The fiddle leaf fig is one of the most well-liked plants. It seems to be continually popular on social media thanks to its easily recognizable big leaves. But do fiddle leaf fig trees cost more given their popularity? It differs, but in general you will spend a little bit extra for the reputation of this plant.
A mature fiddle leaf fig tree typically costs around $100. The plants can cost anywhere between $20 to $250, depending on their age, source, and health. The best place to look for a fiddle leaf fig tree on a budget is during regional plant swaps.
Let’s investigate why fiddle leaf figs are so costly and how to identify a good one.
What kind of plant has fiddle leaves?
A kind of tropical evergreen tree indigenous to the tropical lowlands of western Africa is the fiddle leaf fig tree, often known as the ficus lyrata tree (Sierra Leone to Cameroon). The tree form has many branches at the top but no leaves at the bottom.
Instead of a fiddle leaf fig, what can I purchase?
Given that both are tall plants with eye-catching leaves instead of fiddle leaf figs, it is simple to suggest a parlor palm or dracaena. However, they are too tropical to truly serve as a substitute for the fiddle leaf fig. Try a Ficus benghalensis, often known as a Ficus “Audrey,” instead. The plant is related to Ficus lyrata closely.
Best places to find fiddle leaf figs to grow
Care for Fiddle-Leaf Fig. These plants are indigenous to tropical regions of Africa, where they may flourish in extremely hot and humid environments. The home grower will certainly find it difficult to replicate these humid conditions, making them fairly difficult.
Are fiddle leaf figs a good indoor plant?
Fiddle leaf figs can withstand the winter outdoors in USDA hardiness zones 9 through 11. However, because they can flourish in a variety of indoor conditions, they also make excellent houseplants. They favor constant temperatures between 60 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity levels between 35 and 60 percent. Keep yours away from drafty areas, such as those near outside doors and HVAC vents.
Is the fiddle leaf fig considered a lucky plant?
Fiddle leaf figs stand for abundance, good fortune, and fertility. Additionally, according to feng shui principles, its big, rounded leaves are said to draw nourishing and positive energy while assisting in the neutralization of poison arrows and bad energy that enter your home through sharp edges.
What is so special about fiddle leaf figs?
Among fans of indoor gardening, fiddle leaf fig trees have become highly popular houseplants. Despite being generally durable plants, they can be a little challenging to keep completely healthy and attractive. However, a fiddle leaf fig can significantly improve the aesthetic and visual appeal of your home under the correct growth conditions.
Furthermore, fiddle leaf figs are now simpler to find than ever before because of their popularity. They are currently offered at reasonable costs in almost all home and garden stores.
Are fiddle leaf figs toxic?
The insoluble calcium oxalate crystals found in fiddle leaf fig plants are poisonous to people, dogs, and cats.
They can irritate the soft tissues of the digestive system and result in significant gastrointestinal distress if consumed. The plant’s calcium oxalate crystals can also burn and irritate the skin when handled without gloves.
Wear safety gloves if handling or repotting your fiddle leaf fig and be sure to place it in an area away from pets and young children.
Where should a fiddle leaf fig be placed in a home?
The best site for a fiddle leaf fig in your home is close to a south or east-facing window where it will get lots of bright, indirect sunshine all day long. A cold or drafty window or door, as well as any area near your heating and cooling vents, should be avoided while placing your plant there.
Fiddle leaf fig plants are susceptible to excessive environmental change. Therefore, after you choose a position for your fiddle leaf fig, be prepared to stay in that spot because relocating the plant after it has gotten used to a particular spot in your home could stress it out and impede its growth.
Fiddle leaf figs survive for how long?
A tropical tree with fiddle-shaped leaves, the ficus lyrata is a native of the lowland rainforests of West Africa. It has a lifespan of 25 to 50 years (if cared for properly in non-tropical conditions).
What makes it so well-liked in the design community? Most people give the tree’s large, floppy spherical leaves, which resemble violins, credit. People anthropomorphize the plant by comparing these to babies’ huge eyes in an effort to make them desire to care for it.
Of course, the majority of designers would also mention how photogenic the plant is, which undoubtedly helps.
Fiddle leaf requires sunlight, right?
The light that most homes and apartments naturally provide—not too much, not too little, nothing too bright, nothing too dark—is what the fiddle-leaf fig needs to thrive. An east-facing window is suggested by Harnek Singh, a gardener at Wave Hill Public Garden in New York City. According to him, fiddle leaf figs require both direct sunlight and a lot of indirect light. “South or west-facing windows will receive too much afternoon sun.
So keep in mind that your fig requires adequate sunlight in your home just like the nourishing rays that come through the deep canopy of the jungle. Cacti and succulents that live in the desert should be placed in the south-facing window.
