I potted up, it came in a pretty small plastic container and the roots seemed like they were really packed in. When I removed it from the original container I tried to loosen up the roots before placing it in some indoor potting mix, but maybe I should have done more to un-clump or perhaps have even trimmed them? The pot has a drain hole and I've been watering about once a week, but never more. I was nervous after reading an article about how to save a fiddle leaf fig that cautioned against under watering and said there should always be some water/moisture in the drain plate, so I watered slightly more than I usually do last week. Also the title was just a joke, I'm aware it's all my fault and not the plants haha

Hello, About a month ago, I received this small fiddle leaf fig (FLF) as a gift from a friend! It is placed near a large south-facing window, but is not right beside the window because it is a bit drafty near there. She gets a lot of sunlight throughout the day and I water only when the soil is dry to slightly moist (I check by sticking a dowel in the soil). When I first received it, I also noticed that most of its leaves were curling in-wards and felt stiff (pic #1 and 2), in comparison to some of the more "supple" and leafy-like ones I've seen on other FLFs. It's been about a month or so and it has grown two new leafs, which are quite supple and green, but not the deep dark green of its fellow leaves. I've also started noticing small brown spots on the underside of a couple of leaves (pic # 3 and 4). The weather has been on the cooler side (I live in Southern Ontario, Canada and winter is ending. So far, the weather in March/April has ranged from snow to rain/cold to cool). The air has been quite dry this winter, but during summer it gets very humid (July and Aug, especially). I'm aware that FLFs are notorious drama queens (I had a previous one that dropped all its leaves after bringing it home, no matter how much love I gave it), and I really don't want this one to die! I guess I'm wondering if the "curling" leaves are normal and if there is anything else I can do to stop the brown spots from spreading? Thank you for any assistance! Pic #1 Pic #2 Pic #3 Pic #4

Looks a lot like photo-oxidation (sunburn). Is all the damage facing the same direction, as though it might have been caused by excessive light? The necrotic areas of the leaves can't be fixed. It will gradually dry until crispy and be a part of the leaf until it's shed. It definitely wants a full repot, which is much more involved than potting up. BTW - that plants will pout until they have 'adjusted to their new surroundings' is a horticultural myth, and I JUST finished talking about that topic on this thread. Al

Did you use a medium specifically formulated for potted plants - a potting medium? Inexpensive water meters are rather useless as they measure electrical conductivity, not moisture levels, ....... better to use a wooden 'tell'. It's pretty apparent you have an issue related to over-watering and the lack of oxygen that accompanies it. There is no way to determine if the root system is compromised by a pathogen w/o examining it. Look for dark, rotten roots or roots from which the outer covering slides off easily. At a minimum, you need to make sure you have watering under control. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al