Fiddle Leaf Fig Recovery (Post Repot)

9 years ago

Good Morning everybody, I hope all is well.
I would like to bring my fiddle leaf fig to attention with regards to what it started as and what it has become after repotting. I'd like to gain some knowledge as to what the issue's are and how to alleviate them.

The plant was just moved into a new habitat about a a week ago, and underwent a root pruning and repot into a near 5-1-1 mix. I'll let the images do the talking:

Thank you for your time.

Featured Answer

spjin

7 years ago

This has been a great thread to follow. Thomas, I was wondering about whether or not these trees would put out leaves in old places and your last comment answered it for me. Can you post an updated picture? I hope you haven't moved again and had to go back to square one! ( :

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Comments (66)

Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC)
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Its been a year long journey and the tree is still going strong. I am on weekly watering schedules
where I place the plant in my sink and thoroughly flush it with the
hose, as the rest drains through the pot. I also fertilize with foliage
pro once or twice a month. The plant is kept indoors and the temperature range is
74 at night to 78 during the peak hours of sunlight. It's kept in front
of one window facing north east or so and receives a generous amount of
sunlight on one side, so rotating it is a must every month.
Its current span is near 7 feet high, and around 4 1/2 feet wide.
Most growth has protruded from the top branches and i'm hoping growth
will come from the sides as time passes (The two bare branches on the
right). I'm just happy it grows lol

