Fiddle Leaf Figs need to be thoroughly watered about once a week to match their love of natural light. You should modify the amount of watering based on the size of the plant and, consequently, the size of the roots. As a general rule, water the plant thoroughly only after the top 2 to 3 inches of soil have dried up. This entails watering it till water drips out the bottom if it’s in a planter with a drainage hole. However, avoid letting the drip tray fill up with water for too long because root rot can readily develop in this situation. Remember to water the plant slowly and in a circular motion around it, making sure to wet all of the soil. Water will then reach all of the roots rather than just some.
A Sustee Aqua-meter is one of the greatest instruments for determining how frequently your Fiddle Leaf Fig requires water (available for purchase in our shops). We have discovered that there are particular seasons of the year when our plants are significantly more thirsty than usual since we started using these in our stores. The Sustee changes color from blue to white when the soil is sufficiently dry to prevent overwatering from occurring after it has become saturated with water.
You should water all tropical plants with water that is room temperature. A plant will undoubtedly experience shock if exposed to hot or extremely cold water, just as it would if the same conditions existed outside.
Prior to watering, aerate and break up the soil to improve water absorption. In order to ensure that water reaches all of the plant’s roots rather than draining out along the planter’s edges, we also advise watering very slowly around the top of the soil.
Maintenance
Fiddle Leaf Figs need some routine care, just like most other plants. One crucial maintenance procedure for your fiddle leaf coincidentally involves its leaves, which are also its most noticeable feature. Wonderful duty in the shape of routine dusting comes with great leaves. Fiddle Leaf Figs require frequent dusting due to the size of their leaves. As dust builds up on plant leaves, dust particles interfere with the plant’s ability to absorb sunlight and carry out photosynthesis. Given how much Fiddle Leaf Figs adore light, giving your plant a frequent dusting will go a long way toward keeping it healthy.
Rotating your plant monthly or biweekly is a good idea in addition to dusting the leaves. By rotating your plant, you’ll ensure that it receives an equal distribution of light, preventing one side from growing much faster than the other and resulting in a solid, symmetrical Fiddle Leaf Fig.
There are a few things you can do to encourage your Fiddle Leaf Fig (or any tree, for that matter) to start developing branches. First, try providing your plant with additional light. Trees naturally sprout branches, and if they have a lot of natural light, they may have more energy to devote to doing so. Cutting off your plant’s highest point of growth is another approach to promote branching. As a result, the plant will be forced to start branching out from the sides rather than continuing to grow vertically. Visit our pruning journal entry to find out more about pruning and branching.
Aerating the soil once every few months prevents the soil from being compacted for people who don’t already do so. The ability of your plant to absorb water is one of many factors that can be badly impacted by compacted soil, which eventually forms tiny pockets of soil where water never penetrates. It is possible to aerate using a variety of tools, including chopsticks and official soil aerators that are of a similar size and shape. To avoid destroying too many roots, gently press the aerator deeper into the earth as you go. By breaking up any areas where the soil has clumped together, do this a variety of times around the soil to keep your plant healthy and happy.
Last but not least, we advise using a “less is more” philosophy when it comes to fertilizing your Fiddle Leaf Fig and other indoor plants. It’s advisable to avoid providing your plants with too many extra nutrients at once. In the spring and summer, we strongly advise adding a slow release pellet fertilizer, such as the Osmocote Plus Indoor Smart-Release Plant Food, into the top layer of the plant’s soil. These pellet fertilizers typically last for a few months.
Winter Tips
Winter is a challenging season for indoor plants, including Fiddle Leaf Figs, because of the obvious lack of natural light and the cooler temperatures. As indicated above, keeping an eye out for cold windows is a smart place to start, but there are other things you can do to keep your Fiddle Leaf content throughout the chilly months.
People frequently experience problems with heating vents during the winter, but since they aren’t used for more than half the year, it’s simple to forget about them. Plan to relocate all of your plants away from any heating vents when it is time for them to turn on. Repeated hot air bursts have the potential to scorch leaves and quickly dry out your plants.
Break up the dirt a little with your fingertips before watering your plant in the winter. Soil is easily clumped and compacted in winter due to the dry indoor air. By lightly breaking it up with your fingertips, you can prevent water from dripping through the soil and out the sides of the planter.
It’s also important to note that a humidifier can benefit Fiddle Leaf Figs and other tropical plants all year long, but particularly during the winter when the indoor air turns dry. Your plants are able to flourish as they would in a rainforest thanks to the continuous increase in moisture circulating in the air, which prevents browning leaf tips.
Key points:
Fiddle Leaf Figs thrive when put immediately in front of windows since they require a lot of natural light.
Once a week, thoroughly water the soil, allowing the top few inches to dry out before watering again.
Please feel free to ask any questions you may have about caring for fiddle leaf figs below, in person at one of our stores, or by contacting us.
How is a fiddle leaf fig plant cared for indoors?
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!
How frequently should a fiddle leaf fig be watered?
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.
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.
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.
Is it difficult to maintain a fiddle leaf fig?
How simple are fiddle-leaf figs to maintain? Although fiddle-leaf figs may require special care, they can easily flourish in the right environment. They require warmth, humidity, a ton of direct light, brilliant indirect light, and a lot of water. Despite the fact that they enjoy water, avoid overwatering.
How are more leaves added to a fiddle leaf fig?
How to Grow Your Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree Bigger and Quicker in 7 Easy Steps!
- OPTIMIZE THE POT SIZE IN STEP 1.
- Step 2: GUARANTEE OUTSTANDING DRAINAGE.
- 3rd step: COMPLETE, REGULAR WATERING.
- Step 4: Verify the soil’s aeration.
- Do an annual soil treatment in step five.
- Step 6 is to fertilize less frequently.
- STEP 7: TURN ON THE LIGHTS!
How do I determine the health of my fiddle leaf fig?
Akin developed the website and published the book to share how to grow strong fiddle leaf fig plants. Although many indoor gardeners wish to grow the plant, she discovered that there is very little reliable and comprehensive information on cultivating them.
You will find all the information you require in this comprehensive, simple-to-read guide to succeed with fiddle leaf fig plants. This involves determining whether your plant is healthy or whether it needs some additional special care and attention.
Akin lists numerous symptoms of fiddle leaf fig plant illness along with their causes. Brown stains on leaves, which may indicate over- or under-watering, are one of these. Fungal disease, which develops when leaves are overwatered, is what causes brown blotches in the middle of leaves. Browning on the leaf edges is a sign of dry, drafty air and inadequate irrigation.
Your fiddle leaf fig plant may be suffering from a lack of sunlight or inadequate nourishment if it is dropping leaves all over the plant and the leaves are yellow.
If your fiddle leaf fig has new growth and the new leaves are bigger than the old ones, your plant is likely healthy. Additionally, the plant will have glossy, brilliant green leaves and a beautiful overall appearance.
1. Ensure adequate drainage.
Plants of the fiddle leaf fig don’t respond well to wet soil. The plant roots’ ability to breathe and maintain good health depends on adequate drainage.
2. Prevent overwetting.
Every time you water, give the soil a little time to dry out. The plant will die from root rot if the soil is kept wet. The book contains details on how much water was used to water fiddle leaf figs.