Any Pruning Advice for Ficus Lyrata (Fiddle Leaf Fig)
I have a multi-branch FLF that I've had for one year. It did well initially in a room with a large skylight. I later moved it into my living room next to a East-facing window and it seemed OK until sometime in the winter many of the leaves turned brown on the edges and dropped off. (I live in California). I don't know exactly what happened...I possibly overwatered it or it didn't have enough surrounding humidity. It's stabilized in the spring and is growing a lot but only on one side – the right side facing the window. It's been growing quickly in that direction and the leaves there are HUGE. I'm worried if I leave it, it will just continue going in this direction only and the plant will tip over eventually. I'm wondering if I should prune the right branch, and if so, at which physical point of the right branch and when is the best time? Also, if it's only growing toward the light, does that mean it doesn't have enough light and will just grow only that direction again after I prune it? I could always relocate it so it has overhead light, but I'd like to keep it in its current location if possible. All the pics are from today, except the last photo is from one year ago when I first got it.
Today - 3 main branches, right branch growing.
Brown edges on many leaves, most of the brown edged leaves already fell. These are the ones that have remained for a few months.
Original shape
Comments (14)
6 years ago
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Advice for my Fiddle Leaf Fig (Ficus Lyrata)
Comments (5)Hello, l need some help please. I recieved my fig a bit over 14 years ago. God love its heart it has been through 3 moves and one repotting. It has 11 trunks and is approximately 6 and a half feet tall. All the trunks are skinny and I have most of them bound to a stake, and it is still leaning. I would like to straighten it up. I had this weird idea of pulling all the trunks together and using gardening tape and starting at the bottom taping them all together to create one trunk. Please dont be horrfied, I dont have many plants and reallyhave no training. This one is special to me and would really appreciate some help to make it a healthy and attractive house plant. I live in north Alabama and it currently sitting on the back porch. Thank you in advance....See MoreLots Of small brown Dots on fiddle leaf fig - Ficus lyrata
Comments (52)The larger holes/damage in the small leaf you're holding look like mechanical injury - what would be akin to a bruise to a human. The spots on the underside of the leaf are oedema. I've written about that & I'll leave something about it at the end of my post. Usually the driving cause behind its occurrence is over-watering, but there are several cultural contributes that can also cause or exacerbate the malady. Using a "tell" to tell you when it's time to water will help you determine what moisture conditions are deeper in the pot. I'll also leave something about that, below. If you have interest, there are some other things that can help alleviate the impact of excess water, which causes a dearth of air in the soil, which causes limited root function and poor root health. Just ask if you have interest. FWIW, I'd guess that over-watering is directly or indirectly responsible for the overwhelming % of requests for help on all fora with strong connections to container growing. Oedema Oedema is a physiological disorder that can affect all plants. It occurs when the plant takes up more water than it can rid itself of via the process of transpiration. The word itself means 'swelling', which is usually the first symptom, and comes in the form of pale blisters or water-filled bumps on foliage. Under a variety of circumstances/cultural conditions, a plant's internal water pressure (turgidity) can become so high that some leaf cells rupture and leak their contents into inter-cellular spaces in leaf tissue, creating wet or weepy areas. Symptoms vary by plant, but as the malady progresses, areas of the leaf turn yellow, brown, brown with reddish overtones or even black, with older damage appearing as corky/ scaly/ ridged patches, or wart/gall-like bumpy growth. Symptoms are seen more frequently in plants that are fleshy, are usually more pronounced on the underside of leaves, and older/lower leaves are more likely to be affected than younger/upper leaves. Oedema is most common in houseplants during the winter/early spring months, is driven primarily by excessive water retention in the soil, and can be intensified via several additional cultural influences. Cool temperatures, high humidity levels, low light conditions, or partial defoliation can individually or collectively act to intensify the problem, as can anything else that slows transpiration. Nutritional deficiencies of Ca and Mg are also known contributors to the malady. Some things that can help you prevent oedema: * Increase light levels and temperature * Monitor water needs carefully – avoid over-watering. I'd heartily recommend a soil with drainage so sharp (fast) that when you to water to beyond the saturation point you needn't worry about prolonged periods of soil saturation wrecking root health/function. Your soil choice should be a key that unlocks the solutions to many potential problems. * Avoid misting or getting water on foliage. It slows transpiration and increases turgidity. * Water as soon as you get up in the AM. When stomata close in preparation for the dark cycle, turgidity builds. If you water early in the day, it gives the plant an opportunity to remove (for its own needs) some of the excess water in the soil. * Put a fan in the room or otherwise increase air flow/circulation. Avoid over-crowding your plants. 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 air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support good root health, which is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to a build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil, 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...See MoreFiddle Leaf Fig (Ficus Lyrata) leaf issues
Comments (11)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...See MoreAdvice on newly acquired fiddle leaf fig tree (ficus lyrata)
Comments (7)G - what Dave said. I always tell people considering marginal (timing) repots to consider whether or not they think the tree is likely to expire before June next when deciding whether or not to repot. Usually, the answer is pretty clear, but not always. Given the number of ficus that accompany their owners to this and other forum pages in search of relief of the suffering caused by soils that retain too much water, I think we can say that ficus are picky about water and how they are watered. It really can't be seen any other way. I'll explain after I redundantly note at the risk of being redundant, the number of people that have watering issues with ficus (hundreds and hundreds on this forum alone on an annual basis) is a pretty clear indication that the little snots are just looking for an opportunity to pitch a fit and toss their leaves about the room if you get the watering wrong. If when we water a portion of the soil remains saturated, it limits root function - no air for the roots occupying saturated soil = limited root function. That can't be argued ...... sort of like, 'run a marathon while breathing through a drinking straw, expect to come in last'. Any doubters? ..... and peat does have lots of nutrients locked in the hydrocarbon chains that make up the particles. It's just that those hydrocarbon chains aren't easy for soil biota to cleave. IOW, peat doesn't break down fast enough in containers to provide all the nutrition a plant needs. That's why they invented fertilizers - so we could apply them not to heavily and not too lightly, ratherly, just rightly. Al...See MoreRelated Professionals
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Thanks AI! If I go ahead and prune the non-leader branches, I was thinking of only doing these two branches at the points indicated "Cut 1" and "Cut 2" because those are the only ones with more than two leaves. Is that the right way to do it? Or should I also cut the other small branches that have only two leaves? I assume the tree needs some leaves to sustain itself, but maybe not?
