Rubber trees are hardy and versatile houseplants, which leads many people to wonder, “How do you get a start of a rubber tree plant?” Propagating rubber tree plants is easy and means that you will have starts for all of your friends and family. Keep reading to learn how to propagate a rubber tree so that you can give your friends a free rubber tree plant.

HOW TO CARE FOR A RUBBER TREE PLANT

A rubber tree plant is also known as a Ficus elastica. These large trees can grow up to 50 feet tall. When learning how to care for a rubber tree plant, there are a few key things to remember, but rubber plant care isn’t as difficult as one might think. Starting with a young rubber tree houseplant will allow it to adapt to being an indoor plant better than starting with a more mature plant.

PROPAGATION OF A RUBBER TREE PLANT

Once you know how to care for a rubber tree plant and it is growing well, you can begin the propagation of indoor rubber tree plants. In order to promote new leaves on a current rubber tree houseplant, cut a slit in the node where a leaf fell off. This will allow a new leaf to grow quicker. There are a couple different methods for creating new rubber tree plant cuttings. The simplest is to take a small branch from a healthy tree and put it in good potting soil or water and let it root. Another method, called air layering, is where you make a cut in a healthy rubber tree houseplant, put a toothpick in the hole, then pack damp moss around the cut. After that, you wrap it with plastic wrap to keep the moisture level higher. Once roots begin to appear, cut the branch off and plant. All these things will lead to successful rubber plant care.