I’m sure everyone is familiar with the fiddle leaf fig tree (also known as the ficus lyrata). They have a reputation for being both attractive and challenging to maintain alive. You could feel a little saddened by a fiddle leaf that is dead or dying. It’s a painful process to watch as those lovely leaves begin to fall. I hope this post is helpful whether you’ve had one die or if you’re just too afraid to get one. For this specific species, several plant aficionados have some tried-and-true tips. I enjoy learning about what other people do to maintain their fiddle leaf. I wanted to provide you everyone access to five of my favourite tried-and-true fiddle leaf tips. Potting: What do you do after bringing a magnificent fiddle leaf home? When you first buy these trees, the majority of them are packaged in flimsy, inexpensive plastic. When I arrive home, I prefer to remove my tree from these jerks. I use traditional terracotta pots for my plants.
My mother instilled in me the value of clay or earthenware pots above plastic ones because they allow the soil to breathe “breathe. Make sure the earthenware pot you choose has a drainage hole (this is crucial!). A fiddle leaf needs drainage to survive. Without a hole at the bottom of the container, water might collect within and rot the roots, which will destroy the plant. Fiddle leaves dislike being consistently wet. I’ll get a pot that isn’t much larger than the container it arrived in originally. The roots want a close fit in the pot.
Next, add some small stones to the bottom of the pot that are 1.5 to 2 inches high (you can get them at most plant stores). These stones aid in drainage and prevent soil from draining away when you water the plant. Make sure the tree stays straight as you pour mud along the sides. Once the sides are completely covered in soil, I press the dirt all the way down by placing my palm along the sides. My preferred potting soil is a cactus/palm blend that can be purchased at nearby hardware stores. Sand is a component in potting mix that aids in drainage and keeps soil loose. I’ve loved using this mixture for the past five years.
Light: This object adores it! Find a window with lots of light if you obtain a fiddle leaf. Make sure the light is direct and bright. Avoid hiding it in a dark spot away from the sun (if you can help it). Keep it in an area of your home that is bright and sunny since its leaves love to soak up the light. It is crucial to keep the leaves free of dust and grime because the tree thrives in strong light. When the leaves are covered in dust, they may literally “without a clean surface, they suffocate. I appreciate photosynthesis!
I use a moist towel to remove all the dirt and dust from the leaves around once a week. I use a leaf shine spray to make the leaves particularly glossy once they have been cleaned.
This tree will soon begin to slant toward the sun since it enjoys soaking up light. To keep the tree straight and balanced, rotate it slightly (some people do this once a month or every time they water).
The fiddle leaf does not like to be moved about much. Moving it around your home can actually make the leaves fall since it loves stability. You can move it to the sink to water it, but doing so repeatedly can lead to issues. Before I tried it and saw that my fiddle leaf did truly shed leaves, I had never really believed this. Avoid placing your tree in an area that gets a lot of draughts. A vent or door can significantly aggravate the tree, especially in the winter. Find a place in your house with lots of sunlight that is not close to a door or vent.
Watering: If you water your tree too much or wait too long (until it is completely dry), the leaves will turn brown and fall off. I usually water mine once a week, but I always make sure it needs water before I do. I occasionally wait two weeks (depending on weather conditions that affect moisture levels). I stick my finger approximately 3 to 4 inches into the earth to feel for dryness as a sign that it needs watering. If I detect any moisture, I’ll wait a few days and recheck. I’ll also lift the pot to see if the weight from the previous watering is still there. It’s time for water if it feels as though it has dried out. In the sink, I enjoy watering my (although this gets difficult with large plants). To remind you to water as needed, keep a nice indoor watering can nearby.
For their plants, some people like to use filtered water, but I just use regular tap water, and that works just great for me! Run lukewarm water into the pot and thoroughly moisten the soil’s top layer. I fill the pot to the brim with water, let it drain, and then refill it well. It takes about an hour for it to completely drain in the sink, after which I put it back where it belonged. Even if your fiddle leaf is too heavy to be carried to the sink, you may still water it thoroughly. I previously had a huge tree that was elevated on a plant stand. To water the plant thoroughly and let the extra water drain into the bowl, I would place a large bowl underneath the plant. The tree eventually ended up on Craigslist since our ceilings were too low for it and I lacked the skills to prune it. That gets me to my next piece of advice, which may seem a little frightening but is really not.
Did you know you may create fresh fiddle leaf babies by removing a branch from your tree for pruning and propagation? This about the fiddle leaf tree is wonderful. The plant that keeps delivering is this one! Your tree will grow horizontally if you prune it. When you prune the tree, it will actually grow larger. Until a local nursery worker demonstrated how to do it and then displayed the results, I didn’t believe it. Your cut will result in the formation of two new growths. It could be time for a trim if your tree is starting to look a touch spindly or top heavy. All you need is a little pair of pruning shears!
To prune, locate the node—also known as the point where a leaf joins the tree—and make a cut directly above the leaf. My preferred cuttings should have a minimum of 3–4 inches of bare branch on the bottom and a few leaves on the top. After you’ve chopped it off, immerse the cut in water and expose to the sun. The branch will begin developing roots during the next weeks. It’s a fantastic procedure! Once the cutting’s roots have expanded a little, you can pot it (I like the roots to be at least 3-4 inches long before I pot it). Be patient; this process could take a month or longer. To keep the water fresh, change it around once a week. You should have a tonne of fiddle babies if you use the same potting procedure described above! I adore how adorable they are on my wicker side table.
