Hi! The few times I've shared my plant woes here people have been really helpful and kind with me, so thanks in retrospective and in advance! (And, again, please excuse my wonky grammar and weird spelling, English isn't my first language).

I'm posting again here because struggling a bit with my oldest plant, a Ficus Elastica I got two years ago. This isn't the first time she's given me trouble (she's the reason I discovered this forum, in fact), and I'm beginning to think she doesn't like me that much, so I would appreciate any help!

I'll begin with the basics:

She's placed right before a north-facing window that gets about three hours of direct late afternoon sunlight in the spring and summer. During fall and winter, however, all it gets is indirect light. Even though I live in the south of Spain and winters here are mostly mild, my apartment is quite cold. During the coldest months, temperatures inside my home range between 53 °F and 59 °F (12°C-15°C). As all my plants go obviously dormant during this period, I try to be extra careful with waterings.
I water my Ficus sparsely, only when she is clearly dry and her pot is light. I had some issues watering her and other plants when I first got into houseplants, so now I tend to be conservative in this regard. I water in the sink, with lukewarm water, and I let the pot drain well before returning her to her spot. She is in the plastic pot she came in and I haven't repotted her yet, nor put her in a cache pot.

Her lower leaves are slowly yellowing since the beginning of January. I haven't changed my routine with her this season and this winter has been notably less cold than past year, so I'm not sure what is the problem. I was meaning to repot her this spring, because her pot is a tad too small for her now, but I don't think she is that severely rootbound (I may be wrong, obviously). I'm more inclined to think it's a watering or temperature issue.

I would love to hear some ideas about how to approach this. I'm a bit lost, honestly, and I would hate to accidentally kill her now. She's been with me through rough times and I've grown really attached to her!

I'll upload some pictures of her in the pot, her roots and the yellowing leaf (she's lost one already).

Thank you in advance for the help and for enduring my ramblings!

Hmm, I don't know much yet but that looks like it's in desperate need of a repot.

Hi albaamahe, English may not be your first language but you speak it with expertise; much better than a lot of people I know whose only language is English!

Yellowing, dropping leaves can be due to over watering, as well as under watering and the soil of your Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica) appears extremely dry to me. I'd advise to thoroughly saturate the entire root mass, until water is freely exiting the drainage holes of the pot; empty any excess water from the catch tray and place the tree in a warm location where it will get as much bright light as possible.

The circular manner of the root growth leads me to think that your Ficus could use a slightly larger pot but repotting isn't urgent and can wait until spring if necessary. You may just have to water more frequently to keep the soil and roots damp.

ChinaRider73 said: Hmm, I don't know much yet but that looks like it's in desperate need of a repot.

I do plan to repot her as soon as Spring comes! It's already warming up here, so I don't think I'll have to wait much longer. Thanks for your reply!

plantladylin said: Hi albaamahe, English may not be your first language but you speak it with expertise; much better than a lot of people I know whose only language is English!

Yellowing, dropping leaves can be due to over watering, as well as under watering and the soil of your Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica) appears extremely dry to me. I'd advise to thoroughly saturate the entire root mass, until water is freely exiting the drainage holes of the pot; empty any excess water from the catch tray and place the tree in a warm location where it will get as much bright light as possible.

The circular manner of the root growth leads me to think that your Ficus could use a slightly larger pot but repotting isn't urgent and can wait until spring if necessary. You may just have to water more frequently to keep the soil and roots damp.

That's so kind of you, thanks!
It was really, really dry, indeed . I'm a cronic underwaterer, so maybe my inconsistency is the main issue with her. I'll try to be a little more generous from now on and see how it goes. I will repot her, too, as soon as it gets a little warmer here. Thank you so much for your reply and your insight!