Indoors
Rubber plant
Ficus elastica
- Cat: mildly toxic
- Dog: mildly toxic
- Light: bright, no harsh sun
About the plant
The rubber plant comes from north-east India to Indonesia, where it becomes a big tree. Indoors it has large, glossy leaves that are worth wiping clean of dust. Damaged stems ooze a white sap that irritates the skin.
Rubber plant and pets
- Cat
- mildly toxic
- Dog
- mildly toxic
- Signs
- milky sap (ficin, psoralen): stomach and skin irritation
The ASPCA entry covers figs (the genus Ficus); the sap of the rubber plant irritates the same way.
If a cat or a dog ate this plant and shows signs, contact a vet straight away.
Instead: safe for cats and dogs
Areca palm
Dypsis lutescens Cat: not toxicDog: not toxic
Baby rubber plant
Peperomia obtusifolia Cat: not toxicDog: not toxic
Cat grass
Avena sativa / Dactylis glomerata Cat: not toxicDog: not toxic not in the ASPCA list
Chinese money plant
Pilea peperomioides Cat: not toxicDog: not toxic not in the ASPCA list
Care
- Watering
- about every 7 days in summer (April to September), every 12 in winter
- Light
- bright, no harsh sun
- Air humidity
- normal
- Temperature
- 15–28 °C
- Feeding
- April to September, every 4 weeks
- Repotting
- every 2 years, in spring
- Grown
- in a pot
Wipe the leaves with a damp cloth to keep them shiny. It does not like being moved often.
This is a rough guide for a flat in Poland. In flowers every plant also has its own watering interval, which learns from how the soil was.