Fiddle Leaf Fig Repot?
Ellen Bshaw
3 years ago
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Ellen Bshaw
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoRelated Discussions
Have four fiddle leaf figs to repot and looking for advice re design
Comments (23)Thanks Al! I'm sure I'll be asking you advice again when it comes time to shape them-- I have no eye for that :) I kept the roots super wet so I'm hoping they don't go through too much shock. Put them as out of the sun as I could on the balcony :) Thanks again!...See MoreFiddle Leaf Fig- repotting or potting up?
Comments (32)Some things to consider: * I don't know what USDA zone you're in, but your plant is right next to the radiator. As the radiator warms the room air, the relative humidity of the newly warmed air drops precipitously, so much so that the air becomes drier than the air in the Sahara Desert ...... and this holds true even if you have a humidifier in the room. So that's a problem. * Your plant is in a cache pot. If you're not emptying the cache pot every time you water, your plant is sitting in the salt-laden effluent (waste water) that exits the drain hole. This is a problem on several fronts. It causes soil saturation that leads to drought stress; it causes an increase in dissolved solids (salts) that makes water uptake and movement throughout the plant difficult; it raises media pH; and it compounds the low relative humidity issue in the immediate vicinity of the radiator. At a minimum, your plant's pot should sit above any effluent collecting in the cache pot. * Dave asked, "How often and how much are you watering? How are you insuring its time to water?" The question is so important it's worthy of repeating, so I'll ask that you answer, too; and, I suggest you read about using a "tell" to "tell" you when it's time to water. More on that below. * The symptoms aren't consistent with what minor stress might be associated with a move. Generally, leaf loss due to a new home is related only to the leaf loss that might occur as a result of diminished photo load (light intensity, or in some cases - duration of exposure), though a move during cold weather can be immediately damaging such that leaf loss might occur within 1-2 weeks. Low temps and especially sudden exposure to cold drafts often causes leaf loss within a week or two, but usually leaves are still green when they fall - unless they showed necrotic areas before exposure to chill. This should be helpful (click link). 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 after repot to gritty mix. Help!
Comments (0)So two weeks ago I did a repotted my FLF into Al's gritty mix. I realize that it is late in the season for a repot but my fig seemed to be circling the drain already and I felt this was my last resort. I live in west Texas and I repotted outside during a mild day (mid 80's) and stayed in the shade. The roots were kept moist the whole time and not allowed to dry out. This was my first repot and root trimming was a learning experience to say the least. Well, the leaves are now drooping and the tree looks even worse than it did before! Is there any chance the tree will come back? I hope so because I love it and want it to live so badly! Could this just be shock from the repotting? Is there anything I can do to give it a better chance at life? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks! Albany Here is a picture of my sad tree today......See MoreFiddle leaf fig: trimmed root ball, wait and see before defoliating?
Comments (6)I'd keep the old leaves until they're shed naturally, and prune off quite a bit from the 2 main branches. Here's why. At some point, you're going to have to do some hard pruning in order to ensure you get back-budding as low on the tree as you need to make the composition look best. When you pinch or prune, the dormant buds most likely to be activated are those immediately proximal to the pinch or pruning cut. If you bite the bullet and do it now, you won't have to do it later. All you'll need to do from here forward is pinch branches back to 2 leaves once they have 3 mature leaves on them, and remove excess branches. There's nothing sacrilegious about pruning off growth the tree's already paid for if it improves the tree's appearance or even the the potential for enhanced appearance. I make pruning decisions on a regular basis that would make most hobby growers cringe, but it's a necessity if I'm to complete the vision I have for the tree as far as 10 years down the road. It's far more the rule than the exception that most growers are exceedingly reluctant to remove growth they've watched with awe as it came into existence. I get it, having had the same feelings myself. I think, once a grower understands how much and what precise control (s)he has over how the plant CAN look, that feeling of trepidation goes away. It's very much the same with root pruning. When, about 15 years ago on these fora, I first started drawing a very clear delineation between the results of potting up vs repotting, and the methodology involved, I was widely considered clinically crackers .... not quite so much these days. Al...See MoreEllen Bshaw
3 years agoKarenS, NYC
3 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
3 years agoEllen Bshaw
3 years agoKarenS, NYC
3 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
3 years agoEllen Bshaw
3 years agoEllen Bshaw
3 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
3 years agoEllen Bshaw
3 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
3 years ago
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)