Secret No. 6: Avoid letting a sick fiddle-leaf fig tree fully dry up. Make sure any extra water drains out the bottom of the pot when watering it once or twice per week. (I water mine in the shower and keep it there for a couple of hours so the pot can drain, then I put it back on the plant saucer.)
Secret No. 7: Even if the container is so tight that roots are visible at the surface, wait to transplant it until you notice fresh growth.
In conclusion, letting your fiddle-leaf fig tree heal slowly on its own is the greatest thing you can do to ensure its survival. Give it filtered sunlight, water once a week, and warm environments (a room temperature between 60 and 90 degrees would do). Furthermore, if there is even a remote chance that the temperature may drop below freezing overnight, don’t leave it outside.
Are you also attempting to preserve your fiddle-leaf fig? The Fig and I: 10 Tips for Caring for a Fiddle-Leaf Fig has more advice. Visit Fiddle-Leaf Fig Trees: A Field Guide in our selected plant guide for Tropicals 101 for additional growing, maintenance, and design advice.
Finally, consult our Creeping Fig: A Field Guide for additional guidance on how to effectively plant, nurture, and maintain a creeping fig.
Get additional tips on planting, growing, and caring for fiddle-leaf fig trees by reading our Fiddle-Leaf Fig Tree: A Field Guide.
Finally, use our Houseplants: A Field Guide to learn more about how to grow and care for different houseplants.
Are you looking for additional tropical plants for your indoor or outdoor space? With the help of Tropical Plants: A Field Guide, you can learn more about how to cultivate and care for different tropical plants.
Finally, consult our Vines & Climbers: A Field Guide for more guidance on how to cultivate and maintain a variety of vines and climbers.
Potential Cause 1: Root Rot
Brown stains on the roots from a fungus caused by too much moisture. Root rot is brought by by over watering and bad drainage, and it eventually affects your plant’s leaves.
How to Correct It
Removing the pot and looking at the roots is the only way to be confident that your plant has root rot. Root rot is at blame if the roots are mushy and discolored. Let your plant dry out for around two weeks if there are only a few brown patches on the leaves so that the roots have enough time to heal.
Make sure your plant gets enough light, and remove any damaged leaves. If there are several brown patches, you should remove any brown, mushy roots and the affected leaves before repotting the plant and being careful not to overwater it in the future.
Potential Cause 2: Bacterial Infection
In addition to the brown spots, your Fiddle Leaf Fig’s leaves will yellow as a result of bacterial leaf spot. In contrast to bacterial leaf spot, which causes the leaf to turn yellow as the brown spot spreads, root rot often causes the leaves to remain dark green with brown patches. Your Fiddle Leaf Fig’s leaves will eventually drop off due to both bacterial leaf spot and root rot. Since bacterial leaf spot tends to feed on new growth, it is likely to be to fault if your younger leaves are suffering more than your older leaves.
Unfortunately, this is the Fiddle Leaf Fig condition that is most difficult to treat. It can already be too late for your plant, even with the right care and watering. Cut off all of the leaves that have brown spots if the damage is not severe, then repot your plant in new, sterile soil. While it is healing, give it lots of light and don’t water as frequently.
Potential Cause 3: Insect Damage
Although uncommon, insect illnesses leave clear signs. Check your plant for webs or insects using a magnifying glass. Small patches that develop into holes on the leaves are a sure sign of insect damage.
Treatment for insect infestations is simple. Use neem oil products made specifically for indoor plants. Alternately, you might make your own cure by mixing a few teaspoons of mineral oil and baking soda in a spray bottle with water. Spray the entire affected area of the plant after thoroughly shaking the solution. Your other houseplants should not be near diseased plants. Neem oil has an overpowering odor, so move your plant outside if you can. Spray your fiddle leaf fig’s leaves with a strong mist. Don’t forget to spray the area where the leaf meets the stem after turning each leaf to cover the underside. If more spraying is required, wait two weeks, inspect once more, then repeat the process.
Potential Cause 4: Your Plant is Too Dry
Dry tan or brown regions that originate at the edge of the leaf and force the leaf to curl make dry plant brown spots simpler to identify. Your plant will occasionally appear dry or wilted overall, and the dirt may have retreated from the pot (shrinkage). This may result in the water never reaching the root ball and instead running between the pot and the soil.
