How To Fix Brown Spots On Fiddle Leaf Fig

Symptoms of overwatering include brown spots or shaded regions along the borders and in the middle of the leaves, as well as yellowing foliage and leaf drop (lower leaves often dropping first).

One of the most frequent issues with fiddle leaf figs is overwatering. A fungal condition known as root rot might occur if your plant receives too much water. You’ll likely see spots and leaf drop on older leaves first if root rot is the cause.

How to Fix It: Make sure your plant receives enough of indirect sunshine and let it totally dry out before rehydrating to prevent root rot. With clean shears, you can remove any dark and mushy roots that may have developed as well as cut the leaves’ brown edges and patches.

Brown stains beginning on the edges of the leaves, curling leaves from the edges inward, and leaf drop are signs of underwatering (can affect all leaves on the plant, not just the lower leaves).

Dry, hard soil that retreats and shrinks away from the edge of the pot is another sign that your fiddle leaf figs are underwatered.

Follow a regular watering routine to fix it. The top inch of soil around fiddle leaf figs usually has to be watered once per week or when it seems dry to the touch. Try running a humidifier nearby or sprinkling the leaves with water once every one to three days to raise the humidity in the air to help counteract dry air.

Watering Tips

When it comes to their watering routine, fiddle leaf figs need consistency. Set a weekly reminder to give your Fiddle Leaf a drink. By following this timetable, you can prevent overwatering or underwatering your plant. However, it is crucial to check that the pot your plant is in has adequate drainage, since if it does not, your watering schedule may become messed up.

Can fiddle leaf fig brown patches be removed?

Unfortunately, treating this problem in a fiddle leaf fig is one of the most difficult things to do.

The idea is to treat the areas as soon as you can to prevent further damage from occurring. Making sure your plant’s roots dry out between waterings and that it receives enough of sunlight are important components of the treatment, which is comparable to treating root rot.

If the damage is not severe, remove any of the leaves that have brown spots and repot your plant in a container with good drainage using fresh, sterile soil. While it is healing, give it lots of light and don’t water as frequently.

Use our Leaf Armor, which was created to shield your houseplant against fungus, insects, and bacteria in addition to bacteria.

What causes fiddle fig leaves to develop brown spots?

Overwatering-induced root rot is arguably the most frequent cause of brown patches in fiddle leaf figs.

Root rot is a fungal infection that develops when roots are left in water for an extended period of time with inadequate drainage.

Particularly fiddle leaf fig roots require quick-draining soil with lots of drainage. You should take prompt action if you notice brown spots on your fiddle leaf fig caused by root rot. To stop your infection from spreading, try our Root Rot Treatment. You may also apply our Houseplant Leaf Armor to shield your fiddle leaf fig against bacteria, fungi, and insects.

The following are warning indicators of root rot:

patches that are very dark brown or black and spread over the leaf over a period of days or weeks
Your leaf has dark brown blotches at the base.
the plant’s leaves that are falling off

Should I prune my fiddle leaf fig’s dark leaves?

Like grooming your dog or cat, pruning your plant is crucial to keeping it healthy and attractive. Pruning your fiddle leaf fig prevents weed growth and maintains its health. You should prune your plant for a number of reasons.

Remove Damaged Leaves and Stems

To promote the general health of your plant, you can safely remove any leaves with significant brown spots or holes. A damaged or ill leaf depletes your plant’s nutrients and increases the risk of infection. Any time of year, get rid of any leaves that are broken or ill right away.

Keep Your Plant From Getting Too Tall

Healthy fiddle leaf fig plants have a tendency to grow aggressively toward the sun, which could cause them to become too big or tall for their environment. You should cut back any growth over that height since plants look their best when their upper leaves are at least 8 to 10 inches below the ceiling. You can make your plant stronger and more compact by trimming it to prevent it from growing too tall.

Give Your Plant Balance

Your plant might grow sideways towards the direction of the closest window depending on where it receives its light, which could make it asymmetrical or unbalanced. Rotate your plant frequently so that it develops symmetrically to avoid this. Even after pruning, plants can still go out of balance, which will assist prevent uneven growth.

Decrease Crowded Areas

To stay healthy, fiddle leaf fig leaves require airflow and room. The leaves on your plant may become damaged by rubbing against one another if it becomes overly compact and crowded. Pruning will help to spread out crowded regions.

