Rubber trees (Ficus elastica) add a lush, tropical element to indoor and outdoor plantings with their ovate, glossy leaves and treelike growth habit. Due to their tropical origins, rubber tree plants grow best indoors, but they will also thrive outdoors in cool, moist areas with little to no frost. Like many tropical plants, rubber tree cuttings reroot easily and will steadily put on growth if kept under warm, bright conditions; however, whether grown indoors or out, they will only root from tip cuttings taken in spring or summer during the active growing season.
Combine 4 parts peat moss and 1 part perlite in a bucket or large bowl. Stir it until the perlite is fairly well distributed throughout the peat moss. Pour water onto the mixture until it is barely covered. Soak it for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the peat moss swells slightly and feels completely saturated.
Pack the moistened peat moss and perlite mixture into a 4-inch pot. Press it firmly to extract the excess moisture. Keep pressing until the water stops trickling from the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot. Set it aside while you gather a rubber tree cutting.
Gather a 3- to 6-inch-long cutting from the tip of a vigorous rubber tree plant stem. Select one with leaves measuring no more than 4 inches in length, if possible. Trim leaves larger than 6 inches in length in half to decrease moisture loss through transpiration.
Sever the cutting approximately 1/2-inch below a set of leaves. Use floral snips to cut the stem. Pull off the lowest set of leaves. Rinse off the milky white sap that exudes from the cuts under cool running water.
Dust the severed end of the rubber tree cutting with rooting hormone talc to staunch the flow of the sap and to hasten rooting. Dip the end directly into the hormone talc or apply it with a small, fine-bristled paintbrush or cotton ball.
Poke a planting hole in the pot of peat moss using your fingertip. Make the hole deep enough to accommodate the leafless portion of the rubber tree cutting. Insert the cutting into the hole and press the peat moss in against the stem to hold the cutting upright.
Place the potted rubber tree cutting near a window with bright, filtered light. Apply bottom heat with a propagation mat set to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a clear 2-gallon plastic bag over the rubber tree cutting to hold warmth and humidity around the foliage.
Moisten the peat moss whenever the surface feels dry. Add water until it feels moderately wet 1 inch below the surface. Avoid overwatering the peat moss mixture because the rubber tree cutting will rot.
Check for roots six to eight weeks after potting the rubber tree cutting. Very gently tug on the base of the stem and feel for resistance, which indicates that some roots have formed. Grow the cutting under the same warm, bright and humid conditions for another six weeks, then transplant it into a permanent pot filled with houseplant potting soil.
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Things You Will Need
- Peat moss
- 4-inch pot
- Floral snips
- Rooting hormone talc
- Small paintbrush
- Propagation mat
- Clear 2-gallon plastic bag
- Houseplant potting soil
- Rubber tree plants grow best indoors, but they will also thrive outdoors within Sunset's Climate Zones H1, H2, 13, 16, 17 and 19 to 24.