There is another community-driven gardening Web site, whose name cannot be mentioned here, that has a useful feature called PlantScout, which lists online vendors for a given plant entry (species or named variety) in its PlantFiles. In addition to plant characteristics and growth conditions, the PlantFiles entries often contain many helpful practical tips and observations from site users. Doing a search for Ficus lyrata at that site, following a broken product link from a listing of vendors (one in this case), and looking around at the target vendor site brings us to a page that lists three available Fiddleleaf Ficus plants. For small vendors with broken product links it is advisable to confirm availability before ordering online. There are also vendors reviews under the Garden Watchdog feature of that gardening site (Google for the word scoop and company name). Here is a link that might be useful: Ficus lyrata at Tropical Plants & More

As with all plants that are defoliated, survival depends on the plants level of vitality at the time of defoliation. If the plant was growing robustly & had a reasonable store of energy reserves when it was defoliated, it should pull through. If it was growing at close to it's biological limits, under stress, it may not have the energy reserves to push a new flush of foliage. Time will tell. Keep the plant warm and in bright light (some photosynthesis occurs in the stem tissues of young Ficus, which is a plus). Remember that transpirational water loss will have been fractionalized, so be very cautious about over-watering. Water only when soil at the drain hole feels dry to the touch. Al

off to google Jeff Searles....thanks cear! starry-you know...I have been finding that out over the years. It is very disappointing! Hi walli! Good to see you again. I have not been here in awhile. Got my spanish moss hanging from my trees...still envious of all yours up there in deLand! Ok, so, you are saying home depot in delray? I definitely want it as an indoor houseplant. I want a nice woven basket pot...going for that "1970s" vibe in my 1970s ranch house we are renovating! I mean...we aren't putting in orange shag carpeting or wood paneling or avocado colored appliances, lol...just like a little sprinkling of that look. :) thanks again guys...post if you see this tree anywhere in particular...I am going to call the HD in Delray.

You're using the dowel correctly. Water when it first comes out dry. I will begin fertilizing per your recommendations--additional info to ensure I am using a good fertilizing regimen would be helpful. I'm not sure how often I should fertilize, and how that will change when the plants go dormant, and when that may be...I would expect that in October they would be at the end of their growing season, but they have both put out two new leaves in the last few weeks. They won't go completely dormant, but they will become largely quiescent or at rest but growing slowly. How fast they grow depends primarily on light levels, temperatures, and nutrition. If you invest in a container of Foliage-Pro 9-3-6, you won't need anything else. Did you read the link I left above about how to deal with water-retentive soils? My plan would be to flush the soil thoroughly asap, then fertilize with a full recommended solution of the FP 9-3-6. It makes more sense by far to tie your fertilizing frequency to your watering frequency. If you continue to water in sips for the winter, flush the soil every 6th time you water and fertilize right after with a full recommended dose. Using a full dose when the soil is still saturated means there won't be a full strength concentration in the soil solution because of all the water already in the soil. People that simply recite the advice that you shouldn't fertilize in winter usually tell you that the plant doesn't need fertilizer because it's not growing, but nutrients are used by the plant to keep its systems orderly and do more than grow, so your plant needs a full compliment of nutrients in the soil all year long. The plan I just laid out will help you maintain the proper ratio of nutrients at an appropriate concentration and prevent the ratio of nutrients (each to the others) from becoming out of balance, which can very quickly become a serious issue if you're watering in sips. More on flushing the soil if you actually plan on following that advice. You'll also find plenty of good info that will help turn your plant around if you follow the link. Speaking of, the plant that put out the deformed leaf is now producing leaves with holes...at first I feared it was pests, but it looks like they are just developing with holes in them. Would this be caused by the same water/fertilizing issues we've discussed? Very commonly, dry air causes a leaf of F lyrata to stick to itself before it unfurls. As the leaf opens, the 'stuck together' part often tears, leaving split leaves, or if the entire piece of tissue that's stuck to another part of the leaf's surface pulls free - a hole. This is very common in leaves that unfurl in winter when humidity is VERY low or in leaves that are in a cool, air-conditioned environment - especially if the cooled air blows over the plant. There are some nutritional issues that can cause weak or dead spots in the tissues of young leaves, but getting on a sound fertilizing schedule should put a stop to that. Al