Any tips on how I can get start growth on the bare branches? The tree seems to grow from three branches, while there are about three or four others that had growth previously, but are currently empty and showing no signs of life. Should I just cut them off? They've been bare since last June when things went south, so I'm coming to the conclusion that they won't begin growing anything...
Rhamel (aka teengardener1888)
8 years ago
Nice to see your tree is OK:)
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As someone who root prunes EVERYTHING (except mayyyybe edibles, but that depends) if it's been in a pot for more than a year or two, I think your plant will be fine. If you take off that much of the bottom and leave the whole top, some suffering is to be expected. :) When I first joined GW, it took me a couple of WEEKS to understand what Al was talking about lol. But then I did, and then I seriously repotted every single one of my plants into GM OR 5-1-1 over the course of a couple of days with no regard for weather or season, haha. A few plants did what yours is doing...."OMG WHAT HAPPENED TO ME," and others shined from minute one, but I didn't lose a single plant to the business. I had one croton that quite literally flopped over immediately that Al had me bag (since it was small), to increase the humidity to and even that came back. And don't be hard on yourself. I had been gardening for years when I first came on board with GM so it wasn't like I didn't have "experience," and had no idea I was doing anything wrong; just thought a 50% survival rate was normal, lol. I expected and hoped for slightly better but it's basically 100% success at this point with anything I put into a gritty mix of some sort. I can't quite say the same for things I still use regular mix for, like veggies, but it is really up there in that case, too(say, 85% lol), just because I understand more about a plant and the root system, though water movement is still not checked off solely because there is too much to read, haha. Here was my first foray into gritty mix. Hope it helps! http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1378652/taking-on-gritty-mix
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I have a healthy fiddle that I've had to repot twice now. It's now in a mix of roughly half Ocean Forest Fox Farm potting soil and half pine bark fines. If I were to redo it I would do the 3-1-1 that my Japanese Maples are in - 3 parts partially composted pine bark fines (with the sap wood stuff picked out), 1 part Ocean Forest potting soil, and 1 part perlite. Then I add about 1 Tbsp organic garden lime per gallon of finished mix, and Osmocote time release fertilizer per instructions on label. Personally, and I may be wrong here, but if your fiddle is pushing new growth then I would feel perfectly ok with repotting it at that time. I've had that issue before where new leaves seem susceptible to bugs and disease. I drench all the leaves in neem oil when that happens. But I think that leaf being puny indicates something else - maybe that it's time for a repot? Also, and take this with a grain of salt, I hack the roots when I repot. I'm not very judicious about it, taking about 30% to 40%. I use my super sharp garden scissors that I sterilize with Lysol (yes, aerosol Lysol). I cut away a certain amount mass-wise, then take care to also cut any wrap-around roots, "hooked" roots, and portions of thicker roots (to encourage growth of feeder roots). I do try to keep my hose sprayer on mist while I'm working and mist the roots pretty frequently but only to keep them moist. I work fast. Then I put it in the new pot and start filling with my mix. I pull the tree up slightly after every few scoops and try to make sure the root area doesn't have any air pockets. When I'm finished I water to eliminate any pockets I missed. I err on the side of caution and don't put soil around the root crown. Two things: I would take that small tree at the base out if possible. You can plant that in the current pot and see how it grows. If it's attached to the actual root of the larger tree (if it's just another node and not a separate tree) then I don't know, I'd probably keep it attached. Also, I would start pruning the canopy now. You can make more fiddles from the cuttings. I just plop my cuttings (of about two leaves) in moistened peat moss, put them in a well lit but protected shady area, and keep them moist. They will root. I dip them in rooting hormone first to make myself feel better. I usually do cuttings of about two leaves at a time like this. The benefit is that you will get branching from your main tree if you prune it, which is what you want. Mine started off like yours and now I have a real canopy. I'm about to prune at least four or five branches this month when the weather gets more consistently warm. I like to prune fiddle branches when I can leave the branch with two leaves and have two leaves to plant as cuttings. If your fiddle is pushing new growth I wouldn't time my repot by when I fertilized it last. But I wouldn't fertilize again for two weeks after the repot. Let the roots grow first into the new mix. Personally I'd go larger than an eight inch pot for the repot. I've included some pics of mine. It's about four feet tall and, like yours, started out as a single trunk tree. I've also included pics of several of the branches that I intend to prune in the next few weeks. Tomorrow I will post pics of a fiddle I'm trying to save. You'll be surprised. I hacked literally every single leaf off of it to get some back budding. Hopefully in a month I will see some results. It's nerve racking but I thought, why not try it?
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Fennel - Reposted per your request. I hope you can see it. If not, send another message and I'll send it direct.I think you're on the right track in your thinking, but for the sake of full disclosure: - It's best to repot it in early summer. Technically not quite true. Summer STARTS Jun 21. In most locales, repotting should be done by then, but you can repot even i8n northern US States into Early Aug with good results. - It needs fast draining soil no matter what and likes low nutrient content like in the gritty mix. There ARE work-arounds that allow you to use soils that would be wholly unsatisfactory w/o the work-around. Ballast, wicks, and several other tricks can be used to limit how much 'excess' water a pot can hold. - I have to keep the fine roots wet during repotting. True - It shouldn't be fertilized again until it starts new growth. True - It's good to trim the roots 30% or more. I'd limit my first foray into root pruning to removing 1/3-1/2 of the roots, total ...... and I'd concentrate on large roots that are problematic for one reason or another and not connected to the base of the trunk. However, I still have some newbie questions. - I live in zone 10b (Malibu, USA). Should I still wait until June to repot it? Can you manage to hold off until Memorial Day? That's when I would do it if I lived in Malibu. - The soil. This is my biggest question. I understand gritty mix would give my tree the most potential but I highly dislike the idea of completely depending on plant food and watering as often as I've seen gritty mix users say they have to water (every 3-4 days even). Is there perhaps a different ratio or set of ingredients I could mix to give the soil only a little less potential but a lot more leniency in those areas? I wish there was a list somewhere of the detailed benefits and pitfalls of different common soil ingredients. If you're going to do things to the gritty mix that eliminate the reasons you would go to the extra effort to begin with, push it to the back of your mind. It simply doesn't make sense from the perspective of economics or effort to make an expensive soil you might as easily have made with less effort and reduced outlay. I'd be thinking of something like the 5:1:1 mix, which is based on a high % of coarse ingredients, but still holds more water than the gritty mix. - Root pruning. Again, I'm new to plant care. How do you tell which roots are are healthy and which are sickly or dead beneath the soil line? You'll know. Healthy = white or tan, not black, dark brown/ slimy. Am I correct that I should prune the large roots without a lot of feeder roots? Yes What should I look for beyond that? Roots that point back toward the center of the root mass, roots growing straight up or down, hooked/ encircling/ girdling roots. I've seen people straight up hack inches off the rootball. Is that much removal and abrasion very beneficial to the tree or can I