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House Plants Design Dilemma garden

Fiddle leaf fig - weird roots and how to manage?

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

I just potted up my fiddle leaf fig on April 20th 2018 (from 10" to 14" grow pot). The ficus was pretty root bound (you can see in the photo) so I mashed up and untangled the root ball and potted up in new soil I got from the local nursery.

Root bound 10" from April 20 just before potting up:

root bound ficus 10” grow pot · More Info

Current status: I don't see any dropped leaves or changes in the leaves, so it's presumably tolerating the transplantation ok. To be honest, I've basically neglected the ficus after potting up due to work/travel. Came home today and noticed a few new leaves which is encouraging.

Found three new leaves before its shower:

My Seattle Condo · More Info

More new leaves:

My Seattle Condo · More Info

Problem and question: I found all these (new?) roots circling the perimeter already, and it's only been one month since potting up. I think some roots are even grabbing onto the moss I put on top of the soil, which didn't happen previously in the old grow pot. I hope this isn't a sign of a problem (bad soil? not enough water? too much water? too much neglect?). I leave the country again in a few hours, so if it's a soil issue I'll try to fix it as soon as I return in a week and a half.

These look like new roots?

My Seattle Condo · More Info

Roots circling the rim:

My Seattle Condo · More Info

Root tips poking out:

My Seattle Condo · More Info

I put the ficus back in the same place after the shower:

May 23 2018 · More Info

Last question: I don't think the roots around the rim are really getting any water or nutrients...should I just peel them off the rim and push them into/under the soil? Something tells me it's just going to do the same thing and I'll find roots around the rim when I return...

Featured Answer

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

Mmhmm ....... this must be one of the smarter trees:

Perfect spelling, too. Notice how it avoided using a pencil ......... Good thinking, that.

Al

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Comments (16)

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
5 years ago
When people bring 'sick' plants over for evaluation, I almost always inspect the roots. It's very common to find the center of the soil mass nearly completely devoid of roots, and what roots there are, circling the inside surface of the pot's wall. This occurs when soils are left soggy for extended periods, so the only part of the pot where roots get an adequate O2 supply is at the interface between soil mass and the pot wall.

Not sure where you live, but mid-June is the best time to do a full repot for most of the N hemisphere, so I'd perform an actual repot. Plan this to include sawing off the bottom 1/3-1/2 of the roots, bare-rooting, correcting problem roots, and a soil replacement with a medium that allows you to water correctly. After the repot, I'd refine how I water and fertilize.

Al
miss lindsey (She/Her)
5 years ago
In addition to Al's advice, I just wanted to mention that plants are really smart. Smarter than we can quantify. Those roots have learned that they have to grow in a circle, so that's what they are doing.
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Hello Kitty
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks! I might repot again when I return. I was worried about the oxygenation bit and perhaps that’s why they were appearing on the rim and the surface, though I’d also expect to see them crawl out the draining holes too (where you’d expect higher oxygen tension) but I guess plants don’t always behave as you’d predict.

I admit I am worried that the plant will do poorly if I pull it out again AND trim its roots. It almost seems I will subject the plant to too much shock just a month after potting it up.

In the absence of any signs of leaf damage or stalled growth, is the appearance of these roots concerning enough to pull the trigger? I’ll definitely reassess the plant when I return. Grateful for advice all.
Ekor Tupai
5 years ago
It's normal for root of a ficus tree. When it have a chance, some roots will start growing very fast try to find their way down to the ground. Normal smaller roots are filling up available space in pot slowly just like usual. That character made ficus seeds able to sprout on the roof. They able to send few roots fast down to reach soil when it have a chance. Ficus roots are unique.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
5 years ago
It's not that plants are smart or have learned to do something in a particular manner. Plants are reactive organisms and respond predictably to a wide variety of stimuli. Roots in particular, are opportunists. Most growers willingly believe that roots 'go out in search of water and nutrients', but what drives root growth and colonization of soils is much simpler than that. Roots grow where conditions are favorable, and don't grow where conditions are not. Roots are not capable of growing through any significant amount of unfavorable conditions, even if root heaven awaits their arrival just on the other side.

