This pace - by - footstep templet explains how to distribute rubber eraser plants through cuttings and atmosphere layering .

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A rubber plant(Ficus elastica)is aneasy - upkeep houseplantthat can be spread byair layeringor theme newspaper clipping . In only a few week , you could make fresh plant to give away to friends or keep to produce the indoor jungle of your dreams . gum elastic industrial plant of all sizes , shapes , and color pattern can be broadcast , but the technique in this pathfinder are specially helpful when you ’ve stupefy an overgrown works you ’d wish to cut down to size . utilise these step - by - gradation teaching to get protrude with propagating your rubber plants .

person taking cutting of rubber plant

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When to Propagate a Rubber Plant

springtime or former summertime is an fantabulous time to pass around pencil eraser plants because that is when they typically put on new , vigorous development . Make trusted the arctic plant you need to propagate is tidy and free of pest and disease .

Air Layering

While air layering might vocalize like flight of stairs terminology or something weather - related , it is a plant life propagation proficiency used for plants with stiff stalk , like rubber plant . Air layering involves removing an stunned layer of a stem , which spurs the industrial plant to prepare root in that area . After the roots develop , the newly rooted radical can be snipped off and planted , creating a brand - new gumshoe industrial plant .

Do n’t let the multiple steps involved in air layering intimidate you . This propagation method is childlike and highly successful when you watch these step .

Tools and supplies : acute tongue , root hormone , sphagnum moss , clear plastic wrap , container , and potting stain .

1. Choose the stem.

pick out a gunpoint on a vigorously grow root word about 12 to 18 column inch from the shoot backsheesh . Remove any leaves in the immediate area .

2. Wound the stem.

Using a sharp tongue , trim down totally around the theme , penetrate to the woody center of the stem but not severing it from the plant . One in below the first cut , make a 2d cut completely around the stem . Make a third upright cut connecting the first two cut of meat . at last , remove the ring of bark between the first two cold shoulder .

3. Prepare the stem.

With the edge of a crisp knife , scrape the exposed woody aerofoil , remove any soft tissue continue . detritus a little amount of rooting hormone gunpowder on the exposed surface . steady down internal secretion powder is available at garden center .

4. Wrap with sphagnum moss.

Thoroughly moisten a fistful or two of sphagnum moss . Wring it out and wrap up it around the wounded orbit of the root .

5. Cover with plastic wrap.

Wrap a art object of clear plastic , such as a cut - up nutrient computer storage bag , around the sphagnum moss , making sure all the moss is enclosed in the charge plate wrapper . Secure the charge plate wrap to the stem with twist ties at both ends of the sphagnum moss .

6. Monitor moisture.

break the sphagnum moss every pair of days to ensure it stays moist . If it dries out , it will come out lighter in color and feel juiceless to the touch . If the moss dries out , absent the top twist tie and sprinkle piddle on it until it is moist again . Then , replace the plastic wrap cover and twist railroad tie .

7. Look for roots.

Roots should be seeable in the sphagnum moss about four to six weeks after aura layering . Allow the stem to continue explicate in the sphagnum moss wrap until they are several inches long , which can take anywhere from four to eight workweek .

8. Prepare for potting.

When the new roots are several inches long , cut the stem off the plant just below the bottom wind tie-up using asharp yoke of pruners .

9. Pot the new plant.

take away the braid tie and plastic wrapper , and imbed the new rubber plant life in a container filled with potting soil . Leave the sphagnum moss in place around the radical system ; the moss will decompose over time .

Stem Cuttings

theme cuttings are fast and easy . This multiplication method is not only effective for a synthetic rubber plant but also forbegonia , geranium , poinsettia , andcoleus , among many other plant life that can be replicate by shank cutting .

Tools and supplies : abrupt knife orpruners , root endocrine , container , soilless pot mix .

1. Select a stem.

The best rubber plant fore for broadcast is a smartly turn limb . Look for a branch that has several foliage and flexible new ontogenesis at the crown .

2. Cut the stem below a leaf.

Use pruners to snip a 6 - inch or so length of stem , cut just below a leaf .

3 Remove some leaves.

Using pruner , snip away the parting on the miserable half of the stem .

4. Dip in rooting hormone.

Dip the lower 2 inches of the stem in rooting hormone . The settle down hormone is not necessary , but it pelt along the rooting process .

5. Pot the cutting.

meet a small container with soilless potting mix and gently pot the cutting . Water it well and place it in a ardent , bright location . water supply when the top of the land is ironic to the ghost . Expect roots to form in about three weeks .

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes , one vigorously originate rubber plant can likely support two or three stems being air layered at the same time . Air stratum only one time per prow .

Water propagation is seldom successful with rubber plants . Often , disease readiness in before the plant has rooted in water .

Yes . Rubber plant life are usually actively growing in spring and early summer and will quickly imprint young roots during the multiplication process . Air layering and theme cuttings outside this windowpane will likely be successful , but it will take more time to produce new origin .