Why Is My Rubber Tree Dropping Leaves?
It’s pretty hard to miss when a rubber tree (Ficus elastica) starts dropping its leaves.
Those thick, glossy leaves are so large, you could probably hear them falling to the ground with a thunk from a mile away.
Okay, they aren’t that heavy, but you get what I mean.
When a rubber tree loses its leaves, it’s much more obvious than it would be on some other houseplants.
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It’s not always possible to prevent foliage drop, since it’s an evolutionary tactic that these plants have developed in response to stress, but if you see foliage starting to fall, quick action can save your tree from ending up looking like a bunch of naked stalks.
Here are the causes that we will go over:
Rubber trees are part of the Ficus genus, and ficuses have a bit of a reputation for dropping their leaves all too readily.
It’s a defense mechanism that the plants have developed to deal with adverse conditions.
So if you’re seeing that foliage falling, it’s a cry for help. Let’s dive into the causes:
1. A Recent ChangeAll members of the Ficus genus drop their leaves readily as a method of adjusting to environmental changes.
Some are more dramatic than others. F. benjamina, for instance, has a reputation for tossing its foliage at the drop of a hat.
Rubber trees are less prone to throwing their leaves on the ground in a huff, but they will still do it when you alter their environment dramatically without a transition period.
That means if you want to move your plant from one end of your house to another, you should do it over a period of a few days. This gives the plant some time to adjust to the
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