Ficus lyrata, also known as the fiddle-leaf fig, is a well-known indoor tree with exceptionally big, deeply veined, glossy, violin-shaped leaves that grow upright on a smooth trunk. If you can place a fiddle-leaf fig in a floor-standing container where it can be allowed to grow to at least 6 feet tall, it makes the ideal centerpiece for a room. The majority of indoor specimens are about 10 feet tall. If you’re like most gardeners and want to buy a nursery plant to keep indoors, it grows pretty quickly and may be potted at any time of the year. Remember that cats and dogs cannot handle this beautiful plant.
Is the fiddle leaf fig a healthy houseplant?
Ficus lyrata is one of our most popular plants at Flora Grubb Gardens, our nursery in San Francisco, and we almost always have it in stock. Come get yours right now! Continue reading for advice on how to grow and take care of these plants.
The fiddle-leaf fig, or Ficus lyrata, is the ideal interior specimen plant. The plant has erect, violin-shaped leaves that are enormous, densely veined, and tall. Our retail plant shop in San Francisco almost always has Ficus lyrata on hand.
These plants are indigenous to the tropics, where they flourish in hot, muggy weather. As a result, the home grower may find it difficult to replicate these steamy circumstances, making them a little more difficult. Fortunately, they are rather resilient plants that can endure less-than-ideal conditions for a fair amount of time. Last but not least, F. lyrata are really produced as larger specimen plants. If you can place them in a floor-standing planter that will allow the plant to grow to at least 6 feet, that would be ideal. In tropical settings, trees frequently reach heights of 40 feet or more. These are not naturally trimmed down to reasonable sizes due to their enormous leaves, though they can be shaped with light trimming.
Ficus lyrata plants don’t require much maintenance. Spotting on the leaves, which is particularly obvious in a plant with such huge leaves, is one of the most prevalent complaints about these plants. This spotting is typically brought on by a leaf injury, such as mechanical harm or a mite infestation. When exposed to air, the sap of Ficus lyrata can produce these brown patches. The plants are also vulnerable to a number of leaf-spotting and fungus diseases, which are often brought on by poor air circulation and an excessive amount of moisture that collects on the leaves. By keeping the plant well-trimmed and eliminating any dead leaves or twigs that you spot, you can assist stop this form of attack.
However, if your plant is dropping leaves, it’s probably due to inadequate moisture at the roots, low humidity, and cold, dry air. To raise the surrounding humidity, try spraying the plant frequently. Finally, because these plants are particularly sensitive to high salt concentrations, flush your potting soil completely on a regular basis, preferably once a month, to avoid salt buildup.
Pests include aphids, mealybugs, mites, scale, and whiteflies can harm Ficus lyrata. If at all feasible, locate the infestation as soon as you can and use the least hazardous remedy.
Repotting: Healthy specimens have vigorous, quickly developing roots (which is pretty typical for any ficus). Try to repot the plant once a year, increasing the pot size by two to four until the plant is the required size or you can no longer handle the container. After placing plants in large containers, remove the top few inches of soil and replace it once a year with new potting soil.
Advice: Avoid often turning or moving this plant. The plant should be placed permanently, and to keep it clean, use an old T-shirt to dust it. As necessary, stake and prune. Only leaves facing the light will remain on Ficus lyrata; ones facing a darker wall or corner will wither away. If you move or reposition your ficus, be prepared for leaf loss.
Ficus lyrata need strong, filtered light. Even a little sun won’t kill them, especially if they’re in an eastern-facing window. When housed in a too-dark environment, plants won’t develop quickly.
Water: Keep it moist, but don’t let it stand in water because that will cause it to lose leaves and develop root rot.
Fertilizer: For plants that are not in ideal conditions or are recuperating from stress, apply Maxsea All Purpose Fertilizer seasonally and up to monthly.
What kind of plant has fiddle-leaf fig leaves?
Would you like to learn more about the fiddle-leaf fig’s past? This species originated in the lowland rainforests of western Africa before they were discovered on Pinterest and in fashionable homes all over the world.
They are normally smaller, standing between 15 and 25 feet tall, when grown outside as landscape specimens, which is possible in subtropical temperatures like those found in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11 in the US.
Do not be concerned that your fresh fiddle-leaf fig will become so tall and enclose you indoors. They won’t have the ideal growing circumstances in your home for them to develop to such heights.
Typical plants will usually reach a height of around 10 feet, but in the right circumstances, they can reach heights of over 12 feet. If you want something a little smaller, dwarf kinds are also available.
Fiddle-leaf figs can be a little harsh for a supposedly delicate shrub. In the wild, seeds are dispersed by birds, bats, or monkeys into the forest canopy, where, if germination is successful, they begin their lives.
These epiphytes develop roots that reach the ground from the canopy. They gradually encircle the host tree as a result, and may eventually strangle it to death.
The fiddle-leaf is linked to rubber plants (F. elastica) and weeping figs (F. benjamina), both of which perform the same function. They are collectively referred to as strangler figs, along with dozens of other fig species.
The tree gets its name from its evergreen, violin- or lyre-shaped leaves, as you would have guessed. The leaf has a leathery texture and is a rich green color. The undersides of the leaves are slightly lighter and matte, but the upper surfaces have a waxy appearance.
When the stems and branches of F. lyrata are cut open, its sap is revealed to contain latex, which can irritate the skin. If you are pruning or propagating plants, remember this and put on gloves.
A Note of Caution:
Be aware that this plant might not be the ideal choice if you have pets that prefer to eat your indoor plants. Children, cats, and dogs who consume the sap may have digestive distress and skin irritation.
Even though they belong to the Moraceae family, which includes figs and mulberries, you won’t see any edible fruits on this plant if you’re growing it inside. But in their natural environment, they produce one-inch spherical fruits that resemble the typical fig fruit in shape.
These fruits, which are also known as syconiums, have tiny, off-white flowers within. Agaon spatulatum, a particular wasp, is necessary for the pollination of the flowers. The fruit grows after the wasp pollinates the flower inside.
Even if you gave your fiddle-leaf fig the ideal environment for fruit production (for instance, if you were growing one outdoors), the fruits won’t taste as wonderful as those from their cousin, the common fig, F. carica, which produces the well-known, delectable fruits you get at the grocery store.
How is a fiddle leaf fig plant cared for indoors?
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.
Can fiddle leaf figs use Miracle Grow?
Managing soil moisture is essential for fiddle leaf fig success. Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix is ideal for growing plants because it contains coconut coir, which stores and releases water while facilitating simple soil rewetting. It should be placed in a container with multiple drainage holes that is 1/3 broader than the plant’s root ball. Place the plant so that the top of the root ball is approximately an inch below the top of the pot and fill the bottom third of the pot with potting soil. More potting soil should be added around the root ball, and once the plant has been fully watered and allowed to drain, it should be placed.
When you notice roots poking through the bottom of the container, repot fiddle leaf figs using the instructions above. These plants don’t want to be disturbed, so don’t repot them more frequently than required. Depending on how quickly the plant is growing when it is still little, you might need to repot it every year.