- 6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoJocelyn thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
- 6 years ago
- 6 years ago
- 6 years ago
AI, thanks for the additional guidance! Before I make the cuts, I want to make sure I understand "pinch (prune) the branch immediately distal to the second leaf". In this picture which is of the right side of the tree, does that mean I prune only new branch 2 and not new branch 1? Or do you mean to prune both new branches, just above the second leaf of each branch? Also, there was one branch on the tree that I didn't prune last time (3 months ago) because it only had 2 leaves, but now it grew 3 more. Should I go ahead and prune those now too? Thanks!
- 6 years ago
Ideally, you want to terminate a branch's ability to extent by removing the apex, aka the apical meristem, which is located near the very distal (farthest from the trunk or root to shoot transitional zone at the base of the trunk) end of the branch, before it wastes a lot of energy on growing longer, only to have you cut it back hard later. Example: imagine a new branch that is extending. It will quickly (in plant time) grow so long it is well out of bounds of what you would consider to be a reasonable outline for your tree. If you let it extend until it has 5 or 6 leaves on it before you cut it back, two things could happen. A) if you have lost a leaf or two close to the trunk on the branch you plan to prune, when you cut the branch back to 2 leaves, you're actually cutting it back to the 4th node distal to the branch or trunk it's attached to. This means the new branches that form in are going to be much longer than ideal. You want the next order of branching to occur as close as possible to the point where the branch is attached to the trunk or a lower order branch. B) allowing the branch to grow a lot of leaves you're only going to cut off when you prune is inefficient use of the tree's energy allotment. Pinch or prune early, before your branches have shed any leaves, and the energy that would have been wasted when you cut off an overly long branch will be devoted to the formation of new branches, as you have seen. These you will retain as a permanent part of the tree's o/a mass.
This is an image of the growth habit of a trailing coleus:
I've done a little bit of pinching around the top of the planting, See how the branches keep extending?
See below how careful pinching can change the growth habit of another trailing coleus, and then a duck-foot variety that tends to sprawl:
The result of pinching is predictable, and pinching is a tool that should be used early and often for a huge % of the plants we grow that tend to get to the stage where the average grower considers the plant to be out of control.
Understanding this concept represents the difference between who has control over how the plant grows - better you than the plant. I frequently talk about the different planes on which we interact with our plants. Knowing how to pinch/prune is definitely one of those things that tends to raise the plane and increase the personal satisfaction that comes from growing things.
If you don't understand something re pinch/prune, please make sure you keep asking questions until it's clear in your mind. It's an important part of your skill set.
AlJocelyn thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a) - 6 years ago
- 6 years ago
- 4 years ago
Hi AI, Thank you for your help two years ago!! It has changed my relationship with my plants. I just wanted to update you on my focus lyrata and ask some more questions. It’s been growing well and is better proportioned that before but I skipped pruning last year and now branches A and B are growing a lot faster than the others bc they are closer to the sunlight which is a skylight. Branch D is moderate grower, E and F are toward the wall and not growing much - I think A and B may be shading them. Branch C has no leaves anymore. It used to have a couple but they fell off. That branch is totally shaded. My question is how many branches should I prune? All of them or only A and B, the big growers? Do I prune all the way down to two leaves again? Also, when I prune, is there a direction or exact placement of the cut I should do to encourage branching in one direction vs another? Just trying to figure out how to prevent shading of other branches...but maybe that’s due to the sunlight direction? And would you just cut off Branch C since there are no leaves, and if so, where do I make the cut? Thank you so much for your advice.
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
Hi AI,
Thanks for the advice! I will go ahead and prune back to a bowl outline and tip prune the ones that are in bounds. I just want to clarify, when you say "...remove every leaf on the tree except the last (most distal) leaf on each branch" do you mean actually just cut off / break off all the leaves on each branch except the most distal like in this picture? Cut where it says "cut" and keep the most distal leaves circled and then remove all the leaves with Xs? Will that make leaves grow on the lower part of the branch again? Or will all the new growth be at the top?
JocelynOriginal Author