Too little light

What's happening

In dim conditions a rubber plant stretches toward the nearest window, spacing its new leaves far apart and dropping the lower ones it can no longer support. The result is a tall, top-heavy plant with a bare lower stem and smaller, duller new leaves.

How to fix it

Move it to a brighter spot with plenty of bright, indirect light, a few feet from an east or south window. If your space is genuinely dim, a full-spectrum grow light makes a real difference. To rebuild a fuller shape, you can cut the leggy stem back above a leaf node in spring — the plant will branch from below the cut.

This is general guidance based on common symptoms; individual plants vary.