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Please help save my Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree!

9 years ago

Hello! I am very lost and in need of help! I have no experience on fiddle leaf fig trees other than the overwhelming amount of information on the website. I was given my fiddle leaf fig tree as a gift for Christmas. My husband bought it on Craigslist and kept it in a dark garage for about 2 weeks to hide it from me. Uh oh. It's been 5 months and I just can't figure out how to make my tree happy. In the past 5 months about half it's leaves, mostly towards the bottom, have turned yellow with brown edges and have fallen off. 2 new healthy leaves have grown at the top and 1 not so healthy looking leaf. It is near a NW (mostly W) facing window and gets plenty of indirect light. From reading online, I assumed the yellow leaves were due to overwatering. In the beginning I was giving it 1 cup of water a week, and have tried to adjust depending one soil moisture. I just cannot figure out a good watering schedule. Most recently I've gone 2 weeks without watering it and it seems to be still moist near the bottom about 2/3 down. I use a moisture meter and just last night checked with a wooden chopstick. This past weekend I asked advice from a local plant shop and they told me maybe the plant is too tight in it's pot and to take it out and let it dry out a little. So that is where I am now. Any help, advice, insight will be greatly appreciated. I would love to figure out what's going on and help Mr. Fig live a long happy life. Thank you!










Comments (6)

  • 9 years ago

    Definitely looks like the "shoes" are too tight; roots showing on the soil surface. Small new leaves can be a sign of a need for a larger pot, or chronic under watering ( the plant will eventually get used to drier soil but growth with be greatly limited) or lighting that is too low. They do best when they receive a couple hours of direct sun a day and their feet are kept constantly damp.

  • 8 years ago
    Hi all,

    I desperately need help saving my fiddle leaf fig!

    I purchased her (Precious) about a month ago and things seemed to be going OK. Within this time she even grew three new leaves.

    I noticed several brown spots and thought I might be overwatering so held off. We also have had a heatwave so the blinds have been closed in the house and she wasn’t receiving as much sun. Within a few days I noticed she was covered in big brown/black spots and starting to lose leaves.

    I gave her a big dose of water and left her outside to get some light. With warm weather predicted I left her out overnight. Of course an unpredicted thunderstorm came though. I brought her back in as soon as I could and moved her to another room where the blinds could stay open. She lost 4 more leaves.

    Now the worst thing happened - my dog got to her. I came home yesterday to find the whole bottom branch destroyed. My dog is ok but Precious is not - she lost 5 more leaves today.

    My question now is is there anything I can do to save her? I have attached pictures of Precious when I brought her home and today. This is my first FLF so I could use all the help I can get.

    Thanks in advance,
    Ashleigh
  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    The brown is usually an indication of over watering. The soil looks very wet in the pics.

    What method are you using to insure it’s time to water again?

    Also, the placement in the first photo will not work well. You need to have the tree right up in front of your brightest window.

  • 8 years ago
    Thanks Dave. I should have mentioned I just watered her in the pics. I have been watering her weekly or when the top inch of soil is dry.
    The pot inside is only a few meters from a large southerly window which receives the most light in the house
  • 8 years ago

    I’d still put it right in front of the window. As close as you can get it.

    Watering when only the top inch is dry is a sure sign you’re over watering.

    The soil deep down is likely staying wet and you’re dealing with symptoms of root rot.

    dont water on a set schedule, water as the plant needs it.

    Get a wooden dowel and sharpen the ends. Stick it in the soil all the way to the bottom and pull out and inspect.

    if it comes out dark, damp with soil stuck to it, don’t water.

    Keep checking every day or so and only water when it comes out nearly clean and dry.