Hi, so apparently you are THE MAN to consult;) (and happy birthday btw) ... So after searching for non pricey Fiddle Leaf Ficus's for months ( not happy with amazons options reviews), even talking with one of Home depot's Houston horticulture experts to try to ship me a tree straight from the Florida farm they use for purchase I just happened to check once at HD now prime season and was so blown away when I saw a few of their FLF "bush's" in stock for $9.99 and bought the two healthiest looking of the four they had just glad they were at least much taller and 1/3 of the price of what seems available online. Granted only one of the plants looked healthy from my non trained eye. Anyhow my main questions right now are 1. Being in Houston TX, Should I keep them outside (south facing backyard of my house / with east facing patio available now for any Amt partial shade after 11am/ not sure how much direct light is too much?!?)or inside by a window facing northeast or south east ( would like FLF both rooms/ places eventually) 2. Should I repot them immediately or let them settle in this new climate your recommending first 3. I'm reading its prime season to repot/ prune/ etc now here in my climate... Clearly one of these plants more than the other has very unhappy leaves... Should/ can I remove these immediately ( diseased?) or should I leave for overal trunk health for X? Amt of time. Does this type of pruning factor In to if I repot now vs a few months? 4. Being new to all of this, And even after reading thru many of your educational links regarding this, I want to confirm that if I buy a commercial soil or even do a easy mixture myself that cactus/ succulent potting mix with reptibark/ or purlite mixed in is good? Thanks for your expert advice I really appreciate it!

Hi Dave, I should've been more specific: I read his advice and decided that I wanted to repot with root pruning and the gritty mix or 5-1-1 in spring. But since the roots were overgrown I decided I needed to get the FLF into a different pot, so I sort of potted up but during the process cut the roots from the bottom 1/3 and perimeter. I wasn't really sure what soil to put it in since I was basically just keeping it in the nursery soil and adding more soil to the bottom and sides (that's why I said 2 different soils). I thought this would be OK until I repotted. I did the "repot" in September and am from Chicago. Thanks for your input! I hope it's just overwatering.

Congrats on taking the plunge, Ellen. I hope the patients recovery is a speedy one! Please check back in after a few weeks time to let us know how things are progressing ..... or sooner, if you think there's anything to be concerned about. Best luck! Al

I would repot it in new and sterile soil. That means rooting out as much of the old and very likely contaminated soil as possible and a much of the dead roots as possible, scrubbing the pot down and carefully repotting it totally with clean and fresh potting soil. The sooner this is done the better, and it would not hurt to down size the pot a bit either, but only a little. A plant this size needs enough weight in the pot to keep it from over balancing, but that will be a concern only later if the new roots take. Do not try to save the root ball in tact; it is very likely full of rot. You will also have to prop up the plant to keep it upright, since it will no longer have a solid root base to hold it. Water it carefully once and sit back and wait to see if it sprouts new roots. Do not let the interior of the pot dry out; so you will have to be very careful to water sufficiently but sparingly... (That is an art!) You will loose leaves perhaps most of them, but what you will be watching for is breaking buds on the branch tips. Ficus in general reroot very well and quite easily; so you have a chance to save this plant. But you will not have the same well leafed out specimen that you thought you were buying. They also sprout quite easily when cut back and their cuttings tend to take quite easily as well. So if you save this one you will have a mother plant to play with and take cuttings from. FWIW there is usually a very good reason that some specimens are left to last. Normally they are inferior or damaged in one way or another. No guarantee for something as expensive as that size ficus is another red flag. OTOH saving one like that gives a certain amount of well earned satisfaction. :-) I hope you got a discount at the register... Good luck.