just gently separate the roots and cut off obvious problem ones? I alway start by hacking a significant fraction of the lower root mass off - often as much as 75%, but that's not meant as a suggestion to you. How much you can safely remove will come with experience. I was uneasy enough with root pruning as it was and then found some even more disconcerting posts about how foliage may need pruning also to a level the new roots can support. I definitely don't want to prune my roots to a level near enough to likely need leaf pruning. It's still a short tree and every leaf is healthy. FWIW - a ficus will alway benefit from pruning when you repot if you concentrate your pruning efforts at the top of the tree, which ALWAYS robs the bottom of the tree of its due, in terms of food and energy. I can say, without question, that if you continue to progress in your proficiency at growing trees in containers, at some point you will be regularly pruning at least the top of almost all apically dominant trees when you repot, for more than 1 reason. - Keeping the roots wet. How do I do this? Should I keep a light shower on them? Should I dunk them in a bucket of water every minute? Could someone please suggest an exact method and interval to do this right? I normally work over a tub of water and dunk the roots as often as necessary to keep them wet at all times. When it's cool/ humid/ shady, that might be every 2-3 minutes. Hot/ windy/ sunny = every 30 seconds or so. You can also use a hose & pressure nozzle to 'blast' soil off roots. This ^^^ fits on the hose end. Adding a shut-off helps save water. - Watering. Should I water it right after repotting? Yes Does the tree need to be kept in extra moist or extra dry soil before or after the report? The fraction of soil that holds the roots needs to be damp - not wet or dry - damp. If your soil is appropriate, you can easily water a couple of times each day to ensure roots get enough moisture w/o suffering from soil saturation. Also, I've seen mention of people soaking their ingredients/soil before mixing/potting into it but I don't understand it. What's that part about? Some soils, when they get dry, become hydrophobic (water repellent). To correct, make mud from about 1/3 of the soil you'll need for the repot, then mix in the dry soil. Do this well before you start the repot or transplant. By the time you need the soil, diffusion of moisture in the soil will have 'broken' any tendency toward hydrophobia. - Fertilizing. Should I fertilise some time before the repot? Give it more strength somehow? Yes. Fertilize appropriately right up until the day you repot, and resume as soon as you see new growth being pushed. I bought some Foliage Pro 9-3-6 recently but haven't been fertilising at all since I got the tree; just been giving it filtered water. You should fertilize regularly all year long - varying the dosage and/or the intervals between applications in response to what part of the growth cycle your tree is in. I often fertilize at more than 2.5x the recommended maximum dose when cultural conditions support that practice. You can learn more about fertilizing containerized plants if you click me. - Pot size. I read these trees enjoy small pots False. Read this. and can even be repotted into the same pot after root pruning True but I think mine is pushing it. It's over 2.5 feet tall in a 6-inch pot. I'm definitely going 8-inch minimum—but would it be better to go for a 10-inch? How large a container ‘can’ or ‘should’ be, depends on the relationship between the mass of the plant material you are working with and your choice of soil. We often concern ourselves with "over-potting" (using a container that is too large), but "over-potting" is a term that arises from a lack of a basic understanding about the relationship we will look at, which logically determines appropriate container size. It's often parroted that you should only move up one container size when "potting-up". The reasoning is, that when potting up to a container more than one size larger, the soil will remain wet too long and cause root rot issues, but it is the size/mass of the plant material you are working with, and the physical properties of the soil you choose that determines both the upper & lower limits of appropriate container size - not a formulaic upward progression of container sizes. In many cases, after root pruning a plant, it may even be appropriate to step down a container size or two, but as you will see, that also depends on the physical properties of the soil you choose. It's not uncommon for me, after a repot/root-pruning to pot in containers as small as 1/5 the size as that which the plant had been growing in prior to the work. Plants grown in ‘slow’ (slow-draining/water-retentive) soils need to be grown in containers with smaller soil volumes so that the plant can use water quickly, allowing air to return to the soil before root issues beyond impaired root function/metabolism become a limiting factor. We know that the anaerobic (airless) conditions that accompany soggy soils quickly kill fine roots and impair root function/metabolism. We also know smaller soil volumes and the root constriction that accompany them cause plants to both extend branches and gain o/a mass much more slowly - a bane if rapid growth is the goal - a boon if growth restriction and a compact plant are what you have your sights set on. Conversely, rampant growth can be had by growing in very large containers and in very fast soils where frequent watering and fertilizing is required - so it's not that plants rebel at being potted into very large containers per se, but rather, they rebel at being potted into very large containers with a soil that is too slow and water-retentive. This is a key point. We know that there is an inverse relationship between soil particle size and the height of the perched water table (PWT) in containers. As particle size increases, the height of the PWT decreases, until at about a particle size of just under 1/8 inch, soils will no longer hold perched water. If there is no perched water, the soil is ALWAYS well aerated, even when the soil is at container capacity (fully saturated). So, if you aim for a soil (like the gritty mix) composed primarily of particles larger than 1/16", there is no upper limit to container size, other than what you can practically manage. The lower size limit will be determined by the soil volume's ability to allow room for roots to ’run’ and to furnish water enough to sustain the plant between irrigations. Bearing heavily on this ability is the ratio of fine roots to coarse roots. It takes a minimum amount of fine rootage to support the canopy under high water demand. If the container is full of large roots, there may not be room for a sufficient volume of the fine roots that do all the water/nutrient delivery work and the coarse roots, too. You can grow a very large plant in a very small container if the roots have been well managed and the lion's share of the rootage is fine. You can also grow very small plants, even seedlings, in very large containers if the soil is fast (free-draining and well-aerated) enough that the soil holds no, or very little perched water. I have just offered clear illustration why the oft repeated advice to ‘resist potting up more than one pot size at a time’, only applies when using heavy, water-retentive soils. Those using well-aerated soils are not bound by the same restrictions. As the ht and volume of the perched water table are reduced, the potential for negative effects associated with over-potting are diminished in a direct relationship with the reduction - up to the point at which the soil holds no (or an insignificant amount) of perched water and over-potting pretty much becomes a non-issue. Al
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Your plant has come a long way since the first set of pics you posted. If the branches are dead or if you don't want them as part of the composition, now is a good time to remove them (anytime is a good time if they're dead). FLF is strongly apically dominant, which it only likes to grow from existing apices ( growing tips of existing branches). If you want more branching, you need to give it much more light and air movement; or, force it to break back by pruning off the apical meristems (growing branch tips). The pics are pretty dim, but I'd go for a good pruning right now. If the plant is taller than you like it, prune the top back. If any branches are longer than you like - prune them back to force more branching. If you supply some better pics from several angles, we can figure out the best way to prune.

