Rubber Tree Growth Zone

Description

• The tree is also known as the rubber plant, Decora tree, India rubber tree and India rubber fig. It is a tall, broad-leaf evergreen capable of growing to a height and spread of 50 to 100 feet. It grows quickly, gaining 2 feet or more per year, and it grows quickly in a warm, outdoor setting.

Habitat

• Native to the Himalayas, Assam, Burma, Malaysia and parts of the Indonesian isles, including Sumatra and Java, the rubber tree does not tolerate cold temperatures. It is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant hardiness zones 10 though 12, and, therefore, survives outdoors year-round in the United States only in the extreme south and parts of the West Coast where temperatures are warm: parts of California, Arizona and the tip of Florida. It also can survive outdoors all year in Hawaii, the majority of which falls into USDA zones 10 and 11.

Culture

• A rubber tree performs best in well-drained soil that receives regular watering during the growing season. During winter, its dormant season, water it less frequently to avoid overwatering, but keep its soil barely moist. It is a tolerant plant and puts up with periods of drought and occasionally wet conditions. It also tolerates clay, loam and sandy soil, and soil that is acidic or alkaline. A rubber tree grows best when it receives full sunlight or partial shade.

Uses

• Rubber tree is more versatile than its use as a houseplant might lead you to believe. It can be used as a screen or buffer strip when planted in groups or rows, and its moderately dense leaves make it a shade tree. It also can be grown as a specimen or espaliered to form a wall or screen. The tree can be a container plant outdoors as well as indoors and can live outside during the summer months and be moved inside for winter.