18 Great Rubber Tree Varieties to Grow Indoors or Outdoors

Are you looking for a low-maintenance, fast-growing, and highly adaptable plant with striking large leaves? You must look into the many different cultivars of the Rubber Tree. It’s the ideal plant for carefree or busy parents. Read on to learn more about the different rubber tree varieties! 

Rubber Tree or Ficus elastic is a common plant in Southeast Asian countries and tropical regions across the world. This tree earns its distinctive name from the sap in its trunk that is used to make natural rubber. Most varieties of the Rubber Tree are clocked in shiny, rubbery, large, rich green leaves. Some varieties feature burgundy, pink, creamy variegated, neon variegated, and even reddish-black leaves. 

With proper care, these plants can grow exceptionally tall with healthy, robust foliage. In their natural habitat, these trees provide ample shade and have banyan-like aerial roots that stem from their trunks. Rubber Trees are popularly grown in tropical regions as ornamental trees. 

However, if you live in regions with colder climates, you can easily grow them as indoor potted plants. Just make sure to fulfill their water and soil requirements. If you want the leaves of your plant to develop fully and have rich coloration, put the planter in a spot where it can bask in bright direct sunlight. Even though these plants are fairly low-maintenance and free of diseases, you must still watch out for spider mites, scales, and mealybugs.  

So, without any ado, let’s take a look at some of the most striking Rubber Tree varieties that you can plant in your garden and inside your home. Don’t forget to read our extensive article covering all the benefits of rubber trees as well.

1. Rubber Plant ‘Doescheri’

  • Ficus elastica ‘doescheri’
  • Height: 13 ft

Rubber Plant ‘Doescheri’ is an evergreen, small-sized tree with an upright habitat. It features large, elliptic, leathery, dark-green grey-blotched leaves that have irregular creamy-white margins. The midribs and stalks of the leaves are pink underneath. You can grow this tree outdoors in a frost-free region in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soils and full sun. 

2. Tineke Rubber Plant

  • Ficus elastica ‘tineke rubber plant
  • Height: 30 ft
ficus elastica tineke
DenesFeri ficus elastica ‘tineke’

Tineke Rubber Plants can grow up to be medium-sized trees. It features large leaves that are flushed with varying patterns of green and cream, accompanied by a burgundy hue that is more pronounced when the leaves are young. You can plant this Rubber Tree as an accent plant or as part of a mixed indoor arrangement as it needs bright but indirect sunlight to thrive. 

3. Black Prince Rubber Tree

  • Ficus elastica ‘black prince’
  • Height: 30 ft
ficus elastica 'black prince'
Forest and Kim Starr ficus elastica ‘black prince’

Exceptionally easy to take care of, Black Prince Rubber Tree is an evergreen tree that can grow up to 30 feet in its natural habitat. However, when grown indoors, you can easily manage its height. This plant has distinctive dark reddish-black, large, leathery leaves that make it highly attractive. These plants need bright, indirect sunlight and well-drained, loamy soils. 

4. Rubber Plant Ruby

  • Ficus elastica ‘ruby’
  • Height: 8 ft
Ficus elastica Ruby
K M Ficus elastica ‘Ruby’

Rubber Plant Ruby, also known as a Variegated Rubber Tree, is a tender evergreen tree. This Indian and Malaysian native features glossy, leathery, oval leaves with unique tri-colored variegation of pink and cream hues on a dark green base. If grown outdoors to maturity, these trees can produce minute white blossoms with yellow centers. It needs bright indirect light to ensure distinct variegated foliage. 

5. Rubber Burgundy

  • Ficus elastica burgundy
  • Height: 40 ft 
Ficus elastica Burgundy
David J. Stang Ficus elastica ‘Burgundy’

Rubber Burgundy is a low-maintenance, beautiful cultivar of the Ficus elastic. It features spectacular, 8 to 12 inches long, deep, rich burgundy-hued leaves that need bright indirect light for stellar growth. Under low light, the leaves turn purple. In tropical and temperate climates, this fast-growing plant can reach up to 40 feet when planted outdoors. You can prune your indoor Rubber Burgundy to remain 4 to 6 feet tall. 

6. Lemon Lime Rubber

  • Ficus altissima lemon
  • Height: 18 ft
Ficus altissima lemon
Greenunionzoa Ficus altissima lemon

Ideal for the forgetful plant parents, Lemon Lime Rubber Tree, is a striking variegated tropical tree. It features broad ovate green leaves with neon green splashes. It’s a low-maintenance plant that tolerates drought quite well. With its beautiful, fast-growing leaves and preference for indirect bright light, this plant is the perfect fit for a well-lit room.  

7. Robusta Rubber 

  • Ficus robusta
  • Height: 30 ft
Ficus elastica Robusta
Mokkie Ficus elastica ‘Robusta’

Another Rubber Tree variety, Robusta Rubber , also produces dark green, ovate, glossy leaves, minute white blossoms with yellow centers, and oblong, yellow fruits. However, most often, it’s grown as a small house plant. You can keep it in bright, indirect sunlight for ideal growth. Keep the soil in the planter moist and well-drained. 

8. Green Rubber Tree

  • Ficus elastica
  • Height: 30 ft
Ficus elastica
Forest and Kim Starr Ficus elastica

With signature broad-ovate, waxy, green-hued leaves, Green Rubber Tree is a popular house plant. In its native South East Asian homeland, Ficus elastica can grow up to be 100 feet tall. However, as a domesticated houseplant, you can keep its growth between six to ten feet. This plant grows well in soil potting mix and needs bright indirect sunlight to thrive. 