Al
Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC)
Original Author
8 years ago
Hey Al, thanks for your insight. I do want growth on those branches, but it seems all the growth is apically as you mentioned. I would prefer not to prune any branches at all tbh, the more the merrier in my mind :) I've attached more photos of the tree below to give you a better idea. Dead branches are outlined in green.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
8 years ago
OK - as noted, if the branches are dead - no sense in allowing them to offend the eye, so lop them off if you like. If you want more branching w/o pruning, you'll need to try to optimize all cultural conditions so the plant has more energy than it knows what to do with. Lots of light, plenty of fertilizer, good root health, warm temps, air movement, will work together to produce some branching that otherwise wouldn't occur under less favorable conditions. Tip pruning now will force the branches pruned to back-bud, but if the tree isn't really robust when you tip prune, you might only get lateral breaks (new branches) in a couple of leaf axils behind the pruning cut.

Best luck - good job!

Al
Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC)
Original Author
8 years ago
Got it. I've moved the tree into a hallway at the end of my apartment building that faces west with two large windows with hopes that it will acclimate to much more lighting. Temps are typically in the high 80's - mid 90's in there.

I'll cut off the branches this evening once I get back home. Lastly, I'm fertilizing with foliage pro (probably 1 tbsp a week at the moment), should I up this? Anywhere I can find a recommended dosage chart? I had no luck searching around :/
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
8 years ago
1 tablespoon/ gallon/ week? If so, that has to be close to the max. When temps are between 65-85, I use 4-5 teaspoons in a 2 gallon watering can & haven't noticed any burning on anything I fertilize at that rate. Your rate would be 6 tsp, a little more than I'm using.

I don't think you'll find a specific dosage chart because some plants are happy with relatively low concentrations of nutrients & others quite high concentrations. I fertilize my succulents at the same rate as the other plants - just not as often, but that's because they don't get watered quite as frequently.

Al
Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC)
Original Author
8 years ago
1/20/2016 Update
I've moved from Zone 9 in NE Florida to a Zone 7b in NYC. The tree has gone through some tremendous shock as it had to stay in storage for a couple of weeks while all items were being moved from apartment to apartment.

Once the tree came into the new apartment by the window. they all dropped within 2 days. Here's an up to date picture. I've been in this situation before and it sucks, but I'm hoping for the best. Last time it was in this state, it took about a year to bounce back.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
No fertilizer until growth resumes and guard very carefully against over-watering. With no foliage, the plant will have significantly reduced water requirements.

Good luck.

Al
Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC)
Original Author
8 years ago
Understood. Stick with the usual once a week. Thanks Tapla, always appreciated.
Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC)
Original Author
8 years ago
And we're back. New growth at the base of the branches where the split begins.

New sprouts have been growing very fast within the past 3-4 days, from 1mm to 1" or so.

Fwiw, consistency seems to be key with these trees. Using Tapla's 3:1:1 mix and letting the shower run on the tree for 10 minutes or so in the bath once a week. Foliage pro in the growing seasons and indoor temps all year round. Bright light, but not blinding.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
8 years ago
.... really glad for you! Good job! It should really take off this summer.

Al
Illona McArthur
8 years ago
I live in Melbourne, Australia and am totally inspired by the story of your fig. Mine has consistently lost leaves in the 12 months that I have had it. I have attached a shot when I first got it and what it looks like now. About 6 months ago I decided it was too overwatered so I took it out of the pot and dried it right out (took 6 weeks) I repotted in quality soil and the rate of leaf drop has slowed right down but it is still not thriving. I am wondering if I should cut off some of the branches. I have been too scared to touch it other than watering it with a litre every 3 weeks and a monthly fertilise with a liquid called Charlies Carp. The little branch at the bottom is about one month old but there isn't any signs of further new growth. Would love your expert advice on whether I should continue to watch and hope or get a bit more pro-active and chop chop?
Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC)
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I would definitely say don't do any chopping. When leaves come back, they grow all over. Lets just focus on thriving right now and getting new leaves before forcing anything.

The most important part I've found out that works for me is consistency with watering. I water once a week, typically a Saturday or Sunday, by moving the tree into the bathtub or sink. I then let the shower run for 10 minutes or so in cool water until you notice the drain water turn to clear, then let the tree sit in there over the course of a few hours or even over night just so the water can properly drain from the pot. You can also put something under one side of the tree so it sits at an angle which helps improve drainage.