Consider transferring your Fiddle Leaf Fig to a more moderate area if it is currently close to a heater or in an extremely dry environment. When the soil is 50 to 75 percent dry, water as needed, and keep an eye on your plant to make sure it’s getting enough hydration. Use a humidifier close to your plant or try misting it once to three days. Make sure the root ball of your plant is completely submerged in water by giving it a long sip. Make sure the pot’s bottom is dripping with water. Before placing the plant back on its saucer, allow it to rest and drain any extra water.
Why keep dying my fiddle leaf figs?
Leaf drop has three primary causes, and it might be challenging to distinguish between them. Finding out what is causing your plant to drop leaves is the first step in quickly fixing the problem.
Leaf Drop From Shock
When you buy a new fiddle leaf fig plant, it goes through a lot of stress moving and being placed in a new setting. Fiddle leaf figs prefer a steady environment and dislike change.
Given that the plant was raised in a bright greenhouse with numerous other plants nearby and high relative humidity, the new illumination and humidity may both be much lower than what the plant is accustomed to. Your plant may respond to shock by shedding older leaves at the centre and bottom of the plant, which may be coupled with the physical stress of being bruised during the transport.
Leaf Drop From Dry Conditions
Dryness is the second main factor in fiddle leaf fig leaf drop. A fiddle leaf fig may drop leaves due to lack of watering and extremely dry air.
Be careful not to place your plant in the bright sun or close to a heating vent where it will frequently be bombarded with dry air. Because fiddle leaf figs dislike drafts, it’s best to choose a location far from any vents or bursts of hot air.
Do I need to remove the dead fiddle leaf leaves?
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.
Are fiddle leaf fig leaves regenerative?
It is rather simple to identify the root of your fiddle leaf fig’s negative attitude if it is anything other than green and full. Indoor fiddle leaf figs typically have a problem with either light, irrigation, or both. You can restore its health with a little work before it’s too late. Simply keep an eye out for the warning symptoms listed below and administer the appropriate treatment.
One thing to remember with fiddle leaf figs is that once a leaf is injured, it can’t truly be repaired. We’re diagnosing the issue and taking action to maintain the plant’s health going ahead. The tree will likely stop providing energy to the injured leaves when new growth begins to emerge, and they will eventually dry up and fall off. Last week, I got home to precisely that circumstance. The lowest leaf on the tree with damage was this one. The plant consumed all of its resources until it was entirely dried out, at which point it let go of it.
Unlike rubber plants, which can recover fallen leaves, fiddle leaf figs cannot. Because once the leaf is gone, it’s gone, maintaining their health is crucial.
Can a dried fiddle leaf fig be revived?
Dryed-out leaves can’t be repaired, and they can be using resources that the tree needs to recover and produce new leaves. Click here to read How to Treat Damaged Fiddle Leaf Fig Leaves: To Prune or Not to Prune.
Is my fig tree going to grow back?
My fig tree has suffered severe frost damage. Should we let the dead alone or cut them off? It has always produced good, healthy yields.
A: Although many fig trees were harmed over the recent winter, most will recover. Once you uncover green tissue, begin chopping away at the browned branches. If not, entirely cut off that branch. The tree can then be shaped by cutting a few inches off all around if necessary. Use a general-purpose garden fertilizer or a granular fruit tree fertilizer to fertilize. If the summer is dry, keep mulch around the tree’s base and water it once a week. An elder tree like this one has a fair chance of recovery with your proper care, even if you don’t receive many figs this year if they are late-bearing.
A: My entire garden area is covered in ants. I can’t even enter to prepare the ground for planting because the situation is that horrible. Do you have any suggestions for how I might get rid of the ants before planting?
A: To get rid of these ants, you’ll need to treat the entire garden and the region around it. There are various options, but a potent pyrethrin spray can provide effective, quick control. Afterward, use a baited ant control in the vicinity of the garden to discourage them from returning.
Q: Help! My flowerbed has a weed that is currently in bloom and whose extremely long roots make it impossible to get up. The use of weed killers hasn’t been effective, and I anticipate new growth. Any recommendations?
A weed’s behavior indicates how to control it even if we are unable to identify it. Since it dies back in the summer, we can conclude that this weed is a cool-season perennial. This most likely indicates that it appears between the first cool spell in the fall and late winter. The best course of action right now is to get those blooms cut off and remove as much of them as you can, making it more exposed to the upcoming hot weather. Since it’s impossible to remove all of those tangled roots without completely digging up the bed, the plants will resprout. When it reappears, bring a sprig to your favorite neighborhood garden center and discuss a spray with the horticulture. Compared to the mature plants you are now facing, the new growth will be significantly more susceptible to weed killers.