice on pruning a rubber plant
I have an indoor plant that's similar to a rubber plant, but not
exactly identical to pictures I'm seeing. I bought it at Walmart several years ago, and it said "rubber plant" on it, but it doesn't have a central stem and the leaves aren't as dark as pictures show them. Instead, it has 7 bark-like stems, all from different areas of the pot, and the leaves are a medium-to-deep green. Anyway, when I first bought it, the plant had some parasites that dessimated most of the lower leaves. After a lot of TLC, leaves began growing again, and the stems grew (a lot), but leaves have never come back to the lower regions, making the stems ridiculously top-heavy. The tallest stem is about 3 1/2 feet long, and has 9 leaves on it (all gathered at the top). I've tried nicking just above the old leaf nodes, but haven't seen any growth at all. At this point, I've resorted to tying each stem to one another and sticking a post in the middle, just so they don't all fall over. Sadly, this isn't the most attractive thing in the room, and I'm wondering if I can prune these stems down to the bottom and start over. The idea is that if I cut them down to about 6" from the pot, then they'll start new sprouts from there. Assuming that this is a good idea, here are my questions: 1. This is in western NC (zone 6, I think). If I do this, how long will it be before I expect new growth? 2. Considering this is the beginning of Spring, is this the right time for this type of "surgery," or should it be left to late fall? 3. As an indoor plant, he's sitting in a southwest-facing window, and although he gets plenty of indirect light, major growth always happens when I put him outside. After this type of surgery, should he be left indoors, outdoors, bright light, low light, or what? 4. Is a pruning like this necessary? I haven't read anything else to do than nick the old leaf nodes, so is there anything else I can do to encourage growth in the lower regions? TIA for any advice! Mike PS, I am a total novice, and it's just blind luck that my plant has lived this long. The bark of the stems is brown, and most of the stems have gray-ash colored stripes to them, and I'm not sure if this is normal or if it's an indication of remaining disease. If it helps, here's a photo of the bark, as close-up as I could get: www.oneworldshipping.com/300/bark.jpg (60kb) |
#2
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Advice on pruning a rubber plant
The "parasite" to which you allude is time and age.
The lower leaves will never "come back". The plant is a tree and will form a woody trunk with age. You may as well get rid of it and buy a new plant. "Mike" wrote in message m... I have an indoor plant that's similar to a rubber plant, but not exactly identical to pictures I'm seeing. I bought it at Walmart several years ago, and it said "rubber plant" on it, but it doesn't have a central stem and the leaves aren't as dark as pictures show them. Instead, it has 7 bark-like stems, all from different areas of the pot, and the leaves are a medium-to-deep green. Anyway, when I first bought it, the plant had some parasites that dessimated most of the lower leaves. After a lot of TLC, leaves began growing again, and the stems grew (a lot), but leaves have never come back to the lower regions, making the stems ridiculously top-heavy. The tallest stem is about 3 1/2 feet long, and has 9 leaves on it (all gathered at the top). I've tried nicking just above the old leaf nodes, but haven't seen any growth at all. At this point, I've resorted to tying each stem to one another and sticking a post in the middle, just so they don't all fall over. Sadly, this isn't the most attractive thing in the room, and I'm wondering if I can prune these stems down to the bottom and start over. The idea is that if I cut them down to about 6" from the pot, then they'll start new sprouts from there. Assuming that this is a good idea, here are my questions: 1. This is in western NC (zone 6, I think). If I do this, how long will it be before I expect new growth? 2. Considering this is the beginning of Spring, is this the right time for this type of "surgery," or should it be left to late fall? 3. As an indoor plant, he's sitting in a southwest-facing window, and although he gets plenty of indirect light, major growth always happens when I put him outside. After this type of surgery, should he be left indoors, outdoors, bright light, low light, or what? 4. Is a pruning like this necessary? I haven't read anything else to do than nick the old leaf nodes, so is there anything else I can do to encourage growth in the lower regions? TIA for any advice! Mike PS, I am a total novice, and it's just blind luck that my plant has lived this long. The bark of the stems is brown, and most of the stems have gray-ash colored stripes to them, and I'm not sure if this is normal or if it's an indication of remaining disease. If it helps, here's a photo of the bark, as close-up as I could get: www.oneworldshipping.com/300/bark.jpg (60kb) |
#3
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Advice on pruning a rubber plant
is there anything else I can do to
encourage growth in the lower regions? Mike, You could try a technique called air-layering to rejuvenate your plant. See: http://tinylink.com/?kdEpDBVZKL and photos of the process: http://tinylink.com/?XfhI1pNMO3 Also: http://tinylink.com/?kco4IWj46V |
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