I do not fertilize very much, once every two weeks or so with foliage pro. I let the fertilizer sit in a cup mixed with water and then just pour it in after i've watered the plant.

Lastly, I'm using a 3:1:1 mix which is 3 parts soil, 1 part perlite, 1 part bark. This honestly may be the most important aspect as it relieves any over watering that could potentially be detrimental to the tree.

I know that panic sets in and when things go south we want to move the plant, we want to water the plant, feed the plant, etc etc. We just gotta stop doing so much and keep it simple, and surely things will turn out great!

The tree is currently in full bloom right now and is really exploding in growth. I'll update this weekend.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
8 years ago
Seeing you're approaching fall where you live, repotting might not be such a good idea - unless it stays warm enough all year where you live so the plant can stay outdoors w/o limitations due to chill.

My plan for your plant, if it was mine, would include making sure the level of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil solution is as low as possible w/o inducing a deficiency. My experience tells me that if you need to go to great lengths to try to find out anything about a fertilizer's nutrient analysis, it's likely there's a reason they don't want you to know what it provides. That, and the fact that organic sources of nutrients are dependent on micro-organism populations in your soil to break the hydrocarbon chains in the fertilizer down into usable forms the plant can actually take up makes them unreliable insofar as what becomes available and when. I would use the fish fertilizer in the garden and try to find an appropriate synthetic soluble fertilizer that has all the nutrients necessary for normal growth in a favorable ratio and in a form that is already broken down into elements plants can take up w/o it being necessary for a dozen stars to be in alignment.

When next summer comes, I'd be all ready to repot into an appropriate medium. For my purposes. I wouldn't consider 3 parts of soil ( topsoil, garden soil, or commercially prepared container media would be 'avoid' list, with the exception of potting media, which can be an appropriate part of a quality mix if it's not over-represented. I'd be shooting for a mix that had much more pine bark and far less of the types of soil I mentioned. You simply can't water correctly when using a 3:1:1 mix of 3 parts soil, 1 part perlite, 1 part bark. It has too much water retention to NOT be limiting ..... and significantly so.

You can tip prune, but you should avoid significant pruning until AFTER you repot, and the best time to do that would be around the first wk of December. Until then, keep your watering closely controlled, work hard to make sure the plant gets all the light it wants, and institute a fertilizer program that ensures the plant gets what it wants when it needs it. If you can do that, your plant should start showing signs it's reversing course and gaining vitality.

That's a rough outline of what I would do. If it sounds reasonable and you need help with how to turn that plan into a reality and work it, let me know and we can delve a little deeper into particulars. I'll even provide some homework assignments that should really help you advance much faster along the trail to a green thumb.

Hava good weekend!

Al
Illona McArthur
8 years ago
Thank you sooooo much Thomas and Al, I will go do a bit of research now on which synthetic soluble fertilisers are available in my area and switch until next December when I will re-pot in the ratio you have described. Do you think I should increase my watering until I re-pot?

Any further advice on improving my green thumb is greatly appreciated. I love my indoor plants and also have a kentia palm and a lady palm. Al three of them are struggling (kentia has ongoing issues with palm scale). My lady palm was left outside during our renovation a few years ago and has taken a few years to recover though it is doing better after I repotted the same time as I repotted my fiddle leaf. Perhaps the issue with all of them will be the incorrect fertiliser.

Illona
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
8 years ago
Changing your watering schedule won't prove nearly as productive as training yourself to water on an 'as needed basis'. In order to do this, you might purchase a wooden dowel rod about as thick as a common pencil or a little thicker. Cut it in half & sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener. Stick one deep into the pot - all the way to the bottom - to test your soil for moisture levels. When it first comes out clean and dry, it's time to water. If it's wet or stained dark from wet soil, withhold water until it's drier.

You should find this basic primer that provides an overview of points that often turn into the pitfalls that most commonly beset hobby growers close to the beginning of their search for proficiency. Avoiding the pitfalls is not an insignificant plus. You'll find discussion there about soils and fertilizers that should provide you with some basics and enough information that you'll better be able to ask direct questions about areas that might be confusing.

If you focus on three areas, growing can be very easy and much more rewarding. 1) making sure the plant has ample light, 2) making sure the plant is in a quality soil, 3) making sure you have control over a well-considered nutritional supplementation plan (monkey easy if your plant is in a quality soil - extremely difficult if your plant is in an inappropriate soil.

In an extremely high % of cases, that plague of scale - mites - other insects, or diseases, or spoiled appearance of your plants can be traced to a low level of vitality that stems from a poorly functioning or diseased root system, which in turn was caused by a soil that inhibits root function or root health. You MUST be able to maintain a root system in good health if there is to be any hope of having a healthy plant.

If you find time to read the thread the link takes you to, let me know what you think, and what questions it brings to mind.

Al
Illona McArthur
8 years ago
Well I have lots of readying tonight. Thanks again Al. You are a very generous person and I am very appreciative.

