Rubber tree yellowing and dropping leaves

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

My beautiful 3 foot rubber tree is rapidly dropping leaves after doing well for 1.5 years.

When I got it, it was quite rootbound, and I waited too long to re-pot and it lost a few lower leaves in that time, so it was already leggy. After trimming the roots and re-potting into a larger pot, and feeding regularly, it was doing great for quite a while.

I went on vacation two weeks ago and noticed one yellowing leaf. I thought perhaps it was getting a little too much water for the winter months so I didn't water it before I left. When I came back a week later, it had lost 3 more yellowed leaves and looked droopy. I checked the soil and found it to be bone-dry, so I gave it a thorough watering. Since then, it's lost another 2 leaves (that's 6 leaves in 2 weeks). All the dropping leaves have started yellowing in the center vein and stem, with yellow spreading outward through the rest of the leaf.

At this point I can't tell if the leaves are yellowing and dropping from too much water, or too little. The plant sits about 5 feet from a southwest facing window. It gets mostly indirect light, with about 2 hours of direct afternoon light this time of year (I live in New England). I had been watering it about every three weeks and I always water until water comes out of the drainage hole. The room it's in is about 68-70 during the day, 60 at night. I don't have a humidifier so it's a bit dry. The soil is a chunky mix I made myself with one part perlite, one part bark fines, and one part "potting soil".

What's baffling is that even with all these dropping leaves, there is still new growth coming in at the top. And, when I checked the soil after coming back from vacation, I felt a couple roots starting to come out of the bottom of the pot. Could it need re-potting again after only a year?

Could someone help me save this plant? If it loses any more lower leaves it's going to look quite sad, I know they won't regrow at the bottom of the plant. :(

Featured Answer

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

last year

Still having issues?

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Comments (7)

Marlene (Zone 6b Boston, MA)
Original Author
2 years ago
I would love any advice you can give me about this plant!
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Mokinu
last year
last modified: last year
Yeah, it probably does need repotting. I don't think the dropping leaves are related to how much you're watering it. It looks like an uncommon nutrient-deficiency (maybe something like magnanese or zinc). I would fertilize it with all-purpose fertilizer (like 24-8-16 Miracle Gro), and if you can, give it a bigger pot.

Make sure not to under-water it, though. When pot sizes are too small, plants can seem extra thirsty.
Mokinu
last year
Also, on another note, rubber plants don't seem to like being moved to new locations often, and they sometimes drop leaves when you do (but the leaves don't tend to yellow like that).
Mokinu
last year
last modified: last year
Also, I suggest making sure your watering is consistent for good results. I used to think rubber plants didn't like a lot of water, but I think they actually do like frequent waterings (but maybe not super deep waterings).
Marlene (Zone 6b Boston, MA)
Original Author
last year
I think underwatering was the issue! It's been stable now since when I took those photos. I'm watering it more regularly and checking it for moisture level when I water all my little guys. No more leaf drop and it's still growing!
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
last year
Marlene ~ do all your pots have drain holes; and, how do you make the determination it's time to water.

Your plant does like a deep watering every time it's watered. By "deep", I mean the grow medium should be completely saturated, and at least 20% of the entire volume of water used should exit the drain hole. The water that exits the drain hole 'pulls' dissolved solids (salts) from tapwater and fertilizer solutions from the soil. Once the water exits the drain hole, it should have no pathway by which it can make its way beck into the soil. These are key considerations if the goal is maximizing the vitality level of your plants because the high level of salts in the soil skews the ratio of nutrients in the soil solution (creating toxicities and antagonistic deficiencies) and limits your plants' normal uptake of water. IOW, too much salt in the soil can cause a plant to die of thirst while roots are awash in a sea of plenty.

Al