Shape Your Plant

Due to their restricted exposure to sunlight when grown indoors, fiddle leaf fig plants can develop unique morphologies. They might develop sideways rather than upwards toward the sun as they would if they were growing outside.

The lowest leaves will also fall off in the wild because of a lack of sunshine. Lower leaves, though, may still receive plenty of light inside and stay on the plant. The desired tree-like shape may be destroyed as a result. You should cut off lower leaves and branches that are spreading out too much in order to shape your plant so that it looks best in the area where it is placed.

How do I handle leaf spot?

A typical bacterial or fungal ailment that afflicts houseplants is called leaf spot. It results in unsightly brown spotting that occasionally has a yellow or reddish tint and can quickly spread from leaf to leaf or even plant to plant. This is a common plant killer that can happen for a number of environmental reasons.

A cluster of little brown patches is typically the first indication of an infection. These might occasionally combine to form larger browning patches or they can harden as tiny, reddish-brown spots all over the leaf. Additionally, you might see holes growing inside the discolouration. This is because the infection destroys the tissue of the leaves.

What causes it?

Leaf spot can be promoted to appear in a variety of ways. The most frequent reason is persistently high humidity levels combined with poor air circulation. Watering foliage while sprinkling water on the leaves or over-misting the foliage are other common mistakes. Maintaining a comfortable, constant temperature in the room will help protect your plants from temperature fluctuations. These actions appear to be beneficial, but if not done carefully, they could create the ideal environment for these bacteria and fungi to develop.

Treatment:

Trim and remove leaves that are seriously harmed. If there are only one or two spots, skip this step and continue with the next.
Neem oil or another fungicide should be applied often to the foliage. Most plants can safely use and benefit from copper-based fungicides, but always do your homework. Some plants may be harmed by copper.
As it heals, keep water away from the leaves.
Keep the plant separated from other plants for the time being. By doing this, you’ll stop the illness from spreading to your other plants’ foliage.
Check each day to see if the virus is no longer spreading.
Till you’re sure the plant has beaten the virus, repeat procedures 1 through 5 several times.

Prevention:

Try these advice and techniques to save your plants from leaf spot:

Deliver clean air. This can be accomplished by keeping a window slightly open or running an air purifier or fan nearby, especially in the hot and muggy summer months.
Avoid splashing or misting. watering your leaves once they are dry. While certain plants (such as ferns and air plants) prefer high humidity and enjoy sprinkling, many others will not tolerate constant moisture because it increases their susceptibility to disease.
Give your plants some room. Give your plants additional space so they don’t become crowded and rub leaves against one another. This reduces the likelihood that leaf spot may spread from plant to plant.
routine applications of neem. Neem oil can be sprayed on your plants once a month as a preventative measure against bacterial, fungal, and pest problems. This will help you catch any early signs of leaf spot before it gets out of hand.

How often should fiddle leaf figs be watered?

There are two ways to accomplish this. Bring the plant inside after watering it and letting it drip for an hour or two outside or in the bathtub. Place your FLF on a plant stand above a drip tray if you don’t want to carry it back and forth to be watered. Make sure the roots don’t spend a long period sitting in extra water, whichever method you pick.

Watering a Fiddle Leaf Fig

Overwatering or failing to provide adequate drainage are the two most common ways to destroy a fiddle leaf fig. About once every 10 days or once a week, water your plant. As we just discussed, FLFs are accustomed to receiving a massive amount of water with intermittent dry spells because they are native to a rainforest-like habitat. Therefore, it’s recommended to water indoor plants until the soil is barely dripping before letting the soil dry fully in between applications. There are two ways to accomplish this. Bring the plant inside after watering it and letting it drip for an hour or two outside or in the bathtub. Place your FLF on a plant stand above a drip tray if you don’t want to carry it back and forth to be watered. Make sure the roots don’t spend a long period sitting in extra water, whichever method you pick.

Not sure of the next time to water? Simply press your finger into the soil’s top 2 inches. If it’s still wet, don’t touch it. Don’t believe in yourself? Purchase a cheap soil moisture meter, and water when it indicates that the soil is practically dry.

