Rubber Plant Rejuvenation

Good afternoon, it has been quite a while since my previous post over a year ago. It is great to be back! We are now in the sizzling summer months and all of the plants are growing tremendously. For today, I would like to place my rubber plant in the spot light as he is in need of a leaf cleaning as shown below:

I originally acquired this Ficus elastica in April 2021 at a local garden center. He was much smaller with only five leaves. Within a year, he has grown leaf after leaf like nobody’s business which is quite impressive as I was not previously aware that rubber plants can grow at a rather fast rate. My plant lives in a northeast facing window that receives direct sun in the morning hours during the summer and little to no sun in the winter. He seems to love his location indeed. Lately, I have noticed that his leaves have accumulated dust and debris from the indoor environment. Today, I wiped down the leaves with a damp, soapy cloth to clear all of the debris from the leaves so that they can photosynthesize (if that is a word). Here is the following result:

The leaves look much better than before. The leaves can finally breathe clearly now. Of course, the soapy water cannot stay on the leaves, so I took my plant to the shower for a thorough rinsing and rejuvenation. The following is the result:

The rubber plant enjoyed this experience and he looks refreshed indeed. I also added some of his friends: my peace lily (Spathiphyllum) and mother in law’s tongue plant (Dracaena trifasciata ‘Laurentii’). They needed a good thorough rinsing as well. Both of them live in a northeast facing window as well. I first acquired my peace lily in December of 2020 from a clearance shelf at a hardware store. The plant looks nothing like when I first brought her home. I first acquired my mother in law’s tongue plant in July of 2019 and he has grown a lot within these past three years. He was in a 4” pot when I first brought him home. After the rinsing in the shower, I allowed for some time to elapse for the excess water to drip from the leaves and also from the pot’s drainage holes.

Everyone looks refreshed. After the excess water is completely, drained from the leaves/pots the plants will return to their original growing locations. Here is one last shot of the rubber in his shower glory:

This is absolutely one of my favorite houseplants. The dark, glossy, large leaves are very appealing to look at. He does have a new leaf that recently unfurled. The new leaves does have an initial orange-maroon color, however as the leaves mature, it transitions to a rich dark green/burgundy color which is absolutely amazing indeed. Based on this plant’s fast growth rate, he might be a fully grown rubber tree by the end of the summer. He is currently about three feet tall and counting. 

Thank you all for reading for today. It is great to be back. I know that it has been a little while. Enjoy the awesome warm weather and happy gardening! See you all soon again!