Al
Hello Kitty
Original Author
5 years ago
I think Lindsey’s anthropomorphism of roots was just figurative speech for the organism’s response and adaptation to external pressure. No worries.

So if I don’t see any signs of leaf damage or stalled growth when I return, do you think it is advisable to move forward to repot and trim the roots given the appearance of these roots? Or leave well enough alone? I see risks to both that is why I’m asking...thanks!
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Root congestion becomes a significant negative about the time the root/soil mass has reached the point it can be lifted from the soil intact. Once the plant has reached this state at any time in its life, the root issues must be corrected, or the grower should be ready to accept the limitations that accompany root congestion. Your plant is already at or beyond that stage, and I suspect you'll find severe congestion at the center of the root/soil mass. It's always your call insofar as what you'd like to do, but it sounds like your efforts were much closer to potting up than a repot. Potting up isn't very stressful, so I wouldn't be too concerned about piling stress on stress. It's a certainty that as the congestion increases over the next year, the limitations will also increase in intensity. On the other hand, if you wait until summer '19, your plant won't have suffered severely. The entire mulberry family, of which Ficus is a member, all handle root congestion better than most trees in pots, but they're not immune to its effects.

Al
Hello Kitty
Original Author
5 years ago
My original plan was to pot up this year (done) and trim the roots next year. I don’t plan on potting up anymore because I like the current size of the grow pot. I live in a high rise condo with size limitations. But if the appearance of these roots suggest really bad damage will occur (or worse yet, are occurring) sooner than the planned repot next year, I will certainly pull the tree up and investigate. Obviously if I return to see edematous or dead leaves I’ll take action immediately. Just not sure about taking immediate action in the absence of changes in foliage growth or appearance - there are so many things the naked eye can’t see on the cellular level and below the soil. But again, my favorite mentor’s advice also resonates with me: “Don’t just do something, stand there!”
Hello Kitty
Original Author
5 years ago
To clarify, the first picture I posted was before potting up. I lifted that root mass from its 10” grow pot and took a photo. After that, I loosened the soil from the root ball and untangled the roots, and placed it back in a 14” grow pot. That was one month ago. When I tried pulling the tree up by the trunk yesterday before watering, I’m unable to pull the entire soil mass up like I was able to one month ago before potting up. Currently it is not completely or as severely root bound as it was in the first photo.
miss lindsey (She/Her)
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Lol, I absolutely mean that plants have an active intelligence. Just because I can't understand their "thought" process fully doesn't mean it doesn't occur.

Humans believing that we are the only creatures that think and learn has caused more than a few problems on earth.

"Plants are reactive organisms and respond predictably to a wide variety of stimuli."

Substitute "humans" for "plants" and that statement is still true!
somegu7
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Recently i watched a documentary about plants intelligence. Turns out in a forest different plants communicate between each other, warn each other of danger, even help each other out, share resources so on.

@Hello on topic, i would suggest to remove the moss. it keeps the moisture inside.
miss lindsey (She/Her)
5 years ago
Great book:

https://www.amazon.ca/Hidden-Life-Trees-Communicatex2014-Discoveries/dp/1771642483?th=1&psc=1&source=googleshopping&locale=en-CA&tag=googcana-20&ref=pd_sl_9tk7tgxvcm_e
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
5 years ago
HP - sorry I missed your post above. If it was my tree, given the clarification you offered in your last post, I'd almost certainly wait until Jun of '19 to repot; not because I'd be concerned about the stress, but because it just isn't a particularly pressing issue yet.

When your tree gets seriously root bound, you'll be able to see the reduction in branch extension as internodes shorten, and your tree will tend to lose more and more of the most proximal foliage on branches, leaving your foliage out at the tips of long branches.

If you're considering any serious (hard) pruning, this (June of '18) would be the year for it.

Al
Ekor Tupai
5 years ago
In my opinion, plant behavior is not kind of intelegent. It's programmed, like a machine, so it's predictable. The problem is, science only uncover some, not all.. yet, so what we can predict so far are all just base on present knowledge.
Hello Kitty
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks for the tip about hard pruning Al. Just returned and it seems the plant is doing ok. More new leaves...the roots are definitely growing quite fast. Impressive root system.

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