Donna, I'd think most ppl air layer..Someone may have an easier technique, but that's the way I was taught to do it..Toni

I just rooted one in water, although it took a few months for roots to even show up, I have tried air layering a rubber tree and it failed....not to say it wouldn't work better, because I know it is better, but I could not do it. So if worse comes to worse, do it in water.

Tracy

Tracy, I agree..they can be rooted in water too..some ppl say they rot though..I don't think I've ever rooted a rubber tree. I'm still trying to decide what to do w/my yucca..lol..Toni

I root ficus in water on top of a florescent light or incandescent aquarium light. I also put a twig of willow or mint in the water too, this will quicken the whole process. I've tried rooting hormone and soil, but have had better luck with just water and bottom heat.

Boy! I am learning alot here! :) My Boy Friend has a Rubber Tree too. Will this plant bleed (white sap) when you cut it?

yes it will

I wasn't going to post on this one, but then I ran across some advice about this in a book I got from the library. The book says that it can be difficult to root large-leaf Ficus because they transpire a lot through the leaves; it's possible that rooting might be easier if you can enclose the cutting in a plastic bag or inverted vase or something like that. It wouldn't necessarily make it faster, but it might increase the chances for success.

What you could do is cut the leaves 1/4 or 1/2 off, this is a trick I learned while rooting large leaved philos.

A friend of mine gave me a rubber tree that is about six feet tall. There were some leaves turning yellow towards the bottom and some branches I wanted to trim down and plant. She told me to just cut them off where I wanted, stick them in water and they will root. I did this about 2 weeks ago and I have no roots growing? Do I need to wait longer? Or should I stick them in soil? The branches were starting to turn brown/bark looking with a small amount of green left. Should I have cut where it is all green? Thanks so much!

You have semi-ripe cuttings, which are perfect for propagating Ficus e., but they are best taken in late summer to early fall.

"I did this about 2 weeks ago and I have no roots growing? Do I need to wait longer?"

Well, if you have no roots - and you WANT roots - I believe your only choice is to wait. ;o) I think though, that your choice of water as the rooting medium wasn't the best. I would have taken 8-12" tip or internodal cuttings & removed all but the top 2 leaves. I would probably then have cut 1 or both of those leaves in half across the veins to reduce transpiration, and stuck them in a deep container, buried to the base of the bottom leaf, in pure perlite or another sterile and well-aerated medium (like Turface or very coarse [half BB size] sand). I would do this now. After that, bright light and a soil temperature of 65-70* are the order of the day.

Remember that cutting success is very dependent on how much stored energy there is within the cutting. Cuttings from plants growing under stress or strain will be substantially less likely to strike than those taken from plants growing with good vitality.

Al

Yup, what Al said. I have a very healthy variegated Ficus elastica I cut back. I trimmed off most of the leaves and just stuck the 24" stem in the ground under the shade of another plant in July. It was well rooted by September. I carefully dug it up and potted it. That was two summers ago. Now it's 5 feet high!