Can The Milky Sap Be Used For Anything?

Question

When I prune my rubber tree plant it bleeds milk. Can rubber be made from this? Or maybe glue? The sap is real sticky. Should I prune it more than shown in the photo? The attached photo is right after pruning from about 10′ to 6′. It looks twiggy now but will fill in with new leaves very quickly. I live in central FL. Note below how badly I care for my plant. It is flourishing and the only thing I do for it is prune it. The soil is rather sandy but has a clay base. A few years ago it was taller than my house. Now I keep it about 6′-7′. I prune it anywhere and it spreds like crazy. It is on the north east corner of the house with no shelter. Some of the trunks, of which there are many, are a diameter of 8″. The tree is about 12 years old and has weathered temps in the 90’s and 30’s. A few outer leaves suffered slightly during a cold spell .

Answer 1

The sap can be irritating to the skin and it is recommended to wear gloves when pruning. Rubber from ficus elastica latex is considered low grade and not useful commercially. These articles should help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/rubber-tree/prune-rubber-tree.htm
http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~legneref/botany/rubber.htm