I have given all my plants a good fertilise with the soluble fertiliser I bought yesterday and gave my FLF a very small prune at the top. There was a lot of white liquid that came out where I pruned - just wanted to check this is normal?
Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC)
Original Author
8 years ago
Appreciate the insight as always tapla. I will have to keep all of this is mind come next potting.

Illonam the white liquid is normal

4/4/2016
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
All of the Ficus species exude white latex sap when sap-conducting tissues are wounded. It can be a nasty irritant (is for me) for a high % of but not all growers. Try to keep that in mind so you particularly avoid rubbing your eyes, other mucus membranes, or areas where skin is tender. When I work my trees, I usually keep a spritzer of plain water on hand. A couple of squirts directly on the wound soon after the pruning cut rinses the accumulation of sap from the wound and stops additional weeping.

Illonam - did you mention what you bought (fertilizer)?

Al
Illona McArthur
8 years ago
I bought this. I hope it is OK?? Cost $20 AU which is pricey so I just hope you think it is suitable.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I'm in a chat with Yates right now to determine how P and K are reported on their packaging and to see if I can get a complete analysis that includes %s of secondary macronutrients and micronutrients. I'll let you know if I can find out from whomever I'm speaking to. (Steve)

I'm thinking it looks fine.

Edited to say: I'm waiting on an email now, with analysis from Steve @ Yates. I'll let you know after I review the info.

Al
Illona McArthur
8 years ago
Wow thanks Al, can't tell you how grateful I am.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
8 years ago
They sent the analysis & the NPK ratio is good. The fertilizer has all the essential micronutrients and lacks only the secondary macro-nutrient Ca(lcium). It's very common for soluble fertilizers to lack Ca, Mg, or both. You made a good choice.

Al
Illona McArthur
8 years ago
Lucky dip I think. This is great news. Hopefully I'll be posting a picture with some new shoots soon.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
8 years ago
Iris (8b, Vancouver, Canada)
7 years ago
Thomas, did your tree back bud on it's own or did you do something to make it happen?

Thanks!
Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC)
Original Author
7 years ago
Hey Iris, the tree back-budded all on its own. I'm really happy it went down this route and is growing back from the bottom up again. I'm assuming that's where it was strongest once it perked back up.

All of the buds and branches are stemming from the base of the old split. I'll probably leave the old branches there just to see if they'll start budding anyways. Best of luck to you
Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC)
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Thanks for the comment spjin, happy to have helped. I will definitely have to get a picture up and running again. I can definitely say that the growth has stunted. I did another repot in April 2017 with much better success this time around. I did not upsize the container, but rather replanted in a 5:1:1 mix and that probably stopped things for a bit. I can confidently say that new branches will bud and sprout from pre-existing ones. I should probably cover up the ends with some sort of putty though! I wonder if that is drying the tree out.....

I am actually slated to move at the end of this month (6/30) and am going to ask that a neighbor house the tree on their balcony for a month, since I don't move back into another unit until 8/1.

Setting a reminder now to update the post tonight!
Illona McArthur
6 years ago
Hi There,
Al helped me tremendously with my fiddle leaf a few years ago. It's now doing really well. I'm in Melbourne, Australia and it's our winter. Is this the best time to prune? I have a multistem FLF but would like to encourage height rather than bushyness
Illona
Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC)
Original Author
6 years ago
1 year, 2 months from my last post. I cut back some branches, and repotted around 2 or 3/15. It was time for new substrate as it had been about 2 1/2 years. Slowly but surely, it's growing.
spjin
6 years ago
Looks very nice!
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
6 years ago
Illona - best time for you to prune would be any time in Dec. The reason is, your tree(s) will respond much more enthusiastically if they are pruned when their level of vitality and ability to make food, which depends to a very significant degree on how much light they get, is at its highest.

When you prune, try to work it out so the thickest trunk is the tallest; then, as the trunk thickness decreases, so should height. The thinnest trunk should be shortest, then gradually increase HT in somewhat even increments. If there isn't much difference in the thickest trunks, choose the one closest to the center of the clump as the tallest.

After pruning for ht, if there are branches that extend out-of-bounds (beyond an imaginary outline you're envisioning), prune them back so they're inside the outline.

Sorry for the tardy reply. Work has been demanding much more of my time this year than in past years, so I don't get near as many opportunities to interact with folks on the forums (fora?). I do urge you to be patient and take the plant's natural rhythms under consideration whenever you have meaningful work planned. "Meaningful" work would be pruning other than pinching and repotting, which involves bare-rooting and root pruning.

Good luck! Thanks for being patient!

