Rubber Varigated

The variegated rubber plant, known as Ficus elastica tineke is possibly one of the prettiest plants of this year. A sister to Ficus elastica, Ficus tineke is basically an impressionist rubber tree; pink painted leaves with white and green, these babies are beautiful.

Sunlight

 Variegated rubber plants like bright light but cooler temperatures. In fact, many variegated plants prefer cooler temperatures – that’s what creates more variegation. Bright, daily sunlight is necessary but harsh direct sun can damage their fragile leaves. I like to keep all variegated plants a few feet away from windows so they get the light without any possibility of sizzling.

Water

A horrible offender of rubber trees is overwatering. More often than not, this is the cause of death. It is horribly difficult for a rubber tree (or any plant, really) to bounce back after a perpetual soggy bottom. Let Ficus elastica dry out a bit between waterings; I water all of them once a week. Tilda and Rudy live in Southwest windows.

Humidity

All ficuses like humidity but Ficus elastica really love it. Ample humidity keeps leaves supple and from drying out on the edges. Adding a humidifier during the winter helps everyone, including your skin.

Feeding

I actually don’t feed Tilda any fertilizer. I do feed Rudy this fertilizer during his growing season (April-September) but variegated plants can suffer if they’re overfed. For some reason, they are more likely to get fertilizer burn which is sometimes mistaken for lack of humidity – dry crispy leaf edges or brown leaf spots. If you want to fertilize, just be sure it’s diluted enough.

Note- Delivery Is Only Available When Order Is More Than RS-1000.