The donts are: you can’t propitiate a single leaf. You need an actual stem cutting, not just a leaf and petiole.

thanks for the reply dave, the fiddleleaffig plant resource is doing it? pic below. so this one I have wont grow roots at all?

Mike,

Youre getting bad info.

The leaves will root but they will never grow anything else and will eventually die.

A leaf just isn’t capable of producing buds.

You need an ACTUAL stem cutting if you want it to grow into a new plant.

this is so sad. thanks for the help

It’s not sad, it’s a learning experience. When one of your plants needs trimming, try and propagate at that time with an actual stem that has a couple attached leaves.

Clairs site has some misinformation and this is just another example.

i know i should not have done this again but i felt like i had to repot the plant into a better draining soil before taking it outside... now i checked the soil and the bag of soil I bought, there is a lot of small crawling insects in there. they are white in color and they are crawling to the stem and leaves and around the pot. I watched youtube videos and they said not to kill them because they are purposely placed in the soil to eat fungus. is this true or should I change the soil immediately? is this the reason why the leaf fell off?

dave please help me on the soil one. i promise to listen and follow your advice from now on. i will stop repotting my plant

First tell me why you repotted it again? tell me why you’d asked for advice on here and not followed it?

Trying to help you is frustrating and most have given up on you at this point.

Are these your first plants ever? Have you ever used an online forum?

because the soil it was in before is not drying fast and I used this soil from a previous bag before to the other fiddle and they dry fast and they have pine barks. so i thought I repot this one too. I had kinda like a corn plant which died before because I forgot to water and the orchid one and this is the new ones I have...

To be fair, it's possible the image that shows what appears to be only leaf cuttings in cups might actually be showing "mallet" or "heel" cuttings, which would be a viable method of propagating a complete organism with all 4 organs rather than the 2 organs (roots and the leaf) that make up a leaf cutting. In the sketch you can see in the leaf axil, the bud that contains the apical meristem needed to form a stem. Cutting through the leaf petiole (stem) at any point eliminates the meristem and any chance of success.

Fungus gnat larvae aren't "put" in soils to eat fungus. They are usually a byproduct of an overly wet soil that contains ingredients high in cellulose, which is composed of molecules easily broken down by soil life that feeds on rotting vegetative matter. IOW, they're usually a symptom of a sick soil and/or an overly aggressive hand on the watering can.

This should be very helpful.

Al

thanks Al! the insects were originally in the soil i bought though.. they were not product of me watering the plant. what’s the best course of action? change the soil or use pest control? ive been doing researched and people says it’s springtail? also they only crawl. they dont fly

Personally, I'd use a soil drench made with 1.47% Imidacloprid at the rate of 1 tsp/ quart (or liter) of water. It should provide immediate 100% knockdown, and will persist in the soil for quite a while. It works systemically in the plant, so should keep your plant free of predators like scale, mealybug, thrips, …………… .

If you are unable to maintain your plants' root systems in a state of high vitality (good health), a healthy plant is only something you can wish for. To a large degree, your ability to provide a healthy environment for roots depends on your choice of soil; not to mention that an appropriate soil, one that allows you to water correctly w/o the plant having to pay the price exacted by a soil that remains soggy for extended periods, makes your job as a grower much easier across the board.

If you like, I can provide a link to a thread that explains how water behaves in container soils. Gaining an understanding of the concept it outlines is almost certainly the largest step forward a container gardener can take at any one time.

Al

Hi Al, yes please... can I have the link? i watered the plant yesterday and placed it outside and I noticed that the crawling insects were gone or maybe they reduced in number and not causing me alarm bells today.

i also have a follow up question... since I have repotted my fiddles several times, I have this container of old soil I dont know what to do. should I just throw them away or I can reuse them the next time I repot?

Throw it out. Its either too compacted, filled with deposited salts/minerals, depleted, or not a healthy plant mix to begin with.