Question
RUBBER TREE
My rubber tree plant is fairly good size have had for 6 yrs.
And would love to keep.my problem is the leaves are falling
off. all together there are 8 big stems to the plant 4 have
lost all of there leaves. I think I figured that prob out
but while was making some slits in the spots where leaves
had fallen off I noticed that 3 of the 4 bald stems are
mushy inside one broke from my touch. why are the soft or
mushy inside. Please help.
AnswerJeff,
It appears that it is in a pot with no drain hole or drain tray under it so it probably is very soggy in the bottom of the pot. It is as if the plant is sitting in a swamp and this is not a swamp plant, it must dry out entirely between waterings. When the water can't drain away it is not possible for the plant to dry out between waterings.
You have to move it immediately to a pot that has a drainhole and a drain tray. Then when you water the plant empty the drain tray a half hour after you water the plant and do not water it again until you feel the soil has been very dry for at least 3 days.
When you repot it buy an extra bag of perlite and mix it with the potting soil to improve the drainage. Mix 1 part of perlite with 2 parts of potting soil.
Keep the plant in the sunniest location possible. It is a plant that likes the sun and it lives in full sun in Florida and in many greenhouses. If you have more questions feel free to write again. Good luck.
Darlene
