Your new fiddle-leaf fig plant can grow into a towering tree that perfectly matches your environment with the right care and attention. You can keep your fig tree healthy (and Instagram-ready) all year long by following this straightforward method and using our natural potting mixes, soil additives, and fertilizers.
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 this, you’ll enable the water to penetrate the root zone deeply and enable the plant to absorb the water it requires.
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.
What distinguishes a fiddle leaf fig bush from a tree?
You can be unclear as to what distinguishes a fiddle leaf fig bush from a tree.
It’s not always true that one shape is “better than the other.” Your fiddle leaf fig will not benefit more from a bushier shape or a tree shape. It is purely a matter of cultivation and personal preference.
The good news is that your fiddle will naturally grow in a bush shape, which makes it easier to cultivate in many ways. It actually takes a lot of meticulous shaping and pruning to get the tree to branch out where you want it to and to remove the leaves from where you don’t want them to. This is why so many fiddle aficionados crave that lollipop shape.
However, there are several actions you can take to mold a bush and encourage your tree to add additional leaves and even branches as needed!
What gives my fig tree a bush-like appearance?
Depending on the cultivar or variety, trees display apical dominance to varied degrees. The apically dominant trees grow powerfully erect if left to their own devices, but non-apically dominant trees typically have bushy growth with lots of secondary, lateral development. The reason for this is because auxin and cytokinin, two growth hormones, have an antagonistic connection (or conflict, if you will) in all plants. Even in a single branch, cytokinin induces secondary growth when it is present in adequate amounts in the plant. Auxin production is adequate in apically dominant trees to counteract the effects of this hormone by promoting elongation at the branch or leader apex (tip).
When we cut off branch tips (the apical meristematic areas), auxin flow is drastically reduced and cytokinin “takes over” and drives abundant lateral growth, changing the tree into a bush. Auxin is produced mostly in apical meristems & freshly emerging leaves.
As you can see, two factors—genetics (how genetically apically dominant the tree is/is not) and pruning practice, skill, and ability—are at play in this situation. With careful trimming, even plants (of the ground cover variety) with practically “0” apical dominance and a strong propensity to develop prostrate can be encouraged to maintain conventional upright growth.
Therefore, there is no reason you must accept the growth habit contained in the plant’s genes if you wish to spend the time to educate your trees into the shape you choose.
Should I remove my fiddle leaf fig’s bottom leaves?
You should be aware of what those bottom leaves do before selecting when to remove them.
Lower foliage has the same function as that fresh, vibrant growth up top: the leaves work to mix that green chlorophyll, commonly known as “the meat of the leaf,” with sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to produce sap, the plant’s own sweet food.
So let them alone if you want the trunk, roots, and new growth to continue receiving energy from the sun through the foliar producers and absorbing it.
Another advantage of the lower leaves is that this is typically where the most frequent watering issues show up. To put it another way, many owners of fiddles may detect overwatering and underwatering based on early warning indicators from these bottom leaves. You lose access to one of the plant’s early warning systems if you remove them.
Keep in mind that the lower leaves should be saved for the very last stage of shaping because they AID in giving the tree its characteristic shape.
Once more, deciding whether or not to remove these lower leaves depends on what they do for the plant.
It’s either a fig bush or a fig tree.
The fig plant is a bush or small tree with large, tough, deciduous leaves that are heavily lobed or occasionally practically whole. Its height ranges from 1 meter (3 feet) to 10 to 12 meters (33 to 39 ft). When broken, the leaves and stems release a white latex.
Syconia, the scientific name for fig fruits, are produced individually, in pairs, or in the axils of leaves throughout the current growing season. Staminate (male) or pistillate (female) flowers are contained within an inflorescence. The majority of garden and orchard fig trees produce edible fruits with long-styled female blooms. Unusable figs are produced by a different kind of tree called a caprifig, which also houses the young of the fig wasp. It has male flowers near the apex as well as short-styled female flowers that are tailored to the fig wasp’s (Blastophaga) egg-laying habits. The fig wasps spread pollen from the caprifigs to both the edible and inedible figs.
