Rubber Tree Plants You Can Grow Indoors

Rubber Trees

• In its native habitat including jungles in India, Nepal, Burma and Sumatra, the rubber tree (Ficus elastica) can grow to 100 feet tall. Although it is not a commercial source of rubber, it oozes a rubbery sap when wounded. Indoor container culture is so easy, that Clemson University Extension recommends them as excellent houseplants for beginning gardeners. Tolerant of full sun or partial shade, rubber plant is a fast grower and very drought-tolerant, requiring infrequent watering.

Ficus Species

• The genus Ficus includes more than 1,000 species, many called “giant rubber trees,” says Julia F. Morton of Purdue University. Indian rubber tree (F. benjamina) and fiddle-leaf fig (F. lyrata) are easy-to-grow houseplants. Sharing a common characteristic with all ficus species, these plants ooze a sticky, rubbery sap from broken branches. Indian rubber tree is also called weeping fig, and is instantly recognizable as the popular potted tree in homes, offices and shopping malls. Fiddle-leaf fig has broad leaves shaped like fiddles or violins.

Edible Fig Trees

• A natural rubber-producing tree is a most unlikely one. The American Society of Plant Biologists published a report quantifying the rubber content in parts of the edible fig tree (F. carica). Latex analyses revealed a 4-percent concentration in tree sap with lower concentrations found in bark, leaf and fruit. Boyd Miller of the University of Illinois Extension offers tips for growing edible fig plants indoors. He says that although they may produce little fruit when overwintered indoors, plants respond to indoor culture when given direct sun or very high light. The goal is to maintain them before setting them outside after last frost for fruit production in summer.

Japanese Rubber Trees

• Japanese rubber tree (Crassula arborescens) is also called jade tree. Indigenous to South Africa, it's called Japanese rubber tree because of its value to Japanese bonsai artists. Extremely slow-growing and very drought-tolerant, jade plants make excellent houseplants because of their extreme drought tolerance and adaptability to varying light conditions. Preferring sun or bright light, jade tree will also thrive in partial shade. According to the University of Arkansas, its growth potential in its native habitat is 10 feet tall, and it can live up to 100 years.