Need guidance on over grown rubber tree

Hi. I saw this poor plant in my neighbors garbage pile and I knew I needed to save it. LOl. I called her and made sure it was ok, no disease or bugs. She said they are moving and it obviously needs a bigger pot. They already have a larger one and didn't need two in the new house. So, I took it. It is sitting in my garage right now and everytime I see it, I say, wow, how lucky am I! But, now what? It's in desperate need of a bath. Leaves are very dusty. Also, new pot? But I don't know if I want this to get any bigger. Can I divide it? Can I shorten the roots? I read online you shouldn't prune or repot til spring, but it has new growth everywhere. They also have it tied up to keep it upright. HELP!!! Has a new gardener taken on too much? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi.

Before I opened the picture, I pictured your rubber tree in my mind: it was 9 feet tall, 8 feet wide, etc. We have those growing outside year-round around here. Often, the owners are long gone, the house is empty and the rubber tree is 30+ feet tall and doing very well, thank you very much. Yours does not fall into that category.

Here's what I would do to it: using a mist, hose down the foliage and let it dry. Find a full sun window for it and install it there, A few days from now, give it some water and in a few weeks, give it a shot of fertilizer. Don't repot it, don't prune it, just keep it the way it is.

That's just my opinion, and I may very well be wrong.
Sylvain.

I don't believe you should try to divide this plant. Were it mine I would keep it just as is until spring. I would restake it in aore attractive fashion and find the brightest light to put it in. Keep an eye on it for sunburn and enjoy. Come spring repot larger and prune for desired shape.
Scott

Thank you both for your replies. I did go and see my neighbors other plant. Not sure I'd consider it a plant. It is a tree. She wanted me to take that one too. Seeing it made me appreciate the one I got. It did get a bath and a warm window for now. I hope it will be happy in it's new spot. Thank you again!

If it was my tree, I would concentrate on getting it through the winter in good vitality and a plan formulated around a full repot (as opposed to potting up) and a change to a more suitable soil in June. Included in 'getting it through the winter' would be a thorough flushing of the soil to be repeated at regular intervals of every 4-6 weeks, followed each time by a half recommended strength dose of a soluble fertilizer with a 3:1:2 RATIO (ratio is different than NPK %s). Let me know if you'd like to know more.

Al

be aware that the sap of this plant, when you prune it, is white, sticky and you can possibly have a slight derm allergic reaction. nothing serious, just wanted to let you know. wash your hands if you do come in contact with it.

If I were you I would go along with the advice re leaving the plant in the pot it came in till early spring however, I would go to garden store and buy a MOSS pole, this is a pole that has damp moss wired around the pole, Insert this pole into the soil as close as possible to the main stem, then when it is stable I would then gently tie all the branches onto the moss pole, the best way to tie the stems is to use SOFT material like ladies panty-hose cut into lengths, because the hosery is stretchy and soft it wont cut into the stem, don't draw the stems too tightly or they will snap, you may also need to use a few ties for the one stem as this will make the plant more secure.

These plants also have what is called aerial roots that grow OUT from the stems further up the plant and the idea of the moss pole is to help these roots imbed into the moss where they get moisture as you are meant to mist the foliage and the moss pole every few days IF the plant is growing inside.

When watering the soil, don't leave the plant sitting in a saucer filled with water for longer than an hour or two as they don't like wet feet.
There are several in-door plant feeds on the market but I fine the most controllable type are liquid and you put the recommended amount into the watering can so it is diluted properly before you add to the soil, you don't want to burn plant roots with neat feeds.
Some people like to use products from garden store that put's a shine on the leaves, they do make the plants beautiful but I like to just mist mine with tepid water as a build up of plant leaf shine can harm the plants natural air intake.
Hope this helps you out, don't sit your new plant beside heating / cooling units as they will damage the plant and good light is a must but NOT direct sunshine onto the plant.
Good luck. WeeNel.