Singh also advises buying fiddle-leaf figs from reliable sellers to prevent encountering the opposite issue. He claims that many of these plants are frequently already declining as a result of spending too much time in the dark. Foliage that is flagging and leaves that are pale, spotted, or wan-looking are indicators of improper light exposure. If your plant displays these signs, try shifting it to a different location for a week or two.
Are fiddle leaf figs harmful to eat?
One of the most well-known and poisonous indoor plants is the philodendron. The leaves, which are also referred to as fiddle leaf figs, have crystals comprised of the poisonous calcium oxalate. A bite from a fiddle leaf won’t kill you if you’re an adult, but all philodendrons can be extremely hazardous to kids and animals.
Amount of Sun
Eight to twelve hours of sunlight per day are necessary for fiddle leaf fig trees to thrive. It prefers bright filtered light but will tolerate some shade.
Your ficus plant will naturally grow toward the light, so rotating it will help it receive an even distribution of sunlight. A strong, filtered light is desirable, but just make sure it’s not searing sunlight.
Your plant should be placed next to an east-facing window for the best results. The plant would receive sufficient light during the afternoon hours as well as the early but less powerful morning rays.
To reduce the chance of scorching, some individuals advise keeping ficus plants away from south-facing windows. The issue of inadequate light is one that fig tree owners encounter much more frequently than the issue of burnt plants, according to our research. The risk of scorching is often less when a fiddle leaf fig is indoors because it is already receiving filtered light.
Watering Frequency
Your particular setup will determine how frequently you need water your ficus tree. The best guideline is to water your fiddle leaf tree as soon as the ground becomes dry. This could happen as rarely as once per week or as frequently as once every few days.
In warm weather, fiddle leaf fig trees that are cultivated in pots require a moderate amount of water. When the temperature drops, they use substantially less water.
How to Water Your Tree
Make sure to water your ficus lyrata until you notice a small amount of water dripping from the drainage holes in the bottom of your container. By doing so, you will allow the water to soak deep into the root zone and let it take up the necessary water it needs.
Fertilizer Ratio
The best fertilizer for fiddle leaf figs has an NPK ratio of 3:1:2 and contains the elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Thus, it has a nitrogen content of three parts, a phosphorous content of one, and a potassium content of two.
When you take care of your fiddle leaf fig tree using fertilizer that has this NPK ratio, your tree will repay you with strong, lush growth.
How to Prevent Root Rot
When too much water or moisture builds up in the plant’s container, the roots can rot. It is simple to identify because either the leaves will begin to show signs of brown spots or they will fall off the ficus tree.
It is more difficult to care for your plant in a way that will get rid of root rot once it has already set in. Precaution is essential.
The simplest way to avoid root is to ensure that the container your fiddle leaf fig plant is planted in has drainage holes at the bottom so that the roots are not always sitting in soggy soil.
When planting your ficus lyrata for the first time, use an excellent, quick-draining soil mixture to avoid rot. It is strongly advised to grow ficus plants in a growing medium that is composed of half houseplant soil and half cactus plant soil. It has a quick drainage system and is light enough to let plant roots breathe and draw in nutrients.
Having said that, it is normally challenging to overwater your fig tree. The plant is quite resistant to being exposed to a lot of water because of the humid environment it is typically found in.
Root rot shouldn’t be an issue if you have a pot with drainage holes. In fact, underwatering a fiddle leaf fig plant is the most typical error made by new owners.
There are more causes for your plant’s failure to thrive or the appearance of brown spots.
How Fast Do They Grow?
Approximately one foot of fiddle leaf figs grow each year. The tree’s growth rate will be moderate for the first two to three years. After three years, the tree will resemble an ornamental tree, and it will take it 10 to 15 years to reach its full height of 8 feet when it is fully grown.
Re-potting
Your fiddle leaf fig needs a new pot.
- Lay newspaper or an old sheet down to prepare the workspace.
- Make sure the new pot is about two inches larger than the old one and includes drainage holes.
- To avoid obstruction, place a few stones or clean, unused coffee filters over the drainage hole(s).
- Make a depression in the middle of the dirt and fill the remaining one-third of the container with fresh potting soil.
- Take your plant out of the previous container.
- Put the tree’s root ball in the new container’s soil.
- If you can, carefully separate some of the outside roots so they can grow broader.
- Up till two or three inches below the surface of the earth, add more soil around the root ball.
- To settle the soil and get rid of any air pockets, give the fiddle leaf fig plant a vigorous soaking.
- If desired, scatter decorative stone or glass pebbles around the plant to cover the soil’s surface; this helps retain moisture and keeps the soil from becoming messy when watered. If there is any uncertainty, it is simple to verify if the plant needs watering by pushing a finger or water meter through the stones.
