I Love Lucy Rubber tree.

[Stan]

This is the OLD standard rubber tree. Not sold anymore. This 1950's home has this old TV shows favorite potted plant..even Gilligan's Island had the narrow leaf Ficus Elastica. A blast from the past.

 

[bepah]

I remember these....

 

[Dypsisdean]

Had a big one of these in our front yard as a kid. Why don't you see them anymore?

 

[bepah]

my guess is that next to the current F. elastica, it would not compare....

 

[Stan]

Yep,thats it. F.elastic decora has flat leaves and many times almost black.
I have seen larger then this in Oakland. No surprise around some Victorian/Queen Anne ( I guess) homes. One near a gas station around Macarthur is planted up against a wall espaliered- intentional or not- and has a nice 25-30' spread. Perfect for it.

 

[bepah]

My wife knows where they all went..

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[Moose]

They get extremely robust growers here with such a dense canopy that no other plants can thrive beneath them. Also the leaves are large, difficult to chop up for mulch or to rake up. The leaves also are resistant to composting readily. Basically they are considered a messy tree to maintain. After pruning, they grow back so fast. With all the work involved pruning a large tree, after a few cycles, the owner usually just eliminates the whole tree. You still see them ocassionally, usually left to do what they want - which is to become a monster.