A fiddle leaf fig hardly ever blooms or bears fruit away from its natural habitat. However, we’ve provided a picture of the fruit’s appearance (right).
Instead of their ability to produce fruit, most owners appreciate these houseplants for their foliage and size.
Does the fiddle leaf fig yield figs?
We choose these products on our own.
We might receive a commission if you make a purchase through one of our links. When the prices were published, they were all correct.
Ah, the ficus lyrata/pandurata, or fiddle leaf fig. It is the most popular plant on Instagram, a top pick for many interior designers, and a seductive siren for novice plant parents. They may not be as patient as the equally well-known rubber plant on Instagram, but a little extra care, adequate drainage, decent lighting, and attention to detail can go a long way.
These lovely floral plants are native to West Africa’s tropical regions, yet they are now found living under many roofs all over the world. Why the peculiar name? It may help to know that fiddle leaf figs often flower and produce fruit in the wild, which is uncommon when they are cultivated inside, if you’ve been wondering why it’s called a fig without any fruit.
Fiddle leaf figs are adaptable to almost any decor theme, and whether they are genuine or fake, they add a lavish splash of foliage that resembles a tree. They’re not the easiest plants to care for, despite their undeniable beauty, but devoted plant parents can make them happy with care, patience, and the perfect placement. If one has made its way into your house, we have a ton of advice and information to help it have a happy life.
Is fiddle fig fruit edible?
As owners of fiddle leaf figs, we adore those lovely, recognizable fiddle-shaped leaves, but we frequently overlook the fact that ficus lyrata is actually a species of fig tree. Therefore, occasionally, our fiddles will pay off!
Today, indoor trees—which are what the majority of us have—rarely bear fruit. But occasionally, in tropical environments, outdoor fiddles will produce tiny, rounded fruits that resemble figs.
These fruits aren’t edible figs like the ones we typically find in the produce area of the grocery store during the summer, nor are they like the mouthwatering Fig Newton filling. Those figs often come from Ficus carica, a relative of the fiddle.
There’s a good reason why ornamental fiddles are more common than fruit trees. The fruits have a poor flavor but are not poisonous. The skin of the fiddle leaf fig tree’s fruit is leathery even when it is fully ripe. They are supposed to range from bland to somewhat sour and have an unpleasant mouth-drying effect. They are not sweet like the regular figs we eat. Not very appetizing!
We’ve got you covered if you’re a die-hard admirer of fiddle leaf figs and want to understand more about this tree’s intriguing reproductive system.
Let’s first discuss the main cause of indoor fiddles failing to bloom or bear fruit.
Do fiddle leaf fig bushes develop into trees?
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.
How can I tell whether my fig tree is a male or a female?
A male caprifig can be identified by its five stamens, which protrude from the fruit’s bottom and are encircled by petalless, outward-facing bracts made of tissue that resembles the fruit skin. On female trees, stamens do not emerge from the synconium.
What advantages does the fiddle leaf fig have?
Why should you purchase a fiddle leaf fig out of all the available house plants? They have quickly gained fame and appeal for a number of reasons:
It’s Highly Versatile
While fashions come and go, the fiddle leaf fig endures. It’s a common houseplant for a variety of reasons, including the fact that it goes with any style, including modern, contemporary, coastal, country-chic, and more! It’s a tried-and-true method of updating a space and adding elegance without the effort and expense of renovation.
It Cleans the Air
This plant has aesthetic value, but it also serves a purpose. It is a very effective air filtering plant because of its broad, violin-shaped leaves. As a result, you may breathe easier in your home or workplace knowing that a living Fiddle Leaf Fig plant will purge the air of common pollutants like formaldehyde and other harmful substances.
Minimal Care
Floppy Leaf Fig plants are not too difficult to care for, but they might be scary because they do need specific conditions to flourish. They grow nicely with little upkeep once they have had time to acclimate and settle in. Just keep an eye out for any warning signals, like underwatering, in the leaves (continue reading for the care instructions).
Does the fruit on fig trees come before the leaves?
A few figs have been produced by one of my two fig plants. The largest and healthiest tree, the other one, has never had a fig on it. Each was sown six years ago. Why doesn’t it produce?
A: It might have to do with getting older and being too active. A fruit tree spends the majority of its energy growing leaves and shoots when it is young. The plant will yield little to no fruit until it reaches maturity and slows down in the growth of leaves and shoots. Your tree may need another year or two to gradually transition from generating primarily leaves and branches to producing and developing some fruit. It takes patience.