Having trouble deciding when to water your fiddle leaf fig? Simply press your finger into the soil’s top 2 inches. If it’s still wet, don’t touch it. Don’t believe in yourself? Purchase a cheap soil moisture meter, and water when it indicates that the soil is practically dry.

For brown patches, what can I spray?

The easiest strategy to avoid brown patches or huge patches in your lawn at home is to maintain it properly. Compared to using fungicides, this is significantly simpler, less expensive, and has the potential to be quite productive.

When fertilizing cool-season grasses in the late spring and summer, stay away from excessive nitrogen rates. When the lawn hasn’t fully greened up in the late fall or early spring, avoid applying high nitrogen rates to warm-season grasses. Nitrogen encourages the luxuriant development of grass, which the disease-causing fungus quickly destroys. Avoid nitrogen fertilizers with a quick release.
Do not subject the lawn to drought conditions; instead, water the grass only when necessary and to a depth of 4 to 6 inches (usually 1 inch of irrigation water per week). Early in the morning, water the lawn. When free moisture is present, especially when leaf wetness lasts longer than 10 hours, this disease can spread quickly. Irrigation-related information can be found in HGIC 1207, Watering Lawns.
Attempt to keep the illness from spreading. If the weather is warm and wet, remove the clippings to stop them from spreading to other places when you mow. After the morning dew has dried, cut the lawn, paying special attention to the sick areas.
Maintain frequent lawn mowing at the right height for the type of turfgrass. Both too-high and too-low mowing of the lawn, which prolongs the time it takes for the leaves to dry, might worsen illness symptoms. Fescue lawns should not be mowed any lower than 21/2 inches or any higher than 31/2 inches. Cut centipedes at a height of 112 to 2 inches. Please refer to HGIC 1205, Mowing Lawns, for more details on recommended turfgrass mowing heights.
For both surface and subsurface locations, provide appropriate drainage. Core aeration can correct soil compaction. Avoid having too much thatch buildup. Please refer to HGIC 1200, Aerating Lawns, and HGIC 2360, Controlling Thatch in Lawns for further details on aeration and dethatching lawns.
Get the soil tested, then apply fertilizer and lime in accordance with the results. If the pH of the soil is less than 6.0, disease might be more severe (except for centipedegrass). Maintain suitable soil levels of potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) according to soil test results. See HGIC 1652, Soil Testing, for more details on getting the lawn’s soil tested.

Fungicides can be challenging to rely on when trying to control brown patches and huge patches in a home lawn, but routine applications can significantly enhance the appearance of the grass.

Fungicides should be used to turfgrass tall fescue as a preventative measure in the spring and early summer. In the Upstate, brown patch symptoms frequently become noticeable around the first week of May. If it rains frequently during the summer, curative procedures might need to be performed frequently.

Warm season turfgrasses need fungicide treatments in the spring as well, although the best disease control occurs in the fall. Although the large patch fungus is active in the fall’s lower temperatures, symptoms typically become more noticeable in the spring when the turfgrasses of the warm season begin to green up. Warm season turfgrasses should receive their first spray in early October for the fall and a second application two to four weeks later, but before the turfgrass becomes dormant. For the spring application, repeat the fungicide application in April.

Depending on the fungicide, treatments are often made at intervals of 14 to 28 days. If the disease is serious enough to require chemical management, pick one of the fungicides from Table 1’s list of options. Alternating the fungicides applied with each subsequent application will aid in the control of diseases by preventing the development of fungicide resistance. The same fungicide active ingredient may be used as a liquid spray fungicide rather than as a granular one to provide somewhat greater control. Granular fungicides are simpler to apply, but they need to be irrigated with half an inch of irrigation water or rain after application (follow product label directions).

Lawn & Landscape RTS2 Bonide Infuse Systemic Disease Control (but not the granular version)

1 The brown and large patch fungi will become resistant to the fungicide if products containing solely azoxystrobin or fluoxastrobin are used indefinitely. Always alternate using one of the other fungicides with these. Alternately, pick a supplement like Pillar G or Headway G, each of which has two active components. These can be used repeatedly to dark or broad patches of skin without increasing fungicide treatment resistance. Observe the usage instructions on the product’s label.

For a period of 28 days, azoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, or fluxastrobin will typically control brown and big patches. For 14 days, the other three fungicides will keep the infections under control. After applying granular goods, irrigate in accordance with the label’s instructions.