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TreesSmall Spaces / Urban GardeningGarden
dontmather

Whats wrong with my Fiddle leaf fig

7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago

(I apologize if this ends up in a unrelated area. Ever since the update of the website I have a hard time finding what I'm looking for. Does anyone know how I can find the garden answers area? )

Please help! I have searched high and low and dug deep into internet readings/ research, and have not managed to figure out what is going on with my fig.

While cleaning my plant about a month ago I found a very intimidating, dark trail running along the vein on the underbelly of a leaf. The problem is growing.

i found him at a store tucked in a corner collecting dust last summer. He had a few blemishes but I took him home. I live in michigan, my house does not have the greatest lighting selection. The west facing window is too bright, burned his leaves. the north is not enough, plus the big tree shading my house. so now hes about 5 feet away from the south facing window thats downstairs (I live in a split level, half of the house is below grade).

I was on a water every Thursday schedule up until about three weeks ago. he wasnt happy though, some of the tips of the leaves were turning brown around the edge. I wasn't giving him a full soak, just a full glass. (Which I have now learned is not a good approach and i should wait til he shows signs of dropping leaves) I decided to give the soil a good rinse and run through to push out any salt that has been collecting. That was about a two weeks ago.

I apologize if this post is scattered haha Im not sure if im giving the right information or just rambling on about my child







Featured Answer
  • 7 years ago

    To be sure, the full collection of gardening forums seems to be hard to access these days for many who are new to the website and for those who visit infrequently. And despite Bill's very helpful suggestion, the Figs forum is not the best place for this request :-) That forum was really intended for questions about edible figs, Ficus carica !! And is not hugely active at this time of year. There are some questions about other fig species that wind up there by default but I would not consider that the best place for the OP's issues.......there are literally hundreds of questions about FLF's (and very recent ones, with new appearing daily) on the Houseplants forum. And the Garden Clinic is always a good choice for an plant health issues or problems.

    But that doesn't mean you need to move this post to any of those........you will get answers here (or in Figs).......just maybe not as fast or as many as you would elsewhere :-)

    Although FLF's are not my cup of tea, based on the first couple of photos I would have said your plant looks like it has scale. But the last few photos seem to argue against that. I am not sure what's up............

    Comments (6)

    • 7 years ago
      last modified: 7 years ago

      Just an FYI, there is [FIG FORUM[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/fig-forum-dsbr0-bd~t_29876) that has loads of info about fiddle leaf figs.

      Do a quick search using 'fiddle leaf' over there and you'll see lots of threads. :-)

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    • 7 years ago
      last modified: 7 years ago

      And just to clarify,

      the only reason I suggested the Fig forum, was that I got 167 threads when I searched for Fiddle leaf on that forum and some appeared to be similar as far as health problems go.

      Other than that, I know nothing about FLF's. :-)

      167 fiddle leaf Discussions | Figs

    • 7 years ago

      MI huh ... lol...


      what kind of furnace.. and where is the plant in regard to the closest heat course ...


      could we have a pic of the whole??? .. so we can see the overall status of the plant ....


      water when a plant needs water ... and with that furnace blowing .. if you have forced air like me in adrian ... then this time of year.. you are watering much more than when its not ... in essence .. humidifying the house thru your houseplants ....


      insert finger and find out how wet or dry it is... or with smaller plants ... the weight of the pot often give guidance ...


      there is a houseplant forum ... and with future posts.. you might find kindred souls there ...


      it might need more light ... and you would have to slowly move it to higher light.. not just slam it into it .... thats why i want to see the whole .... this time of year.. i dreary grey MI .... im not sure 5 feet away from a window is good enough .. except that .. at least it didnt freeze last week when it was zero all week outside.. lol ...


      are the leaves the exterior leaves.. but the interior leaves do not have the same???? ... it almost looks like mechanical damage ... meaning something is rubbing against it ... or something happened quite a while back.. and only until the humidity issues made it show up now ....


      welcome to the forums ...


      ken



    • 7 years ago

      The 3rd and 4th pic blemish looks sort of like physical damage to me. Not sure about the 1st and 2nd, but if it's only on one leaf, I would probably not worry too much. These leaves only live for 2 to 3 years and then they fall.


      Probably your bigger concern will be what to do with your fig when it outgrows your room.

    • 7 years ago

      If these symptoms are manifest in only
      one or two leaves, I'd feel fairly confident that you're looking at
      mechanical injury. Waxing anthropomorphic for just a moment - mechanical
      injury would be the rough equivalent of bruising in a human. What look
      like scabs along the midrib appear to be callus tissue that forms after
      wounding. It looks like the leaf was accidentally scraped across an
      object or an object across the leaf to create the wounds. If it only
      occurs in one or two spots, keep an eye on it, but don't obsess over it.


      Without the support of the midrib and subordinate venation, the
      leaf of a Ficus lyrata would be about as strong as 20 lb bond typing
      paper. So they play a part similar to the metal ribs that support an
      opened umbrella - they add strength that helps leaves keep their shape.
      When subjected to deflection (bending) the leaf isn't able to tolerate,
      the midrib and/or veins can crack - like a piece of celery, e.g.. My
      guess is that's what happened to cause the other injury in your 2nd
      & 3rd images.


      It's really difficult to diagnose something from a distance,
      especially w/o seeing an image that better helps to assess your plant's
      o/a level of vitality. I should probably say that I reserve the right to
      change my mind re what's going on if an image showing the entire were
      to reveal anything that can't be seen in the tight shots.


      If you have interest, you might gain from looking at something I wrote about Growing Ficus in Pots.
      It was originally written when Ficus benjamina, the weeping fig, was
      garnering the lions share of the attention; but the cultural preferences
      of lyrata are so like benjamina that I could simply change the title
      and no one would ever notice. On the off chance that you find what you
      find at the link to be of value, I've written a more in depth piece
      about growing trees in pots that I think you'll find very helpful if you
      think that by becoming a more proficient nurturer, you increase the
      personal rewards you get from your growing experience. Let me know ....

      Al

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