Question
I bought quite a nice rubber plant at a rummage sale this summer.  
The lady I bought it from had it sitting out on her deck and said she left it there during the summers.  I placed it out on my neck which faces north. It was during an extremely hot and dry period with temperatures over 100 degrees F.  After a few days I noticed that some of the leaves got black and yellow splotches on them, like they had burned.  I immediately moved the plant indoors.  I snapped some of the damaged leaves off.  Should I remove all of the damaged leaves?  There are five stalks to the plant and a couple of them will be quite bare if I remove the leaves. Any suggestions?  Thanks.

Answer
Hi Tavia,

Damaged leaves do not recover. If they look unattractive, then you should remove them.

Yes, removing lots of leaves on a stem will leave it looking pretty sparse. The solution is to cut back those leggy-looking stems. New growth always starts at the ends of stems, so cut them back to the point where you would like to see new growth emerge.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

You can E-mail me directly at: [email protected]

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If you would like to e-mail me some photos, I may be able to provide some additional insights.