Be careful not to overfeed and/or overprune your fig tree. The tree will become extremely robust at the expense of setting and ripening fruit if too much fertilizer, particularly nitrogen, or severe pruning is applied. This includes whatever fertilizer the tree may have drained from a neighboring patch of grass. A tree’s roots will extend two to three times as far into nearby lawn areas as its branches do.
The outcome of overfertilizing a plant and/or overpruning it results in the plant becoming extremely vigorous in growing leaves and shoots at the expense of producing and maturing fruit.
Additionally, the list that follows, which was drawn from an Extension paper on figs, covers the most frequent causes of poor fruiting in descending priority.
- Young, robust plants and plants that have received excessive fertilization frequently yield fruit that ripens too early. Stop fertilizing plants if they are growing too vigorously. Because figs have a long juvenile phase before producing fruit of edible quality, it’s quite common for three or four years to pass before the plant matures a harvest.
- Fruit quality problems might result from hot, dry spells that happen before ripening. If so, mulching and additional watering during dry times will help to solve the issue.
- The range Regardless of how well the plant is cared for, Celeste frequently drops its fruit too early in hot weather. It is still a wonderful variety to cultivate, though.
- When the circumstances are as stated in item 2, a root-knot nematode infection can exacerbate the issue.
- You might have a fig plant that needs a certain wasp to cross-pollinate it. This is an uncommon issue. This means that it will never produce a good crop. Replacing the plant with one from a rooted shoot of a neighboring plant that consistently yields a healthy crop is the best solution.
Do fiddle leaf figs make people sick?
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.
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.
What happens if the top of a fiddle leaf fig is chopped off?
Your fiddle leaf fig probably has no other branches that will allow it to transition from a fiddle leaf shrub to a fiddle leaf tree. In addition, bear the following in mind before proceeding:
The amount of regrowth that results from pruning depends on how severe it was. The reason for this is that the plant is trying to grow again in an effort to balance the root system below with the shoot system above, which is now designed to support the plant at its bigger size before trimming.
Usually, the most active shoot growth takes place 6 to 8 inches after the pruning cut.
Make the cut on your fiddle leaf fig
Make a decision regarding the size of the Ficus lyrata cut. Once more, the branching will be more noticeable the longer a part is clipped. (And the less the plant will grow in height, at least for that shoot.)
Your fiddle leaf fig won’t be encouraged to generate as many lateral branches off of the main trunk if you simply pinch out the fresh buds at the top with your fingers.
If you want to encourage a little lateral development to make your plant appear fuller near the top, pinching is more helpful.
On the other hand, you’ll see a lot more branching if you remove 12 of the top shoots.
Choose the node that you want to cut above. The spots on stems known as nodes are where leaves, buds, or branches can grow. However, not every node has leaves or branches; some nodes may only have a mark and a little thickening of the stem. Internodes are the parts of the stem that lie between the nodes.
3. Make use of a clean pair of pruners. Just above the top of your node, make the cut. Cut just above the node rather than into it, which would harm it.
Any plant in the fig family, including your fiddle leaf fig, will exude an oozing, milky, white sap when cut. Simply avoid eating it, getting it in your eyes, or letting it land on the carpet because it can be annoying.
4. As a final piece of advice, wait to remove leaves from the trunk of your fiddle leaf until the new branches have begun to grow. Your plant should be as robust as possible because those leaves aid in the development of the new lateral buds.
(Are you wondering what to do with the plant pieces you pruned? Why not cultivate a second fiddle leaf fig?
I’m done now! Now, give your new lateral buds, which will eventually grow into branches, a few weeks. While the exact length of time varies on a number of variables, your chances of success are higher if you attempt this in the spring, when fiddle leaves are actively growing, as opposed to the winter, when they are largely dormant. In comparison to winter, when the plant will need more time to heal the cut and form new buds, springtime will see rapid new development.
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.
Does fiddle leaf fig work well in bedrooms?
Given how frequently it appears in home publications, television shows, and blogs, the fiddle leaf fig (Ficus lyrata) is one of the most popular houseplants right now. The appropriate lighting is crucial to keeping your plant healthy in a bedroom environment because its huge leaves are its focus point.
The gloomy understory of the jungle is ideal for fiddle leaf figs, but indirect light from an east-facing window also promotes their growth. To improve the humidity around the plant, place your fiddle leaf fig on a plate of stones with water in it. In conclusion, the fiddle leaf fig prefers everything in moderation, including temperature, water, and light. Your plant will suffer if there is an imbalance between these components.
Does every fig have a wasp inside?
No. The crunch you feel when eating a fig does not come from the eggs that female wasps lay inside the fig fruit. All wasps have either left the fig or the fig has broken down and absorbed their exoskeletons.