Wi:'DOW GARDEXIXG 



RUBBERS 



The rubber plant or Ficus elastica with its 

 large leathery and shining leaves is well able to 

 withstand the adverse conditions of the living- 

 room. (Fig. 38.) 



For potting soil use formula No. i. The 

 rubber plant should be shifted only when the 

 pot becomes densely filled with roots. It is bet- 

 ter to feed well than to shift it to too large a pot. 

 Rubber trees, when too tall, may be cut back to 

 any desired height. The cutting-back should 

 be done in the spring when the weather is stead- 

 ily becoming warmer, as it is in the summer 

 months that the plants make their greatest 

 growth. Fig. 38 shows a rubber between seven 

 and eight feet tall which was cut back to three 

 feet. After cutting back there was not a single 

 leaf upon it. The photograph was taken about 

 three months later. To secure low bushy plants, 

 the young plants should be topped when from 

 fifteen to twenty inches high. 



Wash the leaves occasionally with clear water 

 and keep the soil fairly moist. 



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