Ficus Rubber Plant

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MonkeyFlower Sliema, Malta Sep 28, 2014

I have a ficus rubber plant in a 10 inch square pot. It is 30 inches high (from the top of the soil) and is continually producing one new leaf after another. The only problem is that it just grows vertically from the main stem and doesn't branch out. What should I do to get a bushier plant?
Thanks!

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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Sep 28, 2014

Plant several in one pot.

Pinch out the stem including the top bud and the young leaf under it. See if that will encourage the plant to break some buds lower on the stem.

Post #9949224
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MonkeyFlower Sliema, Malta Sep 28, 2014

Thanks for your reply Diana. It doesn't have any small new leaves. It produces new leaves as per the picture (from google, not my actual plant). A red vertical shoot that opens up into a new leaf. So not sure where to cut.

Also, if I repot into a larger container and plant new ones, how do I take cuttings from it? Where do I make the cutting?

Thumbnail by MonkeyFlower
Post #9949229
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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Sep 28, 2014

If your plant looks like this picture, then I would remove the stem including the bud and the leaf that is still red- the newest leaf.

One way to reproduce it might simply be to cut a bit more than that (say about 4-5 leaves) and use a rooting hormone.

Or look up air layering.

If it already had some side branches another way would be to lay a side branch down on some soil and hold it steady in the soil until roots formed along the branch, then detached it and cut it into as many pieces as would work. Depends on how many roots formed.

Post #9949293
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MonkeyFlower Sliema, Malta Sep 29, 2014

Thanks a lot for your help! :)

Post #9950260
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Jnette Northeast, WA(Zone 5a) Nov 01, 2014

My daughter just gave me one that she had had for a few years and it does just the opposite. It gets more branches but doesn't get taller. I have never had a plant that did that. It is as wide as it is tall. But, since I have been in the hospital ever since she gave it to me, I will see what to do with it when I get home.

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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Nov 01, 2014

Interesting how the same species can behave in such different ways.
Mine grow almost always straight up, and rarely branch.

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