no pic of what you think is scale???

does it look like any of these ...:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Ficus+scale&t=ffcm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

just stop spraying it... until you find something worth treating.. spraying is not going to make the spots go away ...

if its just a few lower leaves.. i might be tempted to just cut them off ... and i would look to the newest growth for any ongoing problems ....

could it have been damaged when moved from seller to you ..??

its a gorgeous plant.. lets not kill it with too much love ...

ken

The top photos with the pitting look like oedema to me. And I see nothing on the lower photos to cause concern other than some slight mechanical damage.

Yes, this is exactly how the scale I found look like. i don’t spray it much , I did the initial scale treatment when it first got to me and then again two times - last week and yesterday for scale as well. Other than that I don’t spray it at all. I know they won’t go away but I dont want it to spread further cause it already did. I spray when I see something to treat.

you think it’s oedema? I water this tree once a month cause it’s not growing at all in the winter season and it seems like it enough for it. I don’t know how could this possibly be overwatering, the soil mixture is very light and loose too

I know it is oedema :-) And it may have nothing at all to do with your watering regime. With just a few leaves showing the pitting being older ones, it likely occurred long before you acquired the plant.

It actually did spread since when I first got it but I was super cautious with watering. if it’s oedema then I guess it’s not that bad, I was worried that something is eating up my plant or it got some kind of infection. Any tips how to treat/prevent it?

"It actually did spread since when I first got it but I was super cautious with watering."

If it had scale when you first got it (it did, and even after), it probably came from that. If it hasn't significantly spread recently, I'd keep an eye on it, but not otherwise worry about it for right now.

Old leaves don't heal, unfortunately (or not significantly, anyway). But if it's not moving much or at all in recent history, it sounds like you're fine.

No new growth in late winter on those is completely normal. The growth period is spring, summer, and early fall; growth should resume shortly--figure April-ish, depending on light levels and where you are, and any artificial light on it the plant.

well it did spread recently so that’s why I’m making this post. Whether it is scale or oedema I think I can handle it, but if any of you know how to prevent oedema ( I did not overwater even once for the last 5 months of it being at my house) I would happily get some tips from you

Monitor for scale and remove it immediately, but you're already doing that. Physical damage will do this as well, but that doesn't seem to be happening here. And you'll notice damage that you didn't see before, of course, because you're looking for it. :-)

I find the lazy gardener's rule useful here and try (often unsuccessfully) to follow it. As long as it's not spreading, if damage isn't visible from 5 feet, it doesn't exist. If it's invisible from 15 feet, I can ignore it. :-) As I'm visually impaired, I'm more much more sensitive to color differences than damage, so I'd see the light difference more than the damage itself.

Oedema is just a reflection of inconsistent watering habits. Here is a very helpful little synopsis on oedema written by our resident container gardening guru:

"Oedema

Oedema is a physiological disorder that can affect all plants. It occurs
when the plant takes up more water than it can rid itself of via the
process of transpiration. The word itself means 'swelling', which is
usually the first symptom, and comes in the form of pale blisters or
water-filled bumps on foliage. Under a variety of
circumstances/cultural conditions, a plant's internal water pressure
(turgidity) can become so high that some leaf cells rupture and leak
their contents into inter-cellular spaces in leaf tissue, creating
wet or weepy areas. Symptoms vary by plant, but as the malady
progresses, areas of the leaf turn yellow, brown, brown with reddish
overtones or even black, with older damage appearing as corky/ scaly/
ridged patches, pitting, or wart/gall-like bumpy growth. Symptoms are seen
more frequently in plants that are fleshy, are usually more
pronounced on the underside of leaves, and older/lower leaves are
more likely to be affected than younger/upper leaves.

Oedema is most common in houseplants during the winter/early spring months,
is driven primarily by excessive water retention in the soil, and can
be intensified via several additional cultural influences. Cool
temperatures, high humidity levels, low light conditions, or partial
defoliation can individually or collectively act to intensify the
problem, as can anything else that slows transpiration. Nutritional
deficiencies of Ca and Mg are also known contributors to the malady.

Some things that can help you prevent oedema:

* Increase light levels and temperature

* Monitor water needs carefully – avoid over-watering. I'd heartily
recommend a soil with drainage so sharp (fast) that when you to water
to beyond the saturation point you needn't worry about prolonged
periods of soil saturation wrecking root health/function. Your soil
choice should be a key that unlocks the solutions to many potential
problems.

