Pruning is something quite common when it comes to ficus maintenance. However, it is always a step that scares a lot of people, especially if they are not used to it.
Indeed, in recent years, ficuses have made a comeback as an ornamental plant and it is quite possible that you have recently given in to temptation and switched to buying.
Even if you are a little used to it, each ficus still has its specificity and it is also possible that you are looking for some advice to succeed in pruning your rubber ficus in the best possible way!
Anyway, we will see in this article how we go about making a success of this operation which is not that hard. If you are looking for advice on other ficus like Lyrata, we are directing you to another article.
Elastica ficus trees - General information
There are a whole bunch of different ficus trees on the market, each with characteristics that will look better on some people than on others. But here it is Elastica ficus that we will talk about in more detail.
It is not necessarily necessary to prune it!
The first thing to know is that like a lot of ficus, it is not necessarily necessary to prune a rubber ficus. Indeed, if you don't want to do it, you can very well.
It is not an act which will aim to allow him to live longer, for example. So you can leave it as it is, especially if you are having trouble going about it and messing around with it.
However, there is still a very specific case where you will not be able to do otherwise than prune a rubber ficus, it is when it will be affected by a disease on the leaves for example;
There, the goal will obviously be to stop this disease as quickly as possible before it reaches the healthy parts of your plant and ends up causing too much damage at the same time.
But nothing says your plant will get sick and if it doesn't, you may very well leave it alone. But then, what is the point of pruning a rubber ficus, you will surely be tempted to tell yourself.
Well, as has been said, ficuses have become ornamental plants for a few years. However, the purpose of pruning is to promote leaf growth and therefore to make your ficus even prettier.
When to prune a rubber ficus?
That's it, are you convinced of the usefulness of pruning a rubber ficus? The question you are probably asking yourself is to know at what pace you will have to do this operation in the future.
Well, the good news is that this is something that is still quite rare to do. No need to go back to it every month to have a result that will satisfy you, no, we are talking more about the year.
Indeed, pruning a rubber ficus once a year should be enough to have a good result. However, if you wish, you can do this every six months, but no more!
As for the period when your plant supports being pruned best, it will generally be at the end of winter or, conversely, at the end of summer. We leave you the choice between these two.
How to prune a rubber ficus?
When it comes to pruning a rubber ficus, you will have to go there sparingly! Indeed, no need to trim in the fat as they say, you just have to make a slight size to get the desired result.
You can prune, or even pinch, the terminal shoots, which will have the effect of dividing them in two and therefore necessarily giving twice as many shoots which will give twice as many leaves.
A deeper cut would not make particular sense, because it would remove a lot of new shoots and therefore new leaves in the future, which is why we do not recommend it!
The only scenario where this kind of measure is taken to prune a rubber ficus is in the context of a disease that would seriously affect our plant as we explained to you previously.
Maintenance of leaves
Once you have finished pruning a rubber ficus, the maintenance obviously does not end there! Indeed, it will take a little routine to take care of these new sheets that you have just created.
The basis is to do a small cleaning quite frequently with a microfiber cloth that you have moistened beforehand. This will then remove any dust that may settle on the leaves over the days.
In addition, in winter, remember that your heaters spread dry heat and that your rubber ficus is not particularly a fan of it. It will therefore be necessary from time to time to sprinkle it with a sprayer.
Our tips for maintaining the leaves of your ficus Elastica
It is important to maintain the leaves of your ficus fairly often. This will allow them to be always so beautiful. For this you will need a few materials.
