Any hope for my sad fiddle leaf fig?

5 years ago

So I brought this guy home from a local nursery about 2 months ago, and I honestly wish I had a before picture, but alas I do not... After having him in a north facing window for a few weeks, he started getting brown spots on his bottom leaves. Then the brown spots started working their way up to the middle leaves and eventually the top, newest leaves. The people at the nursery said I was probably watering the tree too much, so take the root ball out of the container and let it dry out for 2 weeks, then only give him a cup of water every week. So I followed those instructions and his condition has continually deteriorated. After lurking on these forums for a few weeks and reading at least 3 or 4 dozen of Al’s comments and posts, I moved him to a different, much brighter, southeast window, started using the chopstick method of testing for when to water, stopped giving him “small sips” of water... but he dropped one of his last two leaves this morning and now I’m thinking he’s doomed :( I haven’t repotted him, because I figured it would be too much stress on an already dying plant.

I’ve attached a few pictures, one where he’s on the table when he had a few more very sad looking leaves a few weeks ago. The other three were taken at 6am this morning.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

(Also, I live in Raleigh, NC... so zone 7b. And my backyard is VERY shady.)

Featured Answer

Jesse Knight

5 years ago

I would leave him be where he is for a while; fiddle leaf figs are sensitive to moving around especially in times of distress and that looks to be a good spot. He's going to need significantly less water right now, and definitely make sure his soil dries out between watering. I would advise against fertilizing; it would probably be too much in its condition and could 'burn' the plant. Does his black pot rest directly on the bottom of the wicker basket? If so, it may help to elevate it a little bit so it doesn't make constant contact with any water that drains out. Dropping leaves is actually pretty normal for fiddles after repotting, as well. The leaf that he has left looks nice, I wish you the best!

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Comments (6)

Sugi_C (Las Vegas, NV)
5 years ago
Throw him outside. The main deterrent to doing this is usually burning off the existing leaves, but that’s a problem you don’t have right now. :) You said your backyard is shady, so find the brightest spot possible. Any spot outside (except under trees, etc.) is brighter than indoors, generally.

Definitely keep to watering thoroughly, but make sure it’s when the soil is dry through to the bottom. You can feel the drainage holes to make sure it’s not wet. I’d suggest a repot too, but I’m not sure doing it now when the plant is clearly stressed is a good idea. On the other hand, it’s also probably the most important step. I have my Ficus in a very airy mix that drains fast but maintains a nice “lightly damp” state - shown below, about 30 minutes after a full watering - but it also does really well in Al’s gritty mix, if you have it available to you.
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
5 years ago
Take it outdoors. Look for a spot in open or dappled shade, bury the pot so the soil lines inside and outside the pot are roughly even or the soil in the pot a little lower than the surrounding soil. When it starts to push new growth, start fertilizing. If it's going to turn around, that should do it.

Al
Caroline M
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you for the advice everyone! I put him outside on our deck yesterday morning, but I’ll put him in the ground in the morning. Got my fingers crossed!
Caroline M
Original Author
5 years ago
Okay so I just went outside to check on him and noticed these little green nubs at the base of the tree. Al, do I bury and wait for more green nubs? Or bury and fertilize now?
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
5 years ago
Basal sprouts often occur when the top is dead, but not always. They're good 'insurance' that you'll have a viable plant, even if the top dies back to the base. If you get new growth popping from the existing trunk, you can rub the basal sprouts off with a thumb or prune them with a pair of scissors.

I'd wait and give the tree some time to reorganize before you fertilize, but A) do start fertilizing as soon as you see growth being pushed from the trunk, or B) fertilize if after 3 weeks the trunk isn't back-budding but the basal sprouts are growing.

I suspect your issues are related to poor root health as a result of lengthy periods of soil saturation. The reason I suggested that you put the plant in the ground is related to the fact that from the perspective hydrology, partially burying the pot turns it into a raised bed; this, because the earth will act as a giant wick and remove any perched water that would otherwise remain in the pot under conventional container culture. Soils that would be virtually unusable in containers because of excess water retention will often do a stellar job in raised beds. Most container media aren't that smart, so they're easy to fool if you know the tricks.

Al