Rubber plants are great and easy indoor plants. While they are low-maintenance and do not require much to thrive, you may notice your rubber plant leaves drooping and yellowing.
This normally happens if you overwater or underwater the plant, have pests infecting it, or even over-fertilize it. It is a time when your rubber plant is sending a signal.
Sometimes, finding the problem is more difficult than the solution for plants.
However, there are a few reasons why your rubber plant’s leaves are drooping, and with every problem, there is a solution.
Causes And Treatment For A Drooping Rubber Plant
There are multiple reasons why your rubber plant’s leaves are drooping.
However, if you think you are overwatering your plant, not giving it enough light, or even over-fertilizing it, you can do a few things to help your rubber plant become healthy again.
Low Light
Rubber plants thrive in bright indirect sunlight. Therefore, if you are placing your rubber plant in a place that does not get south or west-facing indirect sun, then your plant’s leaves are probably drooping as they are not getting enough light.
Solution
To fix this, simply place your rubber plant in a brighter room or your home.
You can also find a grow light for your rubber plant if you have the insufficient light. This can be used on all other houseplants as well.
Overwatering
If you are overwatering your rubber plant, this could cause drooping leaves. It can even kill your plant by giving it root rot.
When watering your rubber plant, ensure the soil is completely dry. Do not water it if it is still damp from the previous watering.
Solutions
If you have been overwatering your rubber plant, repot the plant in new soil.
Before watering your rubber plant, ensure the soil is dry so you do not overwater it again.
Underwatering
If you do not water your rubber plant enough, it will have difficulty growing and start to droop as it is not getting its proper care.
When underwatering your plant, you will notice drooping, browning and curling leaves, and very dry soil. If you notice this, you are underwatering your plant.
Solutions
Water your rubber plant regularly to give it the proper amount of water. You can also set a timer for when to water your plant or get a plant app on your phone to remind you.
Ensure to water the plant thoroughly, allowing water to run through the bottom of the pot.
Pest Infestation
If you have a pest infestation or a disease infecting your rubber plant, the leaves may droop as they are not getting the proper nutrients.
Therefore, it is important to check for pests regularly so your plant does not get infested or die due to an infestation.
If you notice bugs like spider mites or mealybugs, you will see white webs, white dots, or even brown and red dots on the leaves and stems.
Solutions
To effectively remove pests, you can wash the plant with insecticide or neem oil and keep it away from other plants.
Changing the insecticide you use regularly is important, so the pests do not build up their immunity.
You can also wipe down your plant with a wet cloth if you do not want to use insecticide.
Overfertilized
If your rubber plant has been over-fertilized, the leaves will droop. Even if you have only fertilized your rubber plant slightly, it could get over-fertilized if you did not properly dilute the fertilizer.
If you have fertilized your rubber plant recently, and now the leaves are drooping, this could be the issue as to why your plant’s leaves are drooping.
Solutions
To fix over-fertilization, you must repot your plant in fresh soil. After that, do not fertilize the rubber plant again.
When you decide to fertilize your rubber plant, ensure to only fertilize it in spring or summer.
When you do, use less than the required amount and properly dilute your soil to get rid of any excess fertilizer.