Al
spjin
6 years ago
Tapla, can you recommend a brand of pruning shears/clippers that I don't have to replace every couple of years? I have been buying the standard issue hardware store brands and they're always a disappointment after a little bit of use.
Charlotte Donald
6 years ago
Hi Thomas,

ive been following this post recently to answer questions about my own FLF. All seemed to be going ok, but I thought it needed a little fertiliser and then maybe a repot once the weather warms up. I added fertiliser a couple of days ago and since then the leaves have suffered terribly. I don't know if it's bacterial or the fertiliser has caused it (I sprayed it onto the foliage as well as into the soil )

anyway i will attach a couple of photo's in case you or anyone else might have any suggestions... it's gone translucent in the lighter patches of the leaves.

Cheers,

Charlotte
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
6 years ago
Uh oh! More info needed. What did you use for fertilizer, and at what concentration did you apply it?

Al
Jess
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I love this thread! Have learned so much from Al that will help me care for my FLFs. And enjoyed following Thomas's incredible journey with his tree! Thomas does your tree have a name?
Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC) thanked Jess
Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC)
Original Author
6 years ago
Charlotte,

Once you can provide Al (Tapla) the information, he'll have you back on track.

@lotuspop Thank you for the kind words, I look forwards to seeing your tree thrive. I have never thought about naming the tree, but it's something i'll surely consider. What about yours? Could use some inspiration to get me off on the right foot.

As far as the tree goes, I am going to repot the tree here within the next week. I currently have it in a 15" diameter pot and it's really at a standstill. This season I grew maybe 6-7 leaves from what I can tell. I've adjusted water habits about 5 months ago and the tree is as stable as can be. I want to try downsizing to a 10" or 12" pot, and seeking if having the tree become more compact will aid in taller growth. Fertilizing has been few and far inbetween. I repotted recently and did not want to shock the tree any more than necessary, especially with the upstart of new nutrients in the new substrate.

I'll have some new pictures this weekend, stay tuned!
Haf (MD zone 6a-6b)
6 years ago
Hi everyone! I am new to this site and I came across this thread with so much helpful knowledge and insight so I thought I'd ask. I purchased 2 beautiful little FLFs yesterday and to be honest I've been a little freaked out and overwhelmed because there is SO much information and articles out there of how to take care of them and most of them are about how to save your plants!!

So I was wondering, is there a specific place I can look on here or can anyone point me in the right direction of basic tips of how to just take care of your new plants and keep them healthy and happy? Any help would be much appreciated!! :)

Haf
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
6 years ago

A basic overview of growing habits that will allow you to avoid almost all pitfalls growers inevitably encounter if they don't make an effort to educate themselves. Plants have a 'sweet spot' when it comes to cultural conditions. Where we run into trouble and our plants suffer is when we provide cultural conditions at or near what they've been genetically programmed to tolerate.

This discussion is specifically devoted to growing Ficus trees in containers. You'll note that both discussions devote a significant measure of attention to soils and the impact soil choice has on your ability to keep plants healthy and avoid sacrificing a good deal of your plant's potential as a result of a soil that taxes your plant's vitality, growth rate, and appearance.

The average grower who doesn't spend time at fora like those here at GW/Houzz, and maybe reads a book or two they discover at a big box or supermarket checkout stand is, at some point, going to run head on into a hump they can't get beyond w/o an understanding of how container media works, and more specifically, how a water retention in container soils affects root function/health. When you realize a healthy plant isn't possible w/o a healthy root system, a light should come on and illuminate how importance soil choice is to root health. If you find the links provided above to be of value, I'll provide the link to the info about container media (soil) and water retention.

Al
Haf (MD zone 6a-6b)
6 years ago
Hi Al!

Thank you so much for all the above info, I feel more confident because I understand the basics now and how important soil choice is and how soil and water are linked to each other. Both links were very useful. My current concern is, I just bought these from Home Depot and I know it needs to be repotted (the soil feels very wet and heavy and I can see tiny roots circling the top of the plant), however it's the middle of winter. So what do I do in the meantime to keep them healthy and get them through the winter until I can repot and change soil in the spring/summer?

Haf
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
6 years ago
Ficus tends to tolerate root conditions better than most plants. I've seen plants that had been growing in 2 or 3 gallon pots so long there was only a cup or two of soil left, all the rest having gassed off over time and the near solid tangle of roots pressed into service as the root's only home. Almost always, trees like that are circling the drain. Sometimes, when the additional stress of repotting is imposed on plants so lacking in vitality, it's is enough to separate them from their tenuous hold on life, but often they can be turned around very quickly if the grower has a reasonable plan. I'm sure your plant is no where near as far gone as what I described, which is a good reason to be quite unconcerned about your trees viability for the next half year or so. As long as you don't over-water, you should be fine. So, start actually monitoring the soil's moisture levels and only water when the soil first becomes dry, or immediately before.

If you're going to continue to water in sips to avoid over-watering, and that leaves you concerned about a high level of salts in the soil, flush the soil thoroughly the next time it needs water and maybe every 6th watering after that. It would be a good idea to fertilize immediately after every flushing. If after flushing your soil gets so soggy you're worried about the impact on root health/function, there are ways to avoid that. In fact, there are an untold number of tips and tricks that will have you at green thumb status in no time, if you have the time to do some reading and assemble the pieces of the puzzle.

