Hello everyone,

we are writing here because we urgently need help and advice regarding our fiddle leaf fig and would be very happy if anyone had an idea how we could help the plant get back on its feet.

Description of the plant:

Size: approx. 250 cm/ 8 feet 2,5 inches

Age: unknown

Pot: expanded clay aka

Hydroton; the plant itself is still in a smaller plastic pot (like when you newly buy it in the nursery/ home depot).

History:

We bought the plant 11 days ago from a private source.

In the previous owner's house, the fiddle leaf fig stood outside on the terrace under a transparent canopy all year round. We live in northern Germany, where the winters are pretty rough and quite cold, so we were very surprised seeing that the ficus lyrata had not just survived outdoors but also grown that much.

For the transport (approx. 20 km) the plant was removed from the expanded clay and after approx. 1 hour potted again in the same Hydrotone in our flat without being watered. Until today (11 days long) we have not watered the fiddle leaf fig so as not to further shock it.

The plant is now in our living room without direct sunlight next to the window (south-east orientation). Only in the morning some early sunrays shine on the plant.

The plant wasn't in perfect condition when we picked it up (some of the lowest leaves were already slightly yellowish and had brown patches on them; overall the plant looked a bit "weathered", some leaves didn't feel totally "leathery" as usual with fiddle leaf figs, but rather drier and brittle); but the plant looked healthy and impressive in general (with the above mentioned exceptions).

Problem description:

After the plant had apparently survived the first few days well, we noticed that the already affected leaves in the lower parts of the plant had become increasingly yellow and that the brown areas had spread. Some leaves (3 or 4) have already dried out and were removed by us. The leaves in the upper part (which are probably also younger) look mostly healthy; they are dark green and feel softer to touch.

Pests or tiny insects are not visible to the naked eye. Please see the pictures attached for a better impression of the plant’s condition.

Do you think that the fiddle leaf fig can still be saved? Are the problems due to the move or is there something serious (illness, over- or underwater) going on? We would love to save it and have it thrive here!

We are very grateful for any answer or advice!

Many thanks in advance and greetings from Germany!

Felix

How it looked when we got it:

How it looks today:

The next two pictures for comparison: