Reproduction of rubber ficus by cuttings: rules, features and recommendations

To propagate rubber ficus, you must adhere to some generally accepted recommendations.:

Experienced gardeners recommend propagating the plant exclusively in warm weather. The optimal period for this operation is spring or warm autumn.
Ficus should be placed on window sills without direct sunlight, since they suffer from ultraviolet radiation, especially young leaves are susceptible to its harmful effects.
When cutting a cutting, you need to get rid of the milky juice by holding it under running water.
For propagation, you need to use only woody shoots; unlike young shoots, they will be able to produce roots.
To root a cutting, you can use both the upper part of the stem and those parts that have more than one node.

Features of the plant type with photo

The ficus is native to India and Indonesia, where the plant grows as an evergreen tree and reaches 30 meters in height. Many varieties of its decorative foliage indoor analogues have been developed. The rubber-bearing ficus is also called elastica, and it received the prefix “rubber-bearing” for the presence in its juice of a substance from which rubber can be made. Belongs to the Tutov family.

Characteristic features of elastic:

dense oval-shaped leaves with pointed tips;
The color of the leaves can be dark green, burgundy, and also with light splashes;
the stem is strong, in adult plants it is tree-like;
has milky juice with a high isoprene content;
the tree is capable of flowering, but produces flowers quite rarely;
elastica rarely produces side shoots without outside help;
prefers an average temperature of 16-18 degrees;
reproduces in several ways.

Several varieties of this species have been bred, which differ in appearance and care characteristics:

Melanie;

Melanie
Belize;

Belize
Robusta;

Robusta
Tineke;

Tineke
Black Prince;

Black Prince
Abidjan;

Abidjan
Tricolor;

Tricolor
Sriveriana;

Sriveriana
Variegata.

Variegata

The houseplant is easy to care for and does not require additional expensive fertilizers. The tree grows quickly and has a long lifespan.

Origin

The rubber plant is native to Southeast Asia. Or rather, the expanses of India, China, Sumatra and Java. The subtropical regions of these countries and islands are best suited for the plant to grow in natural conditions. This tree has been in cultivation since the beginning of the 19th century. It is usually grown in specially selected large flowerpots. The growth of the giant is limited precisely by the dimensions of the container.

In the natural environment, its height can reach 50 meters. With proper environmental humidity, rubber plants are able to develop aerial roots. They spread in all directions.

Preparing cuttings for propagation, rooting

The simplest and most popular way to propagate elastica is to use cuttings. It is best to carry out the procedure between March and June. In order for the transplantation process to be successful, you should choose adult ficuses that already have lignified shoots. The algorithm for preparing cuttings is as follows:

You need to cut a cutting 10-15 cm long at an angle. Both the top of the plant and the side shoot are suitable for this purpose.

Ficus cuttings
The cut must be thoroughly washed under running water or soaked for a couple of hours in warm water until the milky juice, which forms a plug on the cut, completely disappears.
Make several vertical cuts at the bottom of the branch and tear off the lower leaves. Only after this can you move on to rooting it.
The first option is rooting in water. You need to place the shoot prepared in this way in water and wait for the roots to appear. To speed up the procedure, you can use special biostimulants or activated carbon.

Advice!

It takes 3-4 weeks for the flower to take root. Creating a greenhouse effect will help speed up the process of root emergence. Simply place a plastic bag or plastic bottle over the branch. You should not forget to add water to the container during the process of germination of the cuttings.

Germination of cuttings

The first sign of the appearance of roots will be the formation of white nodules in the area of the cut, which will soon turn into roots. The next step in obtaining a new young ficus will be planting sprouted branches with young roots in the soil.

Methods for propagating rubber ficus at home

Cuttings.

The easiest way to propagate ficus elastica. For such propagation, apical and stem cuttings measuring at least 10 cm are suitable. It is best to root cuttings in the soil in a transparent plastic cup using a greenhouse from a bag. The roots that can be seen through the walls of the cup will indicate that the cutting has taken root.

Ficuses with monochromatic leaves take root easily, but variegated leaves take root with difficulty. In order to increase the chances of successful rooting, before planting, the cuttings should be dipped in a root stimulator or heteroauxin.

Leaf propagation.

Ficus leaves root just as easily as cuttings. But you won't expect more from them. The leaf will not sprout, and you will not get an independent plant specimen from it. A leaf with roots will remain a leaf with roots.

Ficus elastica. ©EDI GALVANI ULIANO

Planting cuttings

To plant a prepared cutting, you will need a mixture of substrate and a container, which does not have to be large, since after the start of the active growth phase it will be possible to transplant the elastica into a more suitable pot.

It is necessary to prepare the following substrate for the successful development of a young plant:

peat – 1 part;
sand – 1 part;
drainage – 1 part;
leaf soil - 5 parts.

For sterilization, it is also recommended to water this substrate with a solution of potassium permanganate and, after drying, begin planting the plant. The procedure for planting cuttings is standard; you need to make a hole and moisten the soil, loosen it and then place the sprout in the hole made, keeping as close to the center as possible.

