I like that irregular shape. Pinch back stem tips on longest branch to redirect grownth ?

That is so interesting Dave. I've been thinking about moving my plant outside but afraid of making any drastic changes especially as it seems to be happy and has shown new growth.

Thanks for the kind words anthonysears! What do you mean by pinch back stems? Prune off a couple of leaves?

Will pruning some leaves off the shorter branches encourage new growth? It seems only the longest branch is growing like crazy will the others are very very slow.

Thanks again for any input!!

Drastic moves are only drastic when going from light to dark. When you're offering more light, such as moving the tree outside, only good things will come.

of course, you'll need to acclimate the tree over a span of a couple weeks. Start with ambient light from the sky and no direct sun. After a week, stick it in full sun for one hour a day for a couple days, then move to two hours and so on until it's recieving full sun all day.

Keeping new leaves pinched back on longest branch might very well encourage shorter branches/trunks to bust out with new growth.

Pinching or pruning doesn't encourage growth, but it does temporarily alter the way the plant grows. Removing the growing tip of the branch limits extension of the branch permanently, and alters the balance between two antagonistic growth regulators that determine whether the plant will grow long branches or if will send out lateral secondary branching. You really should bring the plant back in bounds by pruning now as hard as necessary, then utilize a pinching strategy to promote fullness and keep the plant in bounds.

Al

So I've pruned the tree back quite aggressively... Yikes!! I hope I didn't injure it and it recovers ok!! Ive placed the branches in water in hopes it roots so I can propagate it.

I have placed the tree outside - in the shade to acclimate the plant to being outdoors and will slowly move it in the full sun, though I'm afraid of what will happen when it's time to bring it back inside in the fall!

Ive watered with fertilizer. Anything else I can do at this point to help my little plant along and minimize the shock?

Thanks so much for all the input! It's really greatly appreciated!

Amy

When you pruned, you should have left at least 2 healthy leaves on each branch. I'm concerned about whether or not the plant will back-bud on the one bare branch. If the plant needs repotting (if it's badly root bound) and you plan to repot, wait until the plant has started to push new growth in several places before you undertake that operation. Tight roots is a strong inhibitor of back-budding.

Al

So, sorry to jump in but... what are your plans for that cut-off bit there, on the floor? Are you planning to try to root that? If not... I wouldn't mind trying, and I'd be happy to send you the postage. (I am out West.)

Unless everyone thinks that's hopeless?

So I cut off the longest branch at the point where I hoped it might split into two branches and it meant cutting off all the leaves because that branch was quite long and leggy. I guess all I can do is watch and hope he bounces back.

The leaves on the ground are actually sitting in a jar of water hoping it'll root! Fingers crossed!

I checked yesterday and it doesn't look like the roots are bound and needs to be repotted but thanks for the tips Al! I appreciate all the input and info from everyone!

How long has it been in the current pot it's in?

Good luck with the rooting!!

It's been in the current pot for 1 year. I repotted last year into a pot that was 2" larger than the nursery pot.

FWIW - you'll usually have better luck in a series of pinches that is often referred to as "chasing foliage back". It consists of several pruning cuts where you cut back to 1-2 leaves and hope for or force a lateral break well behind (proximal to) the pruning cut. For example, if you'd left 1 healthy leaf on that branch, you would have had at least 2-4 branches break proximal to your cut. After they are growing, you cut back again to the branch most proximal and force more back-budding. After doing this 2-3 times, you would have the same stub you have now, with 2 or more secondary branches growing from it, with virtually no chance of having lost the branch.

Hopefully, you'll see some new buds popping, which will serve as reassurance all is well.

Al

It's been about 2.5 weeks since I've pruned my fiddle leaf fig tree and stuck it outside on a south facing patio. Today, I just noticed some new leaves popping out, about 6 in total including a new one way lower on the branch. Unfortunately tapla was right, the one branch that I did not leave any leaves does not show any new growth. I stuck the branches that I had cut off into water and they are also showing some buds and roots.

I have a couple of questions - what's the best way of potting the old branches that have grown roots in water? I've read that the best medium is a combination of pine bark, soil and perlite. Will Miracle Grow Potting mix with some perlite mixed in suffice? Any tips for getting branches to take root in soil?

Also, as you can see in some of the photos, the leaves got burned and turned brown when moving to the sun too quickly. What will happen to these leaves? Will they turn back to green again?

Thanks in advance for any input!! I'm ecstatic to see my plant is bouncing back and hoping it continues to do well!

Looks fantastic! Congrats :D

Hi, Amy. Unlike animals/humans, plants don't grow new tissues in the same spatial planes as the damaged tissues, so the blemishes left by photo-oxidation (sunburn) will be a part of the leaf until it's shed or you snip it off.

There are good soil and poor soils, with varying degrees of good and bad within the category. I don't think a soil can get a 'good' grade unless you can water plants in it to beyond saturation w/o having to worry the soil will remain soggy so long it has a notable impact on root health/function. It's hard to make a difference when you "amend" MG potting soil by adding perlite or even pine bark because in order to realize any significant increase in drainage and aeration, the coarse fraction of the ingredients needs to be several times larger than the MG you started with. Using the 5:1:1 mix as an example - it has 5 parts of pine bark of suitable size, one part perlite and one part peat or a soil like MG. That means it has 6 parts of coarse material and 1 part of fine material, which is where the superior aeration and drainage come from. It's kind of hard to say you amended your MG potting soil if it's only 1/7 of the total volume of the mix.

I never start cuttings in water because of the issues associated with that practice. If, for some reason I HAD to start cuttings in water, I would move them out of water into a very well-aerated, damp/moist/never wet mix as soon as root primordia (the white bumps) became conspicuous.

Good job, BTW.

Al

Thanks Iris and thanks Al for the wealth of info as always!! I am learning so much from people like you as I go along. I appreciate all the info very much.

I was unable to find pine bark at our local nursery. What would be a suitable alternative?

I've been reading up on several threads on finding Pine bark and substitutes ;) My local Home Depot sells Pine Bark Nuggets, looks like it's mainly big pieces though and used for mulch: http://www.homedepot.com/p/2-cu-ft-Pine-Bark-Nuggets-363936/202526086

Can I make it work for a 5-1-1- mix?

Those looks too big. You don't want nuggets.

Do you have agway stores in your area? I use their 3 cubit foot bags which are $6 and the bark is nearly perfect.

No Agway nearby Dave, but I found out I can use the Repti Bark (100% pure fir bark) and they carry it at the PetCo down the street!

I realize these are older posts but my question is related plus I also can't figure out how to start a new post. I've got 2 fiddle leaf fig I've had for about 3 yrs & it's had all the common problems watering etc but I just ckd on them and found about dozen pinpoint size "toothpick" signs of something boring holes in the trunk. Research all seems to point to ambrosia beetle & nothing will work to get rid of them once they're there. Has anyone else dealt with this & any suggestions? I'm tempted to cut it down below the holes but I've never cut my fiddle leaf figs back that far. I'm not ready to give up on it. Just hard to believe that there's nothing to get rid of them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! These trees where an 4 feet tall when I got them and about 6 feet tall now. Thanks!!