Repotted fiddle leaf due to bugs, now the leaves are drooping. Help!

7 years ago

This past weekend I changed out the soil in both of my fiddle leaf figs pots. They both had tiny white bugs in the soil and one had gnats flying around it. The soil they were in I also believe to have been a bad soil for them as it was suggested to me by someone at home depot that I use the soil for cactuses by miracle grow. When I replaced the soil I used the 5:1:1 mix which looks much better than the previous soil and I believe will make my plant happier than the previous soil. I also removed any funky looking leaves except two on the top of the smaller plant because I am affraid it will ruin the stem and one on the larger plant because it has been the same since shortly after I got the plant and the leaf is HUGE (but if you recommend I remove it, of course I will have to). I live in Tennessee and while it was around 65 degrees this past weekend, lately it has been very cold, around 35-45 degrees. The leaves on both my FLFs are now drooping a whole lot after replacing the soil. I read a few other threads and have watered them in 20 minute intervals and left them in the shower to drain over night. Waking up this morning I have not seen any improvements. I’m wondering if I am going to lose them!? Any other advice on how to save them would be wonderful! Thank you

Large plant

Large tree‘s funky leaf.

Small plant

Small plant funky leaves

Soil

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Lauren
Original Author

7 years ago

And yes theyre still droopy! The bigger one looks like it may be perking up just a tiny bit but I am not 100% sure yet.

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Comments (10)

Dave
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
When repotting, you removed all of the old soil from in and around the roots, correct? How long were the roots out of soil? Did you wet them or mist them every few mins?
Lauren
Original Author
7 years ago
Yes, I removed all soil with my hands.. I did not rinse the roots off though. The large one was out maybe 10 minutes and the small probably just under that. I did not mist them while they were out didn’t even think about it. Are they going to croak on me!?
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Mike the Fiddle Leaf Fig Guy
7 years ago
i thought you just need to use hydrogen pexoride to kill larvae in soil, you wont need to change soil entirely? is the plant still droopy?
Lauren
Original Author
7 years ago
Hey Mike! I did some research before changing out the soil. I found many solutions but honestly the thought of dead bugs in the soil in a plant in my home Grossed me out, plus I think the soil was the wrong type of soil for the plants as it was retaining a lot of water. I knew changing the soil this time of year I was taking a risk, but i didn’t expect such extreme effects on the plants immediately. ‍♀️
Sky
7 years ago
I can’t see any perlite in your 511 mix, and the bark pieces look big to me...are you sure you followed the right recipe? Your FLF is likely still in shock from the full repotting. Usually, unless the plant is really struggling, its recommended to hold off on repotting until the summer months. That said, I think you have a fighting chance. Make sure you keep them somewhere with lots of bright light. And be patient, it might take a few days to recover from a full repotting.
Dave
7 years ago
Yeah, I did not see the soil pic before. The bark does look way too large for the mix to properly work. The perlite and peat likely all settled to the bottom, making the top portion where most of the roots are, just large pieces of bark that dont retain much water at all. That would explain the drought reaponse.
Lauren
Original Author
7 years ago
I covered the very very top of the pot with the pine bark only just to make it look good but there is definitely perlite and peat in the pot. These are the ingredients i used for the soil..
Dave
7 years ago
Did you sift the bark? If the bark you used on top is the same bark you used in the mix, it’s definitely too large.
Lauren
Original Author
7 years ago
Uh oh.. I did not. The directions I read for it said nothing about sifting. Do you think I should redo it!? Terrified now!