Rooted cuttings

From side shoots

Planting material can also be prepared from lateral semi-lignified long shoots. The branch is cut into 15-20 cm pieces, with 4-5 leaves on each. They are prepared for planting in the same way as the apical ones. But stem cuttings from side shoots take root much more slowly, and some of the planting material dies. If you use growth stimulants – liquid and powder – the result will be better.

Caring for young ficus trees

A young plant requires special care in the first two months, as during this period it gains strength and becomes a full-fledged independent ficus. It is important to adhere to the following rules when caring for young elastics:

Choose a place with good lighting but not direct sunlight. This will allow the small ficus to grow and gain strength, maintaining the shape of the leaves and strengthening the stem. If there is too much light, it will stretch upward, and the leaves will not be able to fully bloom and, most likely, will dry out.

Ficus care
Depending on the time of year, you need to maintain the temperature: in winter – 15-18°C, and in summer – 25-28°C.
Avoid drafts, they are harmful to the developing sprout.
Proper watering is the key to a beautiful and healthy plant. Young elastic needs to be moistened every 3-5 days, depending on the ambient temperature.
Important!
Do not overdo it, so as not to flood it, stick to the watering regime, since dry soil will not allow the young sprout to develop fully. It is also important to wipe the leaves or spray them with a spray bottle.
Feeding of young ficus in the active growth phase should be introduced from the second week from the day of planting in the soil and should be done every 10-14 days; it will give strength to the roots of the plant and also help the development of new leaves. A universal fertilizer for deciduous plants is suitable for this purpose.

Apical cuttings

In spring, ficus trees are pruned to ensure proper growth. The apical shoots make excellent planting material. But there are a number of conditions:

Cuttings should not be less than 15 cm, each should have 3-4 full leaves.
It is better not to use completely green shoots (and they are often found at the top of the bush). The branch has not yet gained the strength to grow and will not be able to take root. It is better to choose semi-lignified shoots.

Before planting ficus cuttings, you need to properly prepare them:

Cut to the desired length, make an oblique cut at the bottom. The top point of the bottom cut should be as close as possible to the kidney.
Remove the bottom sheet and cut off half of the rest.
Place the branches in water. This will prevent the sticky, whitish juice from hardening in the air. Keep for 3-5 hours. At this stage, you can add various phytostimulants such as “Kornevin” and similar drugs.
Remove from the water and dry the sections for 15-20 minutes. Dust all damaged areas with coal dust. You can also dip the cut in a powdered growth stimulator.

The cuttings are ready. Now they need to be rooted and then transplanted into the ground.

Possible problems and methods for solving them

The rubber-bearing species is rarely susceptible to disease and is not particularly demanding on living conditions, but still the plant can also suffer if it is not cared for properly or pests appear. Common problems when caring for elastic:

Incorrect watering, which leads to drying out or, conversely, waterlogging of the elastic. If it dries out, the watering regime should be normalized, and the plant will recover. If it was flooded and the roots began to rot, then you can try to save the flower by replanting it in new soil and removing the damaged roots.
Yellowing of leaves due to excess light or excessive proximity of heating devices to the flower. You just need to move the ficus to another place - and it will regenerate on its own.

Yellowing of leaves
Ficus leaves can also turn yellow due to excess fertilizer; to remove them, it is enough to water the flower generously several times and reduce the dose of the drugs used in the future.
Elastic develops poorly and takes on an unhealthy appearance if there is an excess of salts in the soil. The problem is solved with the help of a transplant.

Ficus can also suffer from insects; it is advisable to detect their attack on the plant at an early stage and get rid of them. Signs of ficus damage by pests manifest themselves in different ways:

aphids cover the leaves with sticky clumps;
as a result of a scale insect attack, brown-white tubercles appear on the leaves;
spider mites can be noticed by the appearance of a thin cobweb enveloping both the trunk and leaves;
Mealybugs are characterized by the appearance of fluffy white fibers and sticky liquid on the leaves and stem.

To rid elastic from pests, you need to carefully treat it with special chemicals that are sold in flower shops. You can also use traditional methods of struggle:

laundry soap;
toothpaste;
garlic;
tobacco;
nettle;
calendula;
elder;
sagebrush.

You need to prepare an aqueous solution from the above plants and products and thoroughly rinse the ficus with it to get rid of insects. The procedure is effective at the initial stage of infection and requires repetition several times to achieve results.

Proper transplantation into a new flower pot

The only important rule is to observe the seasonality of the procedure. The flower tolerates this event best in the spring. The best option would be to replant and prune with annual alternation, so the ficus adapts more easily each time and recovers faster.

A young plant should not be planted in a large pot, otherwise the root system, sensing space, develops too intensely, leaving no energy and nutrients for the growth of the above-ground part. Each time you need to choose a container 6 centimeters deeper and larger in diameter than the previous one.

