Hello all!

I have a rubber plant tineke and have some concerns with leaf drop. I've noticed the 3 stems looks to be "petrifying/hardening" right above the soil line. I recently purchased the plant 2-3 weeks ago from Armstrong and potted with new soil so I'm lead to believe I am doing something wrong. I live in Southern California so the temperament is warm and my living room receives a decent amount of indirect light. I water the plant roughly once a week and try to avoid over watering. I had a dracena that experienced root rot, so now I may tend to under water than over water.

I am not sure what is causing the "petrifying/hardening" of the stem but I'm concerned that I may be doing something drastically incorrect leading to the plant to wither and die

Any thoughts or insights I'd greatly appreciate!

Pretty plant! It's a tree, so it's just maturing from green to hardened stem. I believe it's fine.

Yes, it's normal for the stems to lignify. When/where the stem lignifies, the leaves will be lost and new branches will eventually start to grow where those leaves were. I've put pics of that in this entry, same plant with a slightly diff coloring:
Variegated Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica 'Ruby')

@alyssablue thanks for the compliment and reassurance!

@purpleinopp thank you for your insight as well. I'm new to indoor planting (and planting for that matter). I'm glad I found this website who has people with much experience!

Happy to share. Your plant (2 individuals?) looks like it's about the size of mine 3-4 yrs ago. They grow pretty slowly.

Hi punchpunch, Welcome! I agree with everyone else ... your lovely plant is just doing what's normal and maturing into the tree it's meant to be!