- Once the ficus plant reaches its full height and size, you should refresh the soil every spring by taking out a few inches of the old soil from the area around the top of the container and replacing it with new potting soil. This will guarantee the ficus lyrata in your home’s long-term health.
Cleaning the Leaves
Simply washing the fig tree’s leaves with lukewarm water is the best approach to maintain and clean them. Wipe the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves using a clean, soft cloth that has been dampened. Without harming your plant, water will wash away dust and make your leaves sparkle.
There are many specialized cleaning agents for leaves on the market. There are other homemade recipes that use mayonnaise and other things to clean leaves. Yes, they may give the appearance that the leaves are shiny, but they also draw larger dust particles that eventually plug the pores and stomata of the leaves. Your ficus tree’s health may be harmed by this. On the leaves, never apply furniture polish!
You will be able to raise a ficus plant that is healthy by using these straightforward methods! I wish you had fun reading this ficus lyrata indoor plant care article.
When should a fiddle leaf fig tree be purchased?
Although it may seem like the dead of winter is the ideal time to start an indoor garden, Cheng cautions against getting tropical plants like the fiddle-leaf fig throughout the winter. Fiddle-leaf figs are available all year long in nurseries, but it’s better to hold off on bringing one home until the weather warms up. He cautions that spending even five minutes in the cold might potentially cause all of its leaves to die.
What qualities should a fig tree have?
Guys! I established Plant Tip Tuesday on my Instagram, where I post a quick plant-related tip every week. When I offered a suggestion on last Tuesday about what to look for when purchasing a fiddle leaf fig, I realized I should really devote an entire blog article to it.
Not because purchasing a FLF is difficult or intimidating, but rather because I wanted to offer some advice on what to look for when purchasing a healthy plant and how to predict how much yours will grow based on how it seems in the nursery.
So many times, after carefully inspecting the plant in the nursery and taking it home, I’ve found that there is a problem. To prevent buying a plant that can die once you get it home and leave you wondering what went wrong, there are a few things to look for before you buy.
The majority of these suggestions could be used with any plant, but since FLFs are currently so in vogue and fall under my area of expertise, I decided to focus specifically on them.
The price of a fiddle leaf fig is mostly influenced by the size of the plant. Start small if, like me, you don’t want to take the chance of losing a mature plant. Once you are confident in your ability to care for them, you can either take risks or wait for yours to develop.
The first thing you should check is whether the plant appears healthy overall. This entails no leaves that are damaged or discolored. Because plants cannot regenerate their damaged or browned leaves, this condition will persist. I frequently observe large, stunning FLFs at the nursery, however they haven’t been properly cared for, since some of their leaves are spotted and brown. It’s unfortunate since they won’t change, and who wants to spend so much money on a mature tree with permanently damaged leaves?
Examine it more closely to look for pests. Check the undersides of the leaves for any small damage, such as holes, discoloration, or spots, and keep an eye out for anything tiny and moving on the leaves. In addition to not wanting a FLF with pests, bringing one home could endanger any other plants you have.
Next, examine the plant’s base. In the nursery, FLFs can come in a variety of forms—some have a single trunk in a pot, while others have a cluster. You can choose whatever you’d want as long as you bear in mind how it will look when it grows. When growing, a single trunk will more readily resemble the common “tree” form whereas a cluster will appear organically bushy. These factors can be altered, but it’s always simpler to start with a plant that is more resembling the appearance you desire.
Check the shape similarly, pull back the leaves, and look for any branches, etc. They’ll become more noticeable as the plant develops. Unwanted branches can always be removed, but it’s wise to be mindful of your preferred aesthetic.
The thin trunks of FLFs should also be taken into consideration. Find a plant whose leaves are growing close together on the trunk to aid in strengthening their trunks. The trunk will be supported by this, which will assist prevent it from sagging. In the image below, the FLF on the left might initially catch your eye since it is taller. However, not everything is height! Less leaves and leaves spread farther apart on the stem of the FLF on the left. This indicates that the plant requires more light. The trunk is also less supported, more inclined to lean, and does not receive as much nourishment needed to strengthen it because of the leaves’ wider spacing.
Due to the close proximity of the leaves, even if the FLF on the right is currently shorter, it will eventually become stronger and better supported. As you can see, the FLF on the left required staking, whilst the FLF on the right is freestanding.
Last but not least, look to see whether any roots are visible at the bottom of the pot. Many plants in nurseries may already have new pots and be root-bound. This information will let you set up a pot that is slightly larger than the one it is now in.
With any luck, these suggestions will enable you to bring home a healthy Fiddle Leaf Fig and gain some insight into what to anticipate as it develops. Please share any additional warning signs you may have with me in the comments section.
Check out my other advice on FLFs, such as trimming, fertilizing, and maximizing the growth and care for your FLF, if you’ve just recently bought one home.