Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Indoor plants

Your guide to rubber plant care and the best varieties to add to your home

Everything you need to know about rubber plants

Stacey Nguyen
By

Elegant and sleek, the glossy rubber plant isn’t merely a gorgeous houseplant — it’s a low-maintenance and long-lasting one as well. And there’s not just one type of rubber plant, either. If you’re curious about these striking foliage plants, here’s everything you need to know about them, as well as some of our top picks.

Wiping dust from ficus elastica
Image used with permission by copyright holder

What are rubber plants?

Native to Southeast Asia, rubber plants are some of the most popular houseplants out there — not only are they sleek and stylish, but they’re also affordable and easy to maintain. They feature leathery oval leaves that emerge from woody stems. New rubber plant leaves grow inside reddish sheaths, which drop when the leaves are ready to unfurl.

Recommended Videos

When you cut the leaves for propagation or accidentally rip them, you might notice a white sap coming out. This sap can irritate the skin and is toxic when ingested, so be careful when you handle a rubber plant — you want to be cautious around kids and pets.

Rubber plant
Scott Webb / Unsplash

General rubber plant care

Rubber plants are some of the easiest houseplants to care for. When it comes to watering, allow your soil to dry out before giving your plant a drink. Overwatering can cause leaves to yellow and drop, especially during the winter. In the summer, keep your soil evenly moist. The rubber plant isn’t particularly picky about humidity, but it does prefer warm temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s also not a heavy feeder, but it appreciates monthly feeding with an all-purpose fertilizer for strong branches and glossy leaves.

Related

Like most houseplants, the rubber plant is a fan of bright indirect light. Hypothetically speaking, you could leave a rubber plant in low light. You won’t get much growth from it, though, and it would get leggy from stretching toward the light. Plus, the leaves on the plant might become dull, and variegated varieties could revert to green. Long story short, give your rubber plant as much light as possible — a southwest window is ideal, but keep in mind that too much direct sunlight could burn your foliage.

Every so often, wipe your leaves with a wet cloth. Not only will this make your plant look cleaner, but it’ll also help it absorb more light to convert into energy.

Person holding a rubber plant
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Different rubber plant varieties for your home

Whether you’re looking for the best plant for your home, or you simply want to collect all the rubber plants out there, here’s a list to get you started.

Ficus elastica robusta

Ficus elastica robusta is your straightforward ficus elastica with glossy, leathery medium green leaves. Compared to the following varieties, it’s more of a pure green in color. It’s considered the closest cultivar to the original ficus elastica brought over to the states from Asia; the main difference is that its leaves are wider and glossier than the original plant. All the above care tips apply to this plant for healthy growth.

Ficus elastica burgundy

The ubiquitous burgundy is another one of the quintessential rubber plants out there. It has dark green leaves with bright red veins — the leaves also emerge from red sheaths, contributing to a striking color contrast on the plant. For a variety with an even deeper foliage color, check out the Black Prince. With the burgundy, avoid overwatering it or leaving it next to drafty windows, or else the leaves may start dropping.

Ficus elastica ruby

If you love a splash of red and pink, this rubber plant variety deserves a space in your collection. This ficus elastica flaunts dark mottled leaves with a pinkish, wine-red color all over. The more sun you can give it, the more intense its color will become. Fertilizing will also help upkeep its color, although overdoing it could burn your leaves.

Ficus elastica Tineke

Though it’s a relatively recent cultivar, the Tineke is widely available. It looks similar to the ruby variety without the intense pink color. Great for pattern lovers, its leaves consist of mottled camouflage-style green leaves with cream edges and red leaf ribs. Don’t give the Tineke too much direct light, as the cream edges can burn and lose their appeal.

