Leaves falling off rubber tree plant

Question

Leaves are falling off without turning yellow before they fall off. One of small leaves was wilted like on one side of the leaf. I’ve lost about 8 leaves on my plant this week, and a few were falling off earlier. It gets sunlight mostly in a.m. and some in afternoon. I wiped leaves off after I brought plant in from front porch before weather became colder. I sprayed all the leaves with a plant insecticide, and let it set outside for 2 days before bringing it in. It seemed to be doing fine, until the last two months. I used olive oil mixed with water to wipe the leaves off, to clean and give shine to leaves when I brought it in. Thank you for any info, as I have had this plant for about 8 years. I cut it back about 3 years ago in the spring. It came back fuller and is about 6 ft. tall. If I cut it back in the fall, would it hurt it??

Answer 1

Check carefully for any insects, mites, or webs on the plants, since some are not susceptible to insecticides. Other than pest problems, the leaf drop problem could be caused by any of the issues in the following article:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/rubber-tree/rubber-tree-plant-leaves-falling-off.htm

Another issue could be that the leaf pores (stomata) could be clogged from the olive oil treatment. However, most leaf pores are on the bottom of the leaf, so if you only wiped the top of the leaves this is unlikely. If you wiped the bottom too, it’s best to clean the olive oil off using soapy water.

Here is some information on pruning rubber plants:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/rubber-tree/prune-rubber-tree.htm