Don't read this as snotty, because it's not - it;s your tree, so do whatever you feel comfortable with. If it was my tree, I'd go all the way, bite the bullet & completely bare root so I can remove offending roots in the middle of the root mass. Those are limiting your plant now or will be in the future. There is no way around that fact other than by getting into the roots and correcting the problem. This offers the advantage of making it much easier to prune roots in subsequent sessions. If you decide to go forward with the bare-rooting, I can offer more specific help or refer you to threads where I advised others on the same procedure. You can always change the objective if you think it's going to be more than you're willing to handle & only do part of the work. I've worked on a LOT of trees where the roots were too contorted and intertwined to completely correct in one session, but I eventually manage to completely bare root everything I grow that's woody. Ficus love the heat, but they don't especially like their root temperatures much above 90* - or their growth slows dramatically. You'll probably be ok to go ahead now if you shade the plant, even if temperatures are higher than 90* - the evaporative cooling from the moisture in the soil will lower soil temps 10-15% below ambient if the pot is shaded. W/o seeing your tree, I'm guessing that if it's in a 10 gallon pot now, when your done repotting it could probably go back in a 5 gallon pot. Certainly 10 gallons is more than enough to sustain what you describe (unless I'm missing something) for many years. Please be sure not to over-pot - especially if you're using a peat-based commercially prepared soil. While there are things you can do to help deal with an overly water retentive soil, it's better for the plant if you don't have to. Al

Oh, golly. I wish I'd've known you were going to flush the soil. You can unpot the plant after flushing and set it in the tub/shower on a stack of newspapers/ paper bags/ old towels/ anything absorbant. This will pull/ wick the excess water out of the root mass. You can then used a wick (see fig 'E' below) and other tips you can find here (click on link) to reduce the amount of water the soil will retain after a thorough watering. If you repot now, your plant will probably suffer a much longer recovery time than it would if you wait until summer to start the work. You should learn to work with your plants' best interest in mind by synchronizing your work with the plants natural rhythms so the plant is better able to tolerate the indignities you'll heap on it in the name of providing it with the cultural conditions it needs to realize as much of it's genetic potential as possible. That's your main job, you know? - identifying and eliminating to the greatest degree possible, those things that are limiting your plant. Our ability to do that is what defines our proficiency as growers. Al

I would repot your Fiddle Leaf Fig with new good quality potting soil and into a slightly bigger pot with drainage holes. A clay type pot is better than plastic. Make sure your Fig isn’t being exposed to hot air from a vent and turn the plant every now and then so that it gets even light

Hi Ken - thanks for the response. I'm not 100% sure if it's bacterial. I was scouring the web and it was suggested that it could be. Definitely not trying to lead anybody down a wrong path! I'm a beginner. Any help will be appreciated. I believe the oldest leaves are at the bottom. A neighbor was about to throw this out. I decided to keep it since it only had 1 or 2 brown spots. But since then brown spots just multiplied. I replanted and added new potting soil. It is kept indoors in our covered patio. I have a water meter and water when it is close to dry at the base - I try to avoid touching the leaves. The plant is currently in a black planter. Here is a picture of the whole plant.