This link has info that should provide the largest single step forward you can take as a container gardener.

Al
Haf (MD zone 6a-6b)
6 years ago
Hi Al!

I took my time to reply because I wanted to make sure I read all the information you referred me to so I could formulate the right questions. First of all, I want to say THANK YOU for all the information you have put out there, it is so kind and generous of you to devote so much time to helping so many people!! I had NO idea of even the basics, typically you buy a plant from the store, bring it home and follow the instructions on the little card and then whatever happens happens!! I had my AHA moment here and I have gone through so many threads that I made a little 3 page cheat sheet for myself and covered topics such as soil, watering, nutrition etc with tips and info. I am SOO excited for summer when I can start to re-pot and give my plants what they actually want and need!! :) I'm going to try doing succulents again too ha!! You have literally turned me from plant killer to entertaining a new hobby :)))

So some of my concerns are:

1. Making the gritty mix soil and finding all the ingredients (I do realize this takes a lot of effort, but want to do this right now and care about the long-term health of my plants so they can flourish later)

2. Re-potting- this scares the crap out of me just thinking about messing with and cutting off roots!! Do you have something that has pictures of the step-by-step process? Or a video by any chance? And how often should it be done generally?

3. When it's time for pruning, which parts do you prune and how often and what do you do to get branches? I eventually want that tall, bare trunk with a few branches and fullness look (I will be a patient grower :))

Thanks a million and take care,

HB
Ashleigh Wilson
6 years ago
Hi all, I desperately need help saving my fiddle leaf fig!

I purchased her (Precious) about a month ago and things seemed to be going OK. I put her near the sunniest window (southern facing but we have no eastern windows). Within this time she even grew three new leaves.

I noticed several brown spots and thought I might be overwatering so held off. We also have had a heatwave so the blinds have been closed in the house and she wasn’t receiving as much sun. Within a few days I noticed she was covered in big brown/black spots and starting to lose leaves. I gave her a big dose of water and left her outside to get some light. With warm weather predicted I left her out overnight. Of course an unpredicted thunderstorm came though. I brought her back in as soon as I could and moved her to another room where the blinds could stay open. She lost 4 more leaves.

Now the worst thing happened - my dog got to her. I came home yesterday to find the whole bottom branch destroyed. My dog is ok but Precious is not - she lost 5 more leaves today.

My question now is is there anything I can do to save her? Should I cut the damaged limb?

I have attached pictures of Precious when I brought her home and today after watering. This is my first FLF so I could use all the help I can get.

Thanks in advance, Ashleigh
Dave
6 years ago
I responded to your other post.

I’d still put it right in front of the window. As close as you can get it.

Watering when only the top inch is dry is a sure sign you’re over watering.

The soil deep down is likely staying wet and you’re dealing with symptoms of root rot.

dont water on a set schedule, water as the plant needs it.

Get a wooden dowel and sharpen the ends. Stick it in the soil all the way to the bottom and pull out and inspect.

if it comes out dark, damp with soil stuck to it, don’t water.

Keep checking every day or so and only water when it comes out nearly clean and dry.
Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC)
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
2018-10-12

Alongside an elephant ear I just picked up, and a bird of paradise. Brought them into the living room for a monthly shower + leaf wipe and pest inspection. Tree is approximately 7 1/2 - 8' tall now. Spring time is just truly amazing for this tree. I gain at least a foot and it just goes crazy. I can't believe i've had this tree for around 5 years now. So grateful

Routine:

Water thoroughly once a week, typically Saturdays.

Shower once a month

Fertilize once a month or two w/ Foliage Pro 9-3-6

Wipe leaves as needed

Leave it alone.

I will be changing my watering methods from set schedule to as needed for 2019.

Sitting in a 3-1-1 mix right now. Orchid/bark potting soil, fir bark, and perlite. A bit leggy due to lighting on a north facing window (floor to ceiling). Will consider chopping the tops in 2020 or 2 years when the branches are wood and the tree is stable after a repot in late 2019, hoping to influence more backbudding or nodes. Any tips on increase back budding?

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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
5 years ago
"Any tips on increase back budding?" The tree will ramify on its own if you give it full sunlight outdoors, lots of air movement, a healthy soil that can support a healthy root system, and nutritional supplementation (fertilizer) in the luxury range. The 'luxury range' is more than it needs to survive, but less that it takes to make the tree revolt due to a high level of salts in the soil. Cutting the tree back is also a perfectly good strategy for forcing back-budding. Get the tree VERY healthy and cut back in summer so the tree responds with the enthusiasm you're looking for.

Al
Thomas (Zone 7b - NYC)
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you for your time Al. Always appreciated
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
5 years ago
My pleasure.

Al