How should a fig bush be shaped?
Heirloom plants not only have special qualities but also the ability to unite generations. My grown children now have a “start of the original tree” in each of their own gardens after learning how to make fruit preserves from their great-great-fig grandmother’s bush.
Q: Two years ago, I bought a fig bush. It perished the first year with the first frost. To my surprise, it returned the following year with two fruits and sent out branches below the dead portion of the stem. It is producing more figs this year, in its third year, and is quite vigorous and bushy. Branches are abundant and near to the ground. How and when should I cut it back? I’m a high desert resident. Rosamond, California D.S.
A: Let’s start with that since it appears that getting the shrub in shape takes precedence over fruit production at this time. Cut stems back to their bases in the late fall or winter to thin growth and get the desired form. First, trim the obvious branches (those that are broken, weak or crowded). Once the fig is in good shape, pruning can be done to promote fruiting when desired. For fall output, prune in the fall/winter period, or prune a bit in the summer and fall to get a little in each season. Some people receive two full crops despite not pruning at all. If your region experiences frost and harsh winters every year, cover your fig in burlap after the leaves have dropped to protect it. Most figs can produce two crops of fruit each year, one on the fresh growth of the current season and one on the growth from the previous season. Hope this is useful!
How is a fiddle leaf fig tree trained?
As I indicated earlier, many growers like to cultivate a traditional tree shape, complete with a distinct canopy and trunk. However, F. lyrata tends to grow in a columnar or bushy shape when kept as a houseplant.
In the wild, F. lyrata does this on its own by losing its lower leaves and growing into its original shape as a banyan tree.
like the renowned “Wild F. lyrata and ordinary banyan, F. benghalensis, both start out their lives as epiphytes. When a seed falls into another tree’s canopy, it germinates, develops, and eventually strangles its host plant as it descends to the ground.
Your houseplant won’t do this, of course, but the tree shape is attractive. How can a rambunctious F. lyrata be transformed into a tall, graceful specimen?
First off, if you’ve recently acquired a highly sought-after fiddle-leaf, hold off on starting to prune it into a tree shape.
Whatever two-thirds of the intended height means to you within the boundaries of your space, let it grow to that point. The trunk might become strong and thick as a result.
It’s advisable to top the tree out at least eight to ten inches away from the ceiling if you want it to grow tall.
This not only improves the appearance but also prevents the top leaves from bending and slamming against your ceiling.
Say, for instance, that you want to top your tree off at about seven or eight feet and that your home has nine-foot ceilings. You shouldn’t begin trimming for lateral growth until the trunk is at least five feet tall based on these measurements.
Wait until spring or summer when the plant is actively growing before pruning your fiddle-leaf fig to generate a tree form with branching lateral growth. Then, make a cut at least six inches down from the tip of the tree.
You can preserve and grow this cutting! Cut in an internodal space, if possible.
Don’t remove the leaves that are below the cut. So that the plant can photosynthesize and generate energy to grow those lateral branches, you want them to stay.
Within a few weeks, your F. lyrata will start to branch from the cut. Although this tree occasionally produces just one branch, it frequently produces two or three additional lateral branches.
You can remove one or two leaves from the tree’s base once the new branches have developed leaves.
The hue of the leaves and emerging branches will deepen as the canopy ages. Feel free to remove one or two more leaves from the bottom part of the trunk once you become aware of this.
You can continue to prune leaves away from the tree’s trunk as the canopy grows over time. You’ll eventually grow a tidy trunk that supports a Y-shaped canopy.
Note: Some knowledgeable gardeners enjoy using a technique called “creating lateral branches by notching. Using this technique, the gardener carefully cuts through two nodes. This cut is supposed to encourage the tree to generate lateral branches without losing height.
Because of the fast growth of F. lyrata and the fact that we are confident that pruning for lateral branch growth yields reliable results, we advise using this technique to produce that attractive canopy.
After pruning, give your plant the best care possible by providing it with the right amount of water, fertilizer, and light, which will hasten the healing of its wounds.