I hope you will try this plant if you haven’t already. Any room it’s in gets a little bit of whimsy and delight from it (especially if you put it in a pretty pot like one of these). Try a faux fiddle leaf fig if you’re absolutely certain that you lack the green thumb necessary for live plants or the light required to keep one happy in your location. We enjoy combining real and fake plants throughout the house so that we may utilise both where appropriate. Please share any advice you may have in the comments section below, and be sure to check out all of our other plant care advice as well. xo. Janae
Does a fiddle leaf require a hole for drainage?
It’s time for soil after you’ve chosen a container for your fiddle leaf’s new home.
Fiddle leaf figs require potting soil that drains well and has a lot of organic content. It performs best on a peat-based soil with some perlite. For good reason, this is staple fare for the majority of indoor potting mixtures.
A fundamental ratio would be around two-thirds peat and one-third perlite. Though many other, more complex recipes might also be effective. I merely want to give you a rough idea of what constitutes adequate drainage in this area.
For a fiddle leaf fig, is one drainage hole sufficient?
For the best drainage, there are a few different ways to pot plants, but no matter what, your pot needs to have drainage holes. Because of its reputation for being especially picky, we do not advise planting this plant in a container without drainage holes. A fiddle leaf fig should never be grown in a container without drainage holes. For your fiddle leaf fig, you can establish drainage in a few different ways:
Use a container with a single, sizable drainage hole at the bottom, as is typical with terracotta containers.
Are fig trees drained?
Now is the time to begin digging! To begin, dig a hole that is exactly the same depth as the root ball and three times wider than the pot. Figs tolerate soils with a moderate amount of alkalinity but do best in slightly acidic soil (pH 5.5–6.5). Most typical garden soils have a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. A pre-plant soil test should always be part of soil preparation. Use dolomitic limestone to raise the pH of your soil if it is too low. Till the soil after equally distributing the limestone across the entire area where the figs will be planted. Till a minimum 6-foot-by-6-foot area if you can so that each shrub may be planted at least 8 inches deep.
However, they will grow on many other soil types and are tolerant of heavy clay soils if drainage is excellent. Fig trees grow best in well-drained, organically rich soils. It will be worthwhile to add some organic compost to the native soil in poor fertility or dense clay soil. When the fruits are growing in the summer, they prefer the soil to hold a sufficient amount of water, but not so much water that the soil is continually soggy or damp.
In a row, bush-grown figs can be spaced as closely as 10 feet apart, and between rows, 15 feet. Figs grown as trees need to be spaced out 20 feet between rows and 15 to 20 feet between each row. Plants grown in containers don’t require pruning to be transplanted; simply take them out of the container, spread their roots, and place them in the planting hole. After adding soil to the hole, water it deeply enough to help the earth settle around the roots. When planting, avoid placing fertiliser in the hole.
Figs respond favourably to organic mulching. Mulch may mitigate nematode issues’ consequences.
Are self-watering containers favourable to fiddle leaf figs?
PRO TIP: Rinse the leaves of your plant with room temperature water every three months. This makes sure they can absorb and photosynthesize sunlight more effectively by clearing away any dust that has accumulated.
Always evaluate your plant’s watering requirements as soon as you get one. It is important to check the soil’s moisture content first to make sure it isn’t wet directly under the surface before giving your plant a drink. Additionally, think about aerating your plant’s soil before to the first watering. Aerating can help with drainage, let the soil breathe, and let moisture escape because many farmers compact the soil to prevent it from shifting while being transported.
As it originates from a region of the world where it gets extremely dry in between rainstorms, the fiddle leaf fig like its soil to be kept continuously, uniformly moist with a brief drying out interval between waterings. When the top two inches of soil have dried, thoroughly water the plant. Check the soil frequently until you establish a habit with your plant. If you allow the soil to dry deeply to the lower root system, leaf loss will result. On the other hand, excessive soil moisture can induce leaf drop and root rot.
A soil probe, which enables you to check your plant’s moisture level at the root level and may also be used to aerate the soil if ever overwatered, is the finest method we have found to obtain an accurate moisture reading throughout the soil. Choosing our Monitor Brass Soil Probe is a classy move.
We strongly advise potting your fiddle leaf because it is difficult to keep it alive for a long time in its nursery container. Just be sure to use a permanent planter with sufficient of soil mass and, most importantly, drainage. You must be extremely careful not to overwater your Fiddle Leaf Fig if it was planted in a container without a drainage hole. In this situation, we advise giving your Fiddle Leaf Fig a little extra time to dry out in between waterings and checking the soil’s moisture content at the roots with a soil probe before watering. Particularly in our self-watering containers, these plants thrive!
Should a fiddle leaf fig be shaken?
The majority of tall houseplants don’t need to be shaken in order to keep themselves upright as they grow, and there really is no need unless you are putting them outdoors, according to Richard Cheshire, plant doctor at Patch Plants (opens in new tab). In all honesty, if you place your plants outside for the summer, you won’t need to worry about shaking them because there will be some actual wind to do it for you.
There is scientific proof (opens in new tab) that plants benefit from thigmomorphogenesis, a process that describes how plants react to the many types of “mechanical disturbances” they encounter in the field. Wind is one among them, but there are also raindrops and animal brushes and nibbles as they go through the forest. Plants have developed to react to even light touch over millions of years, which triggers several survival mechanisms in the plant leaves.
Therefore, if you wish to do this, occasionally touching your house plants will undoubtedly benefit them, even if they presumably receive enough stimulation from the water droplets if you regularly spritz them with water.
The ever-popular fiddle leaf fig is one plant that actually benefits from being shook rather than just touched. As a result of the lack of breeze indoors, fiddle leaf figs in particular can become rather frail and struggle to maintain themselves, according to Richard. Giving them a firm shake now and then is always a good idea.
So shake away if you do have a fiddle leaf fig at home. All other indoor plants will thrive with just a light touch or spritz every so often.