A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Rubber Plant

Hi all. As you know, I have an indoor garden. However I do have houseplants in it too! I have a rubber plant that has gotten WAY TOO BIG! It's about 5 1/2 feet tall, and taking up a whole corner in my room. With all the branches, it's almost 4 feet wide. The stalks on it are over 2-3 inches in diameter. My question is, how do I stop it from growing? Can I cut it back a bit? Also, is it possible to take cuttings from it? The stalks are just soo thick that I thought it might "bleed to death" if I cut it back.

Any suggestions?

rubber plants - ficus elastica - are one of the most resillient plants there are. if you cut the tips (top 3-5 leaves - or so) and plop them in the soil, they'll root rather well.

if you cut the plant back hard, it will be fine. won't bleed to death at all. in fact, i cut one back very hard yesterday.

and, if you want to retard the growth, don't pot it up every time it looks like it has outgrown it's pot. let it set for a while longer... all plants will continue to grow to meet their environment, until they reach their potential!

Perfect! Thank you soo much. The pot it's in is already way to small. I've been trying to slow it down for awhile. But I'm gonna cut it back today! Thanks for your help.