| Description | Variegated Rubber tree (Ficus elastica variegatus) is a form of the Rubber Plant with irregular areas of white and some pink or red on newer growth. |
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| Pronunciation | (FI-cus)(ee-LASS-ti-cah) |
| Plant Type | Indoor Foliage, Broadleaf evergreen, Site author's observations, Trees Tropical |
| Hardiness Zone | 10-12 |
| Sunlight | In its native range, it grows from full sun to deep shade. This enables it to tolerate most light conditions when acclimated to the site. Prefers bright light. |
| Moisture | In its native region Benjamin Fig is subjected to dry seasons and moist seasons. During the dry seasons it will drop its leaves to decrease the leaf surface area lowering the transpiration rate. To avoid this seasonal leaf drop, keep it evenly moist. |
| Temperature | The average house temperature is kept warm, avoid cold and drafts. |
| Flowers | Probably won't flower unless grown outdoors in warmer zones or in a greenhouse. Flowers are not ornamental. |
| Fruit | Fig-like, botanically called a syconium. A unique type of multiple fruit that is characteristic of fig plants. Since to get fruit you need flowers, this plant seldom blooms. |
| Leaves | Has large, leathery, elliptic leaves with irregular white variegation. |
| Stems | Stems will become woody with age. |
| Dimensions | This plant can be kept in a small pot or grown as an indoor tree. Very common as the large indoor trees in malls. Will reach over 100 feet in native sites |
| Maintenance | Only minimal care is needed, such as pruning for shape and removing any dead twigs |
| Propagation | cuttings, air layering |
| Native Site | Himalayas to Malaysia, Sumatra, and Java |
| Misc Facts | This plant produces a white sap that oozes from any cut or broken leaf. This plant is not the primary source of rubber that is used in tires. The sap from Hevea brasiliensis is the primary source for rubber |
| Author's Notes | At the school where I teach, we cut the plants back 33-50% every spring and let them regrow in the greenhouse over the summer. Otherwise the plants would become too large. Plants growing in the home, I would do major pruning in the spring when the plants start to grow. They do not mind spending the summer outside, in a good sun or semi-shaded spot. |
| Notes & Reference | #158-Plantepedia (Maggie Stuckey), #274-Site Authors' observations and growing experiences of different Rubber Trees |
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