9. Decora Rubber

  • Ficus decora
  • Height: 30 ft
Ficus elastica Decora
Forest and Kim Starr Ficus elastica ‘Decora’

Broad-Leaved Indian Rubber Plant, also known as Decora Rubber Plant, is an evergreen tree with glossy, leathery, broad, oval, green-hued leaves. The foliage has a white vein in the middle of its upper surface. The same vein is colored red on the underside. If you grow this plant to maturity in an outdoor setting, you might see it bearing yellow oblong fruits. It is susceptible to red spider mites. 

10. Abidjan Rubber Plant

  • Ficus elastica abidjan
  • Height: 30 ft

Abidjan Rubber Plant produces dark purple-red colored, ovate, leathery, and glossy leaves. This plant tends to thrive when kept in a pot. It needs bright, indirect sunlight and well-drained, moist soil. When grown in an open space outdoors, this plant can grow into a small to medium-sized tree with small white blossoms that give way to yellow-hued oblong fruits. 

11. Variegata Rubber Tree

  • Ficus elastica variegata
  • Height: 10 ft
Ficus elastica variegated
Forest and Kim Starr Ficus elastica variegated

Variegata Rubber Tree or Variegated Rubber Plant has broad-ovate, green leaves with bright, creamy yellow margins and red midribs. This low-maintenance plant is the ideal fit for well-lit entryways, empty room corners, and mixed plant groupings. With its tree-like presence and spectacular leaves, Variegated Rubber Plant makes a stunning potted indoor specimen.

12. Creeping Fig Rubber

  • Ficus pumila 
  • Height: 15 ft
Ficus pumila Creeping fig
Forest and Kim Starr Ficus pumila (Creeping fig)

Fast-growing and vigorous, Creeping Fig Rubber Plant is an evergreen, self-clinging climber with relentless growth. You can grow it on walls, trellises, and other strong supporting structures. It has ovate, heart-shaped, somewhat shiny, rich green leaves. Fruit-bearing stems feature purple, pear-shaped fruits. You can grow this plant indoors in humus-rich, well-drained, moist soils. 

13. Weeping Fig

  • Ficus benjamina
  • Height: 50 ft
Ficus benjamina Weeping fig
Forest and Kim Starr Ficus benjamina (Weeping fig)

Native from India to northern Australia, Weeping Fig is an evergreen tree that grows up to 50 feet in the tropics. However, it’s also an exceptionally popular indoor plant thanks to its attractive broad-ovate leaves and low-maintenance nature. It features a pale brownish trunk and arching twigs clothed in oval to elliptic, glossy, pointed green leaves. 

14. Fiddle Leaf Fig

  • Ficus lyrata
  • Height: 60-100 ft
Ficus lyrata
Forest and Kim Starr Ficus lyrata

Fiddle Leaf Fig, also known as Banjo Fig, is an African native evergreen tree. In the tropics, it’s grown as a tall-sized ornamental shade tree. In colder regions, it’s a popular houseplant due to its large, dark green, lyre-shaped leaves, which resemble the shape of a fiddle. This plant needs a soil-based potting mix and bright indirect light to thrive indoors. 

Related: 4 Amazing Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree Benefits

15. Banyan Fig

  • ficus benghalensis 
  • Height: 60-100 ft
Ficus benghalensis Indian banyan tree
Forest and Kim Starr Ficus benghalensis (Indian banyan tree)

Native to tropical Asia, Banyan Fig is an evergreen, drought-hardy, fast-growing tree that thrives in well-drained sandy loams. It features a wide-spreading crown, spreading branches, ovate-cordate green leaves, and round, downy fruits. This hardy tree grows in monsoon forests. It needs fertile soils and growing sunlight to reach maturity. 

16. Pará Rubber Tree

  • hevea brasiliensis 
  • Height: 130 ft
Hevea brasiliensis
Vinayaraj Hevea brasiliensis

Native to Brazil, Pará Rubber Tree is a deciduous tree with a cylindrical trunk and a leafy crown. It is clothed with leaves that grow in spirals with three leaflets. It produces small, petal-less, bright, or cream-yellow blossoms that can be exceptionally pungent. The flowers give way to three-lobed capsules. The tree trunk produces latex, which is a major source of natural rubber.  

17. Green Island Ficus

  • ficus microcarpa
  • Height: 20 ft
Ficus microcarpa
Forest and Kim Starr Ficus microcarpa

Green Island Ficus is a robust and adaptable tree that you can grow as a bonsai, topiary specimen, or as part of a low border or tall hedge. It’s a sun-loving tree that can also be grown indoor in indirect bright sunlight. It features deep green, glossy, almost rounded leaves, similar to a Jade plant’s foliage. 

18. Banana Leaf Fig

  • ficus alii
  • Height: 12 ft
Ficus maclellandii ficus alii
Forest and Kim Starr Ficus maclellandii (ficus alii)

Banana Leaf Fig are small trees with an open, irregular crown clothed in long, saber-shaped leaves. The foliage is red but turns dark green and develops a leathery texture in maturity. The leaves droop gracefully from the stems. Banana Leaf Fig Trees thrive in well-drained, soilless potting mixes and bright, filtered light.