The spring, when there will be sufficient of light to support healing and new growth, is the ideal time to prune your fiddle leaf fig. Prune as much as you can in the spring or early summer. The stems of your plant could be crushed by blunt tools or scissors, therefore you should invest in a good set of pruning shears.
Do I need to prune my fiddle leaf fig?
Fiddle-leaf figs are technically trees, as are many other varieties of trees.
F. lyrata plants can benefit from trimming and pruning to remain healthy.
You may maintain this notoriously picky houseplant by removing dead or damaged leaves and branches or cutting to improve airflow between the foliage.
It won’t be hostile toward you, your home, or the entire globe, at least. Fiddle-leaf figs may have a cute name, but I’d argue they’re some of the plants with the most strong opinions.
You may prevent your fig from outgrowing your house by pruning. Under optimal indoor growing conditions, F. lyrata can reach heights of 12 feet. Additionally, F. lyrata can reach heights of up to 50 feet in its native habitat, the lowland rainforests of western Africa!
It won’t do this in your house, but until it reaches its adult height, it can grow up to two feet per year. Pruning is a necessary if you don’t want your ficus to overshadow, well, everything.
If you don’t want to maintain a large tree within your home, you can alternatively cultivate a dwarf type of the plant. But nothing is more breathtaking than a tall, healthy F. lyrata adding to the decor of a chic residence.
Shape is another factor to take into account. Although fiddle-leaf figs are frequently sold as small, bushy or columnar houseplants with a single central stem, many gardeners like growing their own fiddle-leaf figs so that they take on the form of a tree.
We’ll get into all of that shortly. Let’s start by discussing when and how to prune your prized F. lyrata.
Where should a fiddle leaf fig be pruned?
Our first achievement is the tree you can see here. We cut back the lower leaves to reveal the primary trunk after the branches sprouted. Since then, we have had a 100% success record in producing several branches on three additional trees we chopped in similar manner.
The most crucial tip is to clip a Fiddle Leaf Fig stem lower, to the area that is most woody. Your fiddle leaf fig’s main stem or trunk needs to be at least 3 tall to accomplish this.
Since we don’t want to lop our lovely plants in half, the majority of us simply pinch off the very top tips or cut a tiny section of the branch off at the top. However, we must prune the Fiddle Leaf Fig at a distance of 18 or more inches from the top of the stem in order to reach the woody area in order for it to sprout several branches.
Buds develop significantly more slowly when a stem is cut at a lower, woody point than they do when the plant’s top, green portion is clipped. This prevents a bud that is growing extremely quickly from taking control and gives the chance for other buds to form at once.
As you can see, within a few weeks, this tree sprouted 6 new branches after we nearly cut our extremely tall Fiddle Leaf Fig in half at a particularly woody region.
Can I chop my fig tree’s top off?
Yes, you can overprune a fig tree, but since they are extremely hardy, as long as you do it during the dormant season, they shouldn’t suffer too much. To maintain the tree healthy, don’t prune more than 25% of the tree overall in a single year.
A tree will produce fewer figs the following year if too much of this year’s growth is removed since figs develop on this year’s growth.
How is a fig tree kept upright?
You can stake the trunk of a fiddle leaf fig to keep it upright if you need a quick fix to save it. By no means is this a long-term fix because staking will prevent your tree from developing the necessary strength to maintain itself.
While you do other things to strengthen the trunk, such fertilizing, correctly watering, offering lots of light, and regularly wiggling, staking can at least train your fiddle to grow straight.
To stake your tree, buy a stake the same length as the trunk of your tree and drive it into the ground near the trunk. Then use plant tape or ties to fasten the trunk to the stake.
Every few weeks or whenever you wriggle the trunk to test whether it can stand on its own, remove the stake. With regular maintenance, your trunk should begin to strengthen after a few months.
What makes a fiddle leaf fig shake?
“To keep my fiddle upright while it was young and immature, I used a wooden dowel. I was able to remove the dowel and it no longer need extra support because it was able to strengthen itself over time as it grew and with frequent shakings, Paige added.
So even though I wouldn’t advise you to shake your plants firmly, giving them a gently rock would not harm them. In addition to your FLF, I can see this idea working well for Rubber plants, Monsteras, Alocasia, and Pilea plants. They all have thick stems that frequently need to support a lot of weight as the leaves enlarge. This will probably become a regular component of how I take care of my plants. Play some music, get moving, and invite my plants to join in. It seems like it would be enjoyable.
How should a fig tree be shaped and trimmed?
Whether you have a fig tree or a fig bush in your backyard garden, pruning it each year will promote growth. Think about some general advice for this procedure.
- 1. In the tree’s first year, prune it. When you first plant a young fig tree or fig shrub that you purchased from a nursery, trim it. When pruning for the first time, you should remove roughly 50% of the branches. This will enable the tree to concentrate its efforts on developing a solid root system.
- 2. During the tree’s first winter, prune it once more. Winter trimming should be done every year, beginning with the first winter your tree experiences. The end of the tree’s dormant season in late winter is the ideal time to use pruning shears. By early spring, new branches will begin to grow as a result.
- 3. Continue to prune your tree every year after that. It’s crucial to prune your fig tree in its first year, but remember to continue pruning it the following year and the year after that. Fresh fruit will start to ripen in early summer if your fig tree is pruned while it is dormant. This will result in a more fruitful growth season.
- 4. Decide which branches should bear fruit. It’s time to go strategic now that you’ve finished your first pruning. Search for five to six exceptionally sturdy branches that branch off from the main trunk as you prune the tree in its second year. Your main branches for fruit production will be these. Remove the rest of the tinier branches from the main trunk.