Ruby Rubber Tree - Ficus elastica - 2.5L / 17cm / Medium
$30.00The Ficus elastica is often referred to as the Rubber Tree because the sap of this species is the original source of latex, but there's nothing plastic about this tree. It's alive... it's alive!
The Ruby Ficus elastica Rubber Tree is a jewel in any collection. Its army green leaves are bordered and splashed with peachy red variegation that gets bolder with increased size, light intensity and exposure to cold stress, gradually resting as a cream variegated pattern on older growth.
A plant for intermediate-experienced plant keepers or beyond.
Light Requirements: Bright Indirect Light is ideal, can handle part-day Sun. Provide enough light to maintain the variegated leaves otherwise they may revert to green leaves.
Moisture & Soil Requirements: Prefers evenly moist soil with good drainage in warm seasons - never soggy soil. Water when the first few centimetres of soil are dry.
Growth & Nutrients: Tree /shrub. Aggressive roots, will fill up nearly any container, keep away from water pipes outside. Prune at the start of spring to the desired shape. Suits apartments or houses of any size. Feed with a general-purpose fertiliser for containers from the start of spring each year to autumn when growth slows down.
Temperature, Humidity & Ambient requirements: Prefers warm humid environments inside but can deal with most home environments. Grows well outdoors in frost-free northern NZ
Toxicity: Moderately toxic. Don't let anyone or anything eat it. The sap is a skin irritant so do not touch.
Plant Size Guide
The plant in the photos is an example and an approximate guide only however we try to show an average sized example. Sizes, flowering state and colours change throughout the seasons and variation will occur. In summer & autumn, plants are often larger or the same size as than the example picture but around winter and spring, they can be a little smaller but still at a size similar to the example. We aim to update the pictures to reflect significant differences.
Plant Heights - because the plant's foliage must fit inside our Plant Cartons, the actual height of a plant's central trunk (meristem) will be shorter than the box it fits in.
Small Plants - 14cm wide nursery pot - 1 Litre volume - Plants fit in a 50cm tall box.
Medium Plants - 17cm wide pots either 2L hanging pot or 2.5L nursery pot - Plants fit in a 75cm tall box.
Large Plants - 25cm wide pot, 10L volume. Plants fit in a 100cm tall box.
XL Plants - Plants over 100cm tall in pot sizes specified, 25cm/10L or greater and are hand delivered within Auckland/Northland only.
Dispatch Times
Plant courier orders are processed Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday.
North Island orders are targeted overnight delivery, South Island orders are sent on a 2-day target but these are not a guaranteed delivery timeframe.
Add 1 extra day after a public holiday as well as for rural addresses or remote towns.
Monday - We send orders placed on previous Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.
Tuesday - We send Weekend orders from previous Saturday & Sunday.
Wednesday - We send orders placed from Monday & Tuesday.
XL Plants are delivered only within urban Auckland & Whangarei and this service is for non-urgent orders. This excludes satellite destinations such as Beachlands, Pukekohe, Piha, Helensville etc and Whangarei Heads. We may deliver at any time Sunday, Monday, Wednesday or Thursday in Auckland and you need to have a sheltered accessible position for us to deliver to.
Plants in Transit
Each Small, Medium & Large plant is individually contained within its own protective cardboard Plant Carton which may be joined to other cartons in your order.
Plants typically take just a day or two to arrive, however they are usually fine in their cartons for 1-2 weeks, and many can go longer, so a few extra days are not usually cause for concern.
Whether it takes 1 or 7 days, let your plant recover from its journey by placing in gentle light and adding a little water and it will be back to its best within a couple of days. Let us know if there are any major issues via the contact page.
