Because I don't see any deformed leaves, rings around the spots, or stunted growths, my best guess for the cause of the spots is actually fig bud mites, not necessarily FMV. To know for sure you need strong magnification, they are microscopic and difficult to treat because contact sprays cannot get to them.

They don't do much harm to the plant on their own, but if you have other fig trees they will transfer and intensify any FMV those trees have.

I'd confirm it is fig bud mites and contact the seller to let them know and ask for a remedy, you might get to keep the tree and get your money back, if they are a nursery this will be valuable info to them...

As far as treatment options go, spiromesifen is very effective, and a couple people have reported that spinosad is as well. The spray needs to be able to absorb into the plant to kill them when they feed, because again, contact sprays are not effective.

Best of luck, and if you could post any resolution to the issue that would be helpful, there is not much information available on fig bud mites and the symptoms have been misidentified as FMV many times.

Does horticultural oil or neem oil work on the mites?

I can't really say for sure... When the tree is dormant the mites will all be inside of the closed buds and undeveloped figs, so they might be smothered but I've never tried. In the northeast there are no wild fig trees to harbor the mites, so once they are eradicated they won't come back, unless another tree is added that has them. I do see plants for sale on eBay sometimes that look like they have mites, and cuttings can also carry them so be selective about who you buy from and/or treat all new plants before introducing them to a collection.

I did a quick search and could not find anything to say for sure whether dormant oil would work or not, probably not I guess.

In Japan, where they call it the ficus mottle mite, they found that removing terminal buds was effective at reducing their numbers, but they still need to follow up with sprays to control them.

Sulfur is supposed to work, but once it is on you won't be able to see the mites anymore so you will have to keep applying it until you think it has worked and then wait to see if the symptoms come back to be certain...

I'd not mess around and spray spiromesifen, I know it works 100%. It kills all life stages and provides residual control so it only takes one spray with good coverage to eradicate them. Along with spinosad, the label has the lowest toxcicity signal word used by the EPA, caution.

Spinosad is not listed for eriophyid mites but some people have said that it works, they didn't go into much detail or follow up later to confirm that all the mites were killed though. It is more readily available though and organic, and also absorbs into the plant to get the mites when they feed.

I returned the tree. It was Home Depot - the manager tried to say it was a [mumble] deficiency. I looked at the other 20 or so plants, and they all had some symptoms. They were closely packed and all touching. I'm checking out other nurseries now with a lot of good prospects.

I noticed that the newest leaves at the top of my tree were the worst - very spotty, more yellow than green. Looking into the mite killer, ONE ounce cost more than the tree. I

Thanks for the help, hoosierbanana, now I know what to look for when buying a plant.

In my experience, trees with that mottled discoloration never really recuperate and are always stunted. I've assumed it was that notorious fig virus but could be other things I suppose. All I do know, is that I would never again buy a tree with these leaf patterns. So, now I have figs with no mottled yellow leaves that are very robust. I am happy with my three trees and would be hesitant to introduce another fig for fear of introducing some pathogen.