The least traumatic way is transshipment. If this is not possible, you need to protect the root system as much as possible from external influences and place it in a new pot at the same level as in the previous place. When carrying out care that involves damaging parts of the plant, it is necessary to use gloves, since the secreted juice contains poison that can cause swelling or irritation of the human mucosa.

Interesting! Read about the beautiful Ficus elastica.

Growing rubber-bearing large-leaved ficus is absolutely not difficult; it is not capricious in rooting and easily tolerates transplants at a young age. In addition, a grower who pays due attention to it and carries out the necessary pruning annually has the material to begin propagating the crop using the common vegetative method.

Common mistakes

Before transplanting a ficus (with cuttings, leaves, layering - it doesn’t matter), you need to thoroughly treat all equipment with any antimicrobial agent or pour boiling water over it. This will also help get rid of pest larvae when using a used pot.

Common mistakes that novice gardeners make include:

Excessive watering. Leads to root rot and plant death.
Abuse of fertilizers. Sometimes a gardener who carefully cares for his plants has all his bushes wither and wither, while in a stuffy office the ficus feels great. And in this case, it’s most often a matter of banal overfeeding.
No household humidifier or daily spraying.
Rooting of an immature leaf - without a stem or bud. Even if the bush grows from such unsuitable material, it will be weak and undeveloped.

Source

Fertilizing

For a lush crown and large, richly colored leaves, Elastica should be fertilized every two weeks. It is useful to alternate organic and mineral fertilizers. The fertilizer must contain a lot of nitrogen for the growth of green mass.

Ficus is topped with Nitrophoska solution, for the preparation of which ½ tsp. fertilizers are diluted in 1 liter of water. After two weeks, the flower is added with a weak solution of mullein. All fertilizers are applied only after watering, so as not to burn the roots.

When applying fertilizer, you must ensure that the solution does not get on the leaves. If the ficus is not fertilized, its leaves will become small or begin to fall off, and the growth of the flower will slow down very much.

You should not use chemicals to polish ficus leaves. It is best to give a beautiful shine to the foliage using a proven folk remedy - a decoction of husks. You can also use non-alcoholic beer.

When to prune

It’s easy to form a beautiful bush of tree-like ficus, for example, Benjamin, but even experienced gardeners have problems with Rubber.

Do you prune your ficus? Yes 18.6%

No 20.94%

I want to try 60.47%

The time of pruning is of great importance; it depends on:

will the sleeping buds wake up at all?
how many new shoots will there be;
growth intensity;
when the ficus returns to decorativeness after formation.

Spring

It is better to carry out pruning at the beginning of active sap flow, when the rubber plant devotes all its efforts to resuming development. If you remove the growing point and prevent it from stretching upward, the sleeping buds located in the axils of the leaves will wake up.

The lower the trunk is cut at this time, the more new shoots will be awakened. The roots begin to drive plastic substances upward, but there are simply no leaves and a significant part of the plant, which they should provide with nutrition and liquid. Waiting for better times, the axillary buds, which are nothing more than the rudiments of new shoots, explode in growth.

If the rubber-bearing ficus has released a young leaf, even if it has not yet had time to open, some of its strength has already been expended. This does not mean that the tree will not produce new shoots, just that fewer buds will be awakened, or their growth force will be weaker.

Drastic pruning in early April or late March will cause the bush to branch heavily. Removing the top few leaves on a tall ficus tree may produce a pair of new shoots in the axils of closely spaced blades. The same will happen with significant pruning in May or June.

Summer

Pruning rubber ficus at home in the middle of the season is possible. But there are two strong arguments against it:

By the beginning of July, the plant had already spent most of its energy developing new leaves and lengthening the trunk. It’s not for nothing that spring is called a “period of active growth.” In the best case, with short pruning, the ficus will produce two branches, but they will take a long time to lengthen, and the decorative effect will return only next season. Much more often, one new shoot is formed, replacing the one that has been pruned. You will just look a little to the side.
It's hot in summer. Varieties with dark plates, such as Abidjan, Black Prince, Burgundy, Robusta, suffer more from high temperatures. But variegated plants also feel discomfort already at 27-30° C, and 35° C causes them to stop development. Heat is stressful for ficus. If you add injury from pruning, you may not only be left without new shoots and tops, but also lose some of the leaves.

Autumn and winter

The rubber ficus has a relative rest period. Growth processes do not stop completely, but are suspended. You cannot pinch, do formative pruning, or rejuvenate the tree at this time.

In autumn, sleeping buds cannot be awakened. The plant has given all its strength and is gaining new ones. Winter is also not the right time to force rubber plant ficus to branch. In case of emergency, it is permissible to prune at the end of February, but you will have to use special means, for example, cytokinin paste.

Without stimulants, dormant buds may wake up in winter, but with a high probability they will immediately dry out. When a period of active growth begins, one, the strongest, will most likely begin to develop rapidly. It will give a powerful shoot, but it won’t produce a lush bush.