Ficus elastica ‘Shivereana’ care guide

In this guide you'll learn: How & where to buy the Ficus elastica 'Shivereana', how to care for your plant and answers to FAQs to keep your plant happy

About Ficus elastica ‘Shivereana’

The Ficus elastica ‘Shivereana’ is a beautifully variegated cultivar of the rubber tree, with unique colours of dark forest green, bright lime green, mint and specks of green-gold throughout the leaf, making it a rare and highly sought-after houseplant.

We have one of these next to a bright window in our office, adding a sparkle of light colour against the backdrop of other easy indoor plants with darker leaves.

Compared to other rubber trees, this cultivar often has very light leaves with much less chlorophyll than normal, meaning it requires much more light to create the same amount of energy to survive. Giving the plant a bright, central spot is crucial to bringing out the most vibrant colours as it may lose some lustre in low-light and grow much darker leaves.

While the rubber tree can reach 30 metres in the wild forests of South and Southeast Asia, this variegated rubber plant is unlikely to eclipse 3 metres indoors, but will delight you with beautiful new lime green leaves if provided with some relatively basic and easy-to-achieve growing conditions.

Rubber plants are popular in homes and offices because they are so easy to care for and require minimal maintenance. The most common problem is overwatering, which is easy to solve, but typically it will be happy in most indoor climates that are comfortable for you.

If you’re looking for your first plant, this is a good option that is long-lived with minimal maintenance and is very rewarding. If this is the plant for you, read our buyer’s guide below to get your plant delivered direct to you.

Ficus elastica ‘Shivereana’ in the House & Office

Growing the Ficus elastica ‘Shivereana’ indoors is not difficult, as the plant adapts easily to most indoor climates and requires minimal maintenance, but the light coloured leaves mean that it does need a lot of bright light to keep it happy.

Make sure that the plant is close to a bright window, but that the window doesn’t face south. Light from a south-facing window is direct, and often too strong for plants like this one. Sitting in strong, direct light for any more than an hour is likely to cause the leaves to burn and fall off over the following couple of weeks – unfortunately, we had this exact problem with our Shivereana and learned a valuable lesson (even one hour in direct light is too much).

Like many popular air purifying indoor plants, the large and colourful leaves produce ample amounts of fresh, clean, oxygenated air and are perfect for trapping dust – just give them a wipe at least once each month.

Studies from NASA show that the species is effective in reducing levels of toxic particles in the air, including formaldehyde, although it wasn’t particularly too high on their list of selected plants. While their study wasn’t on this cultivar, the Shivereana should be roughly as effective.

Ficus elastica ‘Shivereana’ Size

As this tree can grow to a significant size in the wild, it can still become a very large plant when grown indoors. While it can reach up to 300cm indoors, it often doesn’t reach this size and can be controlled by providing it with less fertiliser and by reducing light.

Height: up to 300cm / 118in / 9.8ft

Spread: up to 180cm / 70in / 5.9ft

Ficus elastica ‘Shivereana’ Care

Light: This plant is highly variegated and thrives in bright indirect light. However, it will lose some of its lustre if not given enough light, so keep it within a few feet of most bright windows but at least five feet from a south-facing window to get the best results.

Soil: To avoid root-rot, make sure to provide a potting soil that is rich in materials that don’t hold water, such as perlite. Check the pot’s drainage hole and make sure the soil doesn’t stay soggy for an extended period of time.

Watering: Your Ficus elastica ‘Shivereana’ will thrive with a once-weekly watering, but you can determine when it needs more water by feeling if the top one inch of soil is dry. If so, give it a drink.

Humidity: To keep your plant happy and healthy, provide them with a moist environment of at least 50%, or ideally over 60% humidity, but it should be happy enough at most indoor humidity levels. This can be achieved by grouping your plants together, using a humidifier or sitting the pot on top of a tray of pebbles and water. Keep your plants in an area with plenty of natural light and high humidity levels—such as in a bathroom or kitchen.

Feeding: Feed your plants during the summer months with small doses of standard fertiliser every couple of weeks, but only monthly at other times. In winter don’t feed them as they will slow down their growth rate and cause salt deposits to form in the soil.

Temperature: Your plant will love spending time in a warm and cozy home, so temperatures of 18-24°C / 64-75°F are perfect. The Shivereana can handle temperatures up to  35°C / 95°F, but don’t let it get too hot or approach freezing temperatures.

Ailments: These plants can be prone to leaf drop, which can happen after transplanting, suddenly changing its environment, or if exposed to strong, direct sun for too long. 

Further care: Read our full care guide to help your plant thrive.

Where To Buy Ficus elastica ‘Shivereana’ Online

• Ebay (UK) / (USA)
• Etsy
• Bloombox Club (UK) / (USA)
• Local Facebook Groups

Finding the Ficus elastica ‘Shivereana’ cultivar can be a little difficult, but it’s definitely worth checking out some online plant retailers. It might be hard to find in stores, but it’s definitely worth looking for.

The easiest place to find these available will be Ebay and Etsy, where you can often also choose the exact plant that you would like to purchase.

We would recommend that you buy from a well-rated, positively-reviewed retailer online which can show a respectable return policy.

If you do buy online, you should inspect your plant after receiving the delivery and be sure to not introduce an infected or infested plant to the rest of your plant collection, to prevent any possible spread.

If you are unhappy with the plant you receive in any way, contact the retailer and begin the return and refund process, and never settle for a houseplant that is damaged or otherwise unhealthy.

FAQs

Is Ficus elastica ‘Shivereana’ rare?

This ficus tree cultivar is fairly new and very rare to find, so you may find it difficult to buy unless you’re looking online for this exact cultivar. Most shops and garden centres are very unlikely to have this cultivar in stock.

Does the Ficus elastica ‘Shivereana’ need much sunlight?

The Shivereana needs plenty of bright indirect sunlight throughout the day in order to produce energy just like many other houseplants. It needs more light than similar plants because the light colours and high variegation means that it has less chlorophyll to create energy with. However, you should not expose it to direct light from a south-facing window, as this could be too strong for the leaves and potentially burn them.