Question
Hello :O) I need help with my rubber tree! I've had it for about 2 years and it's just been this stick with leaves coming out of the tip top. It's about 3 feet tall now but very, ummm.... unhealthy looking. I occasionally give it fertilizer, I water it once a week, I provide a bright but not sunny room, but it seems to be doing worse than ever. I just traded dirt after all the time I've had it and gave it new miracle grow soil. Nothing is getting better and the newest leaves are starting to kind of curl, even though they are not dry. Please help!! Any info would be appreciated :O) Thanks!

Answer
Your Indian Rubber Tree - "Ficus elastica" to Botanists - is what Bubble Gum is made of.  Did you know that?

We go now to the Illinois State Extension Service houseplants page on Ficus elastic (http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/houseplants/types/ficus.html) for its sage advice on Rubber Trees: "When grown in pots, these plants tend to develop a single stem.  The leaves drop if the plant is chilled or if it is moved from one place to another."  So the growth habit of your Rubber Tree Plant is quite the norm, you see.

Leaf curl is the kind of symptom that could be caused by many things.  The "curl" is the result of inadequate moisture inside the leaf.  Low Humidity in the room would cause that by sucking moisture from the leaves faster than the plant can replace it.  Overwatering can do the same thing.  How's the humidity where you are?  Do you have central heating, or are you in Florida someplace with the windows open?  Are you getting nosebleeds from the dry air?  Is there a humidifier going all the time?

It sounds like you're watering on a schedule.  Is the pot soil dry by the time you're there again with refreshments?  Or is it damp?  A plant that large often has a substantial root system and significant soil volume that may not need watering.  If the roots never dry out, you deprive them of Oxygen; root cells underperform, and failure to draw sufficient water follows, with a water shortage the result for the leaves, which curl.

If an environment is very cold, many plants naturally curl their leaves to conserve heat.  Orange trees will do this in Florida when temperatures drop into the 20's and teens.  I have this funny feeling however that your Rubber Tree Plant is probably not too cold - but I have to mention it.

Fertilizing is not necessary for most plants during winter unless they are going to flower.  The shorter days and cooler temperatures would slow down metabolism.

Don't assume that fertilizing is a good thing.  This is not a fast growing foliage plant lush with leaves.  Any kind of chemical fertilizer is going to break down into Salt - this is a given, there is no question here - and those Salts will burn roots and damage them.

Again, there is a failure to consume sufficient water at the root level, and the leaves curl.  Stop fertilizing.  For a Rubber Tree, a few times PER YEAR would be plenty.

"Bright but not sunny"?  Why not Sunny?  Direct sun on the leaves may not be needed, but a nice, bright, sunny room will encourage compact growth.

Just make sure you don't burn the leaves.  If they get too warm, moisture will evaporate quickly, maybe too quickly, and you know what happens then.  Is this your problem?

Finally, let me tell you something about "Miracle Gro" soil: There is a whole line of dirt sold by the Scotts Companies (it used to be a family owned business but that ended years ago, now they're all kazillionaires, and the Scotts Family of Products is capitalizing on the friendly little cottage industry that they started, bottom line you do not need this stuff).  Continuous release food for houseplants is ridiculous, but profitable.  As I mentioned already, all those chemical fertilizers are going to build up Salts.

At some point, the Salts must be flushed from the pot or the soil has to be replaced.  If you replace it with more Miracle Gro soil, you can see how this would be creating more problems.

Go over to Home Depot or Lowes and get a nice, cheap, simple bag of potting soil, with nothing fancy inside or outside, and if you want to really go to town you can get a small bag of humus and/or sand to mix in.

Take it easy with the Fertilizer.  This is not your Dog or your Cat.  You do not need to water it often, feed it often, or pot it often.

Plant it, leave it alone, and once in a while, check on it.

If it needs water, OK.

Otherwise, take it easy or you'll love it to death.

Your thoughts invited.