Ficus Elastica (Rubber Plant) Guide | Our House Plants

By Tom Knight

About the Rubber Tree Houseplant

The Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica) could be the ideal houseplant for you if you want a tough but easy going indoor plant that can reach staggering heights within just a few years.

The shiny glossy leaves look great in most homes and although young plants start off small they will fill the space in an empty corner quickly.

Even if you don't want to grow a really tall tree like plant indoors, the Rubber Plant's size can be restricted to an extent with regular pruning. However you have to keep in mind these houseplants are determined to grow upwards, no matter what and don't stay small and compact forever, eventually requiring a certain amount vertical of space.

Rubber Plants are determined to grow upwards, no matter what

Around 30 years Rubber Plants were incredibly popular, but people started to live in more modern homes and apartments which tend to be smaller. Space became a premium and one of the first things to go was the giant Rubber Plant in the corner!

They fell out of fashion and became hard to find. Fortunately within the last 5 years they've bounced back and are once again fashionable and prominent statement houseplants and for good reason. They're easy to care for and very forgiving house guests.

Dr Wolverton ranks the Rubber Plant as one of the very best houseplants to clean the air. It also scores really well with resistance to pests and diseases and has a high transpiration rate which increases the humidity of the room it lives in. In other words it's good for your health as well as low maintenance.

Did you know? The Weeping Fig and the Fiddle-Leaf Fig are two other plants from the Ficus family that are also popular as houseplants.

The true Latin name for this plant is Ficus elastica, however the traditional early versions have generally been replaced by more modern cultivars and closely related varieties. For this reason you might find the plant labeled as Ficus robusta (which as the name suggests is much more robust and hardy), some sellers even do both and will slap Ficus Elastica Robusta on the name tag.

More specific named highlights include the compact Ficus Decora, and the dark green almost black leaved Black Prince and Ficus Burgundy.

You might also come across some of the variegated Rubber Plant types. These are harder to come by because they're trickier to keep looking great in homes as you can't skimp on the care requirement of bright light.

However, if you do happen to have a suitable place with good light levels for the variegated types, look out for Ficus Ruby which has pink and purple flushes in the leaves.

Doescheri sticks with splashes of different shades of simple greens and yellows but still looks beautiful in the right spot. Ficus Tineke is pretty much the same but more compact. The most common variegated type is pictured further above, resembling army khaki.

You may find this plant labeled either as a Rubber Tree or Rubber Fig. The "rubber" aspect of its name comes from the "rubber" white sap that oozes out of the glossy leaves and woody stems if they're scratched or cut.

There is often so much sap, that there can be a drip factor which you need to be careful with. Also the milky latex is not particularly pleasant to humans or pets if the sap is swallowed. It's also an irritant to the eyes and skin so handle the plant carefully and if you do happen to get any on you, make sure you wash it off afterwards and you shouldn't have any issues.