This little rubber plant was on the brink of death and we brought it back, mostly because of this app! It’s got new leaves and doing well. However there is about a foot and a half of nothing. Is there anything to do about that? I’d hate for it to get tall and then be super unstable but I don’t think I can cut it and replant it.
You absolutely can chop and prop the top, making sure to cut beneath a node (and the bottom may even grow too) but this takes a long, long time for a payoff in my experience. You could also look into keiki paste which stimulates growth along the nodes on the stem.
0 LikesI just chopped and proped 2 of mine, I had them in water for a long time and nothing happened. I moved them to moist sphagnum moss and they had roots sprouted in a week and ready to plant after 4. Whatever method you use, if you cut it make sure you allow the prop to callous over before putting into any medium.
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A lot of times rubber plants branch out and can become tree like. Pretty sure you have to manipulate it a little bit though. But I think it’ll be just fine as is. Just keep it staked for the time being. Enjoy that new growth
0 Likes Also rotate it so it keeps growing upward rather than constantly reaching that one direction
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Just went through the same thing with one of my rubber trees! I had tried all the things people say to encourage lower growth (notching the stem, removing the apical bud, etc) and literally nothing worked. I chopped the few nodes with leaves up top into a couple cuttings, then cut the stem down to just a couple bare nodes. Put the stem cuttings in a mix of fluval and perlite (sphagnum also works great but I can’t stand removing the moss from the roots at the end). The stem cuttings threw roots within a week and were well-rooted with new growth by the end of the month. By that point the little stem nub had three new growth points and a couple little baby leaves coming out. Potted the cuttings and original stem together last week and she’s doing great 💗 Chopping her was scary but I’m so glad I did; I’m sure yours will do great if you go that route!
