Ficus trees are known to thrive with bright light so I decided to test it out with my Burgundy Rubber Trees.
I got both plants in a single pot about a month ago. They were the exact same size and had the same amount of leaves (I recently cut a few off the one staying inside because I was worried about a fungal infection – false alarm though). Since bringing them home, I split them into two ceramic pots (I recently switched one of them to terracotta since I was planning on putting that one outside) they’ve been sitting under a grow light next to eachother, so they’ve been exposed to the same environment.
Both plants have gotten 1 new leaf since I brought them home. Well, one is still unfurling, but the other plant got a new leaf about a week ago, so they’re pretty in line with growth at this point.
The plan is to put one outside in a few days when the weather is going to stay warm enough, and keep the other one inside under a grow light. The plant going outside will start in shade, on a south facing porch, until it is acclimated. I eventually hope to get it into full sun before the end of the summer. I’m interested to see if the plant that goes outside sees significantly more growth than the plant that is inside.
Both plants will get watered with FoliagePro each time it’s watered and are both currently in a chunky mix soil (1 part orchid bark, 1 part potting mix, 1 part pertlite) and I’m even thinking I’ll switch the plant that will be indoors to the same size terracotta pot as the one going outside so the conditions will be exactly the same, with the exception of sunlight, temperature, and humidity.
I’m excited to see the results and will post updates every few weeks!
What do you think? Have you seen significant growth when plants go outside for the summer vs the ones you kept inside?
