Rubber Plant Pests

The rubber plant ficus elastica is a popular ornamental plant from the ficus genus.

Rubber plant pests.

With careful pruning you can shape your rubber tree to be exactly as tall as you want. If properly cared for few pests or diseases seriously threaten rubber trees. Although healthy rubber tree plants tend to be pest resistant they can be infested by several sap sucking pests. Don t worry though as a houseplant rubber plants usually get to around 8 10.

If caught early you can remove these bugs by wiping them with a warm soap and water solution or an insecticidal soap. Our guide looks at common pests on indoor plants and helps to identify aphids mealybug red spider mites scale insects sciarid flies fungus gnats slugs snails and springtails. Mealy bugs mites scales and aphids are a few common bugs that can find a home in your rubber plant. Rubber tree ficus elastica is an impressive plant with huge shiny leaves but this cold sensitive plant survives outdoors only in very warm climates for this reason it is usually grown indoors.

However if weakened by overwatering or dark conditions they can be afflicted by several illnesses. In its native environment it s normal for a rubber plant to grow to over 100 tall. In its native jungle habitat in india and malaysia the plant can grow up to 100 feet tall. They might look like pests or a disease but these dots are actually perfectly normal and no treatment or special care is needed.

White raised dots on my rubber plant. But indoors a rubber tree typically tops out at 6 to 10 feet tall. Armored and soft scale bugs are tiny insects that attach themselves to the stems or leaves of a rubber plant and remain in the same spot throughout their lives feeding on the plant juices. Southern blight caused by the fungus sclerotium rolfsii southern blight is an easily preventable moisture related infection found in rubber trees during the summer months.

View on amazon popular plants. Due to its need for balance in all forms it s easy to make your rubber plant unhappy if you stop paying attention to its needs. However you can still expect spider mites and scale insects to drop in from time to time. Pests are rare because the rubber plant is so resistant to them.

Even the best house plant owner will come across pests. In it s natural habitat it grows over 30 metres tall however the varieties grown indoors are a much more manageable height. If you re new to plant parenting a rubber tree is the plant for you. Pests pests are another common reason for rubber tree plant leaves falling off.