Ficus altissima “Yellow Gem”

The ficus altissima is more of a cousin to the rubber plant, but its care requirements and characteristics are similar. It features bright green leaves with dark green splashes and a prominent bright green ribbing. Though the leaves are leathery and produce a white sap, they differ from regular rubber plants in that they feel slightly thinner and have more pronounced veins. If we go by its color palette, it makes an excellent companion to plants such as the philodendron brasil, neon pothos, and lemon-lime maranta.

Peperomia
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Honorable mention: Peperomia obtusifolia

Here’s an honorable mention: For a plant that’s not quite a rubber plant but still similar, check out the peperomia obtusifolia, which is sometimes called the baby rubber plant. It features thick oval leaves that have more of a shrubby rather than an upright form. If you already have your fair share of rubber plants, consider this plant.

Rubber plants can make for some of the most long-lasting pillars in a houseplant collection, as long as you don’t overwater them or snap their leaves. With sufficient fertilizing and bright indirect light, they will truly thrive and reward you with beautiful colors. From standard green varieties to splashier pink ones, choose from many rubber plant types. They won’t be tricky to source down, either. With a simple walk into a garden center or a quick search online, you can pick up this beloved common houseplant sooner than you think!

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Stacey Nguyen
Stacey Nguyen
Contributor
Stacey's work has appeared on sites such as POPSUGAR, HelloGiggles, Buzzfeed, The Balance, TripSavvy, and more. When she's…
The dos and don’ts of caring for your bonsai tree
Basic bonsai tree care tips and tricks
Bonsai tree in purple rectangular pot blooming purple flowers

Bonsai trees are, by design, relaxing and beautiful to look at. Thanks to the internet and international shipping, bonsai trees are becoming more and more popular in America, and many gardeners are interested in bringing one of these stunning works of living art home. Bonsai trees need light, water, and fertilizer like any other plant, but their shape and size also need to be maintained. If you plan on growing your own bonsai tree, there are a few things you’ll need to know first. Here is your guide to the basics of bonsai.

What is bonsai?
Bonsai is the traditional Japanese art of growing miniature trees. A bonsai tree is any small tree grown in a shallow pot or dish that is trained to grow in a way that resembles a fully grown tree. You can think of bonsai almost like a living sculpture, and like any other art form, there are certain conventions and traditions that bonsai artists follow.

Read more
Here’s how to care for your aloe vera plant to reap its soothing benefits
Tips on watering, pruning, and propagating your aloe vera plant
Aloe vera pups

Of the hundreds of plants in the aloe genus, aloe vera probably has the most established reputation as a powerhouse personal care ingredient. The plant is best known for its versatile leaf gel, which you can use to soothe scrapes, burns, and other minor irritations. As a succulent, it’s relatively easy to grow and maintain, but there are things you should know about it to give it the best care possible. Ahead, we’ve gathered everything you need to know about this healing desert marvel — with these tips, you'll be ready to harvest it in no time.

What you need to know about the aloe vera plant
Aloe often grows in a rosette form — many varieties are spineless, but some have spines and teeth along their fleshy, upright leaves. They can push out tubular red, orange, or yellow flowers outside during the growing season. The most common variety is aloe barbadensis, or aloe vera. Aloe vera is often found in food, drinks, medicine, and personal care items — that's right, it's in beverages as well. It features dagger-like, fleshy green leaves with serrated edges, and you can grow aloe vera directly in the ground or containers. The leaves can grow up to two feet long and the plant, when grown outside, can sometimes push out a yellow flower stalk up to three feet tall.

Read more
The 5 best tall indoor plants you can get to create a lively space
Tall plants to fill your home with
A collection of various houseplants

Many gardeners look for small houseplants and flowers to conserve space, but what if you have the opposite problem? Many homeowners can relate to the feeling of looking at a room and thinking it’s missing something. Sometimes, what it's missing is a tall houseplant to fill space, to add visual interest, and even to add some relaxing vibes to the room.

If you need a tall houseplant to add a burst of greenery to your home, this guide is here to help. There are plenty of tall indoor plants to choose from, and here are our five favorites!

Read more