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Fiddle leaf fig help!

7 years ago

I purchased my first FLF tree shortly before Christmas. I've been watering about once a week or so after checking the soil and misting at least once per week as I live in Michigan and as of now the humidity is relatively low. A few weeks after purchase I noticed the brownish dry spots starting on the leaves and increase misting of the leaves as I thought it may be due to low humidity in the house. Since starting with the extra misting I have noticed no change. I also wondered if it may be because it was not receiving as much bright light as it needed so I moved it into another room and the very next day the top leaves stating that droop. This is the first since I've owned the plant that the leaves have drooped. I also noticed the root bowl was still very saturated since the watering and pulled it out of the pot to help with drying it out a bit. I'm not sure what to do since the soil is still quite moist but was confused with the leaves drooping because it does not seem to need water. Help!!!

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Comments (4)

Dave
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
The brown on the leaves is from over watering.

Dont water once a week, water when the plant needs it.

Get a wooden dowel, sharpen it and stick it in the soil all the way to the bottom. If it comes out dark, damp with soil stuck to it, do not water.

Keep checking every couple days until it comes out mostly clean and dry with no soil stuck to it. Then it's time to water.

water so about 15% comes out the drain hole on the bottom. Discard the water collected in the saucer immediately.

tipping the pot 45° after watering will also help drain extra perched water.

you can also stop misting. It doesn't do anything.

Ligjt, put it right up in a front of an unobstructed southern facing window if you have one.
Mopargirl80
Original Author
7 years ago
Is the drooping leaves normal if it received too much water? What would you suggest at this point in time that would be best to help in recoverey? It has only lost about 3 leaves since I've had it and is still very full. Hoping it has a chance.
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Fiddle Leaf Fig Help. Too much or too little water?
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More people might be able to chime in with fiddle leaf fig specific advice, but some rules of thumb for watering are as follows: To know when the plant needs to be watered, use a chopstick or wooden dowel and insert it as far into the soil as you can. If it comes out wet and dirty, don't water yet. Water only when the dowel comes out clean and dry. Water the plant until about 15% of the water poured comes out of the drainage holes of the pot (good to do this in a kitchen sink), and let the plant sit for about 20 minutes so the water can finish dribbling out. When you water only a few cups at a time salts can built up in the soil. Most commercial soils are dense and water retentive, leading to plants suffering from. Consider looking into the 5-1-1 mix discussed on these forums or at least adding perlite to a commercial soil to help alleviate this.
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Fiddle Leaf Fig help
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Comments (2)
Don’t put the blinds down and move the tree right in front of the window. Don’t starve it of light. youre likely overwatering. Use a sharpened wooden dowel and stick it all the way to the bottom and pull it out. if it’s dark, damp with soil clung to it, don’t water. Chexk daily and water when it comes out clean and dry. Youre over watering currently. Don’t use gravel at the bottom of a pot. It doesn’t help drainage at all, it simply moves the soggy perched water table up higher. What type of soil? How did you go about repotting or potting up? How long have you had the plant?
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Just seems to be that you need to clean off the leaves with some lukewarm water and a drop of soap. It looks like some kind of build up on the leaves. Can't tell if it's dirt, water stains or a combination of both. You need to keep the leaves of the plant clean so photosynthesis won't be interrupted. I'd say with the dimples it's probably not enough humidity. Anytime humidity isn't high enough new growths will often be deformed, and leaves may produce dimpling. Once humidity is restored about 50% at least the deformities stop.
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svengoli123, this forum is for edible figs. Try the House Plant section and I bet they can help you over there. Good luck.
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Dave
7 years ago
Overwatering has just about the same results as underwatering.

Roots start to die and rot and can no longer pull up water from the soil. Hence the dropping of the leaves.

Takeng the plant out of the pot and setting it on newspaper overnight can help wick away some of the moisture in the soil.
Mopargirl80
Original Author
7 years ago
I pulled it out last night when I thought it may have gotten too much water. It's been sitting out of the pot for almost 24 hours now

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