* Avoid misting or getting water on foliage. It slows transpiration and
increases turgidity.

* Water as soon as you get up in the AM. When stomata close in
preparation for the dark cycle, turgidity builds. If you water early
in the day, it gives the plant an opportunity to remove (for its own
needs) some of the excess water in the soil.

* Put a fan in the room or otherwise increase air flow/circulation.
Avoid over-crowding your plants.

Yes, if that were edema. I think at least some of it's old scarring, personally. Some of it's leaf tipping, which nobody discussed, but it's wise to see what the change in care brings since it's a new plant and old care no longer applies. And so on.

I have just read about edema and most info says that it’s because the leaves stomata can’t process excess moisture from the plants roots and it ruptures. That makes sense but at the same time the vast majority of leafs stomata is on the underside of the leaf and so far all cases I googled show edema damage that is visible on either both sides of the leaf or the bottom mostly. It usually causes tissue damage that goes through all layers of the leaf and starts on the underside. mine is only on the upper side of the leaf so I guess I have some more reading to do cause it doesn’t make much sense to me yet :)

I guess the best I can do is to inspect the plant more frequently in the following weeks, have an eye out for any pests and make sure I don’t overwater ...but then again, I know I didnt so i really dont know how to improve my watering regime. The soil is loose and fast drying , within a few days its completely dry, I give it water once a month cause it doesn’t really call for anything more frequent - the leaves are firm, they never droop ...if you have any tips for watering ficus in particular that would be very helpful too :)

"It usually causes tissue damage that goes through all layers of the leaf and starts on the underside. mine is only on the upper side of the leaf so I guess I have some more reading to do cause it doesn’t make much sense to me yet :)"

Exactly. There are a number of incidences of damage showing here. Proper watering is, of course, important, however, to avoid edema.

Your average Ficus elastica is not a demanding plant. In fact, barring disease or insects (like that one got) they're pretty easy. Water when dry; overwatering is a mistake. While monthly might be a bit spare, if the plant seems to be working well on that schedule in lower light, that's great. It's better than overwatering it by far. You'll notice the watering recommendations in the two guides differ, showing that there are some differing opinions here.

It's a great example of "You do you, BooBoo." If you don't soak it (both do say that) and don't overwater, the plant's pretty flexible (pardon the pun) about it.

https://www.houseplantsexpert.com/rubber-plant.html

https://smartgardenguide.com/how-to-care-for-a-rubber-plant-ficus-elastica/

Im seriously starting to think these are pests. Possibly thrips? I do not see any even if I look for them very closely but my Ficus Abidjan that stands right next to Ruby started getting weird marks on its leaves too! And it was completely fine just 2 weeks ago! Additionally I think those new marks on Ruby look about weird too, not at all like edema.

Agata - I didn't read the entire thread, but the major issue is oedema. Just upthread a bit, Pam provided an overview of the physiological disorder and provided a list of potential causes.

I didn't note where you live; but, if you live in the Continental U.S. and unless your Ficus is completely isolated from natural light, your tree should be conspicuously pushing growth by now. All Ficus in my collection have started their spring push, dictated by day length (actually it's the length of the dark period) which is the primary influence on the plant's natural rhythms.

If your plant is stalled, it's probably because the root system has been damaged by (a fungal) disease or is/has been severely limited by long/frequent intervals of soil saturation and possibly other exacerbating influences (see info Pam provided above). If the root system is damaged by disease or limited by poor cultural conditions such that its ability to provide hydration to the top of the plant is compromised, the plant's chemical messengers tell plant central to stop top growth until the root system can support an increase in top mass.

Some of the photos show what looks like soft or terrapin scale; however, most scale concentrations are found on primary or secondary veins on the inferior side of leaves. Plants suffering chronic or severe stress are prime targets for insects as the plant's ability to defend itself is closely linked to the plants metabolism, so both the oedema and if present, scale, should be addressed asap.

Al

Thank you! I will address both issues and definitely have a look out for pests. Will probably hang some beneficial Incects on it just to make sure that if there’s any thrips or spider mites those will be gone too.

None of my plants got out of dormancy yet except for philodendrons. I live in Eastern Europe and the closest reference to my climate zone would be that of southern part of Canada so we still have some time for the proper spring to come (we still get snow and negative temperatures).