Definitely moisture stress from going too dry.

Not sure if you're still around, Stephanie, but - leaf abscission is how Ficus and most other plants respond to drought stress, which can be caused by over or under-watering. In this case, it sounds like the later. Very often plants with severely congested roots are hard to water because of the compaction. Water often runs across the top of dry soil, then moves down and out of the drain hole using the space between the perimeter of the root/soil mass and the inner wall of the pot. Check to see if that's the case.

If it is, you might need to either soak the entire pot in a bucket or tub until the entire root/soil mass is moistened, or set the pot in the sink and allow water to drip on the top of the soil. If you adopt the later strategy, I'd shift the pot from time to time to ensure the soil is evenly moist by the time you're done.

Best luck!

Al

Hi Al, thanks for the reply (from the fiddle leaf fig legend himself)! I've managed to get my water scheduling under control in the three months since I wrote here, and I do believe you're right that root congestion was the issue. I left it alone for another week and half after this post and then thoroughly soaked it in the tub, leaving to sit for 15-20 minutes before letting it drain. I've been watering it that way once every 10-14 days since then and it hasn't dropped any more leaves! It's doing well. Once the weather warms up I'll trim the roots and re-pot it. : )

Well, that's good news! Strong work! And thanks for the kind words, too!

Not sure if you mentioned where you live, but June is a good month for repotting. If you think Father's Day or summer solstice you won't go wrong. South of the Mason Dixon line - usually the first or second week of June is best.

Something interesting you'll notice, and don't take it as criticism, please. After you repot, you'll see what almost all growers would identify as a growth spurt ...... but that's not what it is. What you'll see is the vitality and growth rate at which the plant would have been growing all along, but for the limitations imposed by root congestion. Root congestion robs plants of their genetic potential, often while the plant appears as healthy as can be. You'll even see this in root bound plants that are only potted up, but not nearly to the degree seen in plants that are fully repotted. Potting up rootbound plants ensures limited growth and vitality until a human being actually gets hands into the root mass to correct the problem(s). I'm sure you already knew that, but there are probably others who didn't, so maybe they'll find it to be of some value.

Good luck.

Al