Help with dried up Fiddle-leaf Fig
Ольга Минаева
9 months ago
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Ольга Минаева
9 months agoRelated Discussions
Green Dried Leaves on Fiddle Leaf Fig
Comments (0)I bought a fiddle leaf fig for the office about three weeks ago. It was re potted in a bigger pot at the nursery with a high quality organic soil. The fig gets moderate indirect light at this time of year and I have been supplementing it with a type of "grow" light. The first couple of days it was fine and now it's leaves are drying but not turning brown at a rapid rate. Any suggestions?...See MoreFiddle Leaf Fig/Ficus Lyrata lower leaf growth/pruning HELP!!
Comments (9)If it were mine and I wanted it pretty much the way it is now, single stem with a bushy top, I would cut it back below the branches on each prong of the 'trident'. Put it outside in partial shade for a couple weeks to acclimate, and then move to full sun. Ficus back bud easily, and full sun will encourage this. Once new growth is under way, move into part shade so as not to produce sun leaves, which will not like being moved into a relatively dark house for winter. Ficus are known to drop their leaves if a shadow passes over them lol. If you want a bushy plant that branches near the soil line, you can cut the main stem to 6-12 inches, and proceed as above. There is a chance, however slight, that the plant will not like being chopped on and turn up it's toes, but I think it's a chance worth taking considering the state the plant is in now....See MoreHelp for Fiddle Leaf Fig- spider mites and leaf drop
Comments (4)Thank you so much for responding (and for talking me off the ledge!) Sorry I wasn't being clear...I have not yet repotted and was waiting until June to do so. I haven't examined the soil closely, but once when I was lifting/transporting the tree to water it, the pot just fell off the plant onto to the ground. it did make some mess but the potting medium pretty much held together in the shape of the pot. So, I'd say at least "old" if not "bad" soil? Should I look at the roots more closely and if so, what am I looking for? (And what would I do if I found it?) If this guy does survive, I will summon up the courage to repot hopefully in Al's 5:1:1 in June if I can manage to find all the right ingredients (been working on that for some time.) Very nervous to repot something this size. I did spray all the other bigger plants in the house and will now do the rest of them (and this one) once a week...thank you! I knew they traveled from plant to plant....but, hitch a ride on me? I might never sleep again knowing that...lol. Also, I haven't fertilized at all--I know I've read somewhere on this Forum that it's good to do a weaker Foliage Pro all year(?) but I wasn't sure if I should just initiate that at this time of year--even at a weaker strength, much less when the plant is stressed? I'm thinking I should wait for new growth to start fertilizing? Thank you, thank you for taking the time to help!!!!...See MoreHelp please! Fiddle Leaf Fig
Comments (2)Hi, Sarah. I can see you've done some reading. I'll offer some advice, which might seem a little bit general in some cases, which opens the door to questions if you have interest in getting deeper into a topic. Sarah says (in bold): "[I] have started a watering schedule of once a week. There ARE situations when watering on a schedule is ok, but generally it's not. If your soil holds excess water, you should water only when the plant needs water, and you can best tell when it needs water by using a 'tell' in the form of a piece of wooden dowel rod (hardware or building supply store like Lowes/Home Depot) that's been sharpened on the ends. I also spray the leaves daily with water. ..... More likely to cause problems than do any good. So my questions are ... Do I remove the damaged leaves? Or cut off the brown spots? Leaves are where almost all photosynthesis occurs. The product of photosynthesis is carbohydrates/ sugar, so think of each leaf as a mini food factory. The plant has chemical messengers that tell it when a leaf isn't pulling its weight. When that happens, the leaf is shed. If your plant is reasonably healthy and the leaf bothers you, remove it. If a plant is circling the drain, it needs all the green tissue it has, so avoid removing leaves with green on them from plants in severe decline. Too, there is still some good stuff in the spoiled foliage that the plant can recycle and use elsewhere. In the end, it's better for the plant if you don't remove any leaves with green on them (exception for diseased leaves), but not a big deal if you do unless the plant is stressed/strained. When should I fertilize it? When it needs it. Some mistakenly think that fertilizer should be withheld in winter. I won't go into it unless you want me too, but plants that aren't in a predictive dormancy need all the essential nutrients in the soil at all times, and they will do best if the ratio of nutrients closely mimics the ratio at which the plant actually uses those nutrients. If you're using an appropriate soil, establishing and taking control over nutritional supplementation is very easy. If you're using a soil you can't flush regularly for fear the soil will remain saturated so long that it limits root function or wrecks root health, fertilizing is pretty much a crap shoot. The tips (tops) are brown and look dried up or crispy, does that mean it won’t be able to produce new growth? need more info. Are you sure you're not looking at a bud sheath? The sheath dies as the bud it protects emerges and starts to open into a leaf or branch. If so, when should I think about pinching the tops off to promote the new growth? You CAN pinch anytime you like, but you'll definitely get the best response (more back-budding) if you pinch or prune in very late spring or very early summer, by the calendar. Summer begins on June 21 in the N hemisphere, so 2 weeks either side of the solstice is the best time to work your trees hard (hard pruning, repotting). I want to make sure that my timing is appropriate so that I don’t stress it out! Timing IS important. Plants have natural rhythms you can work WITH, or AGAINST. As you might think, working WITH the plant to minimize stress by working it when the plant is in the most active part of its growth cycle is not only easier on the plant, it also allows the grower to better scratch that itch to nurture everyone here has. It makes us feel we're more in sync with the things we care for. Al...See MoreОльга Минаева
9 months agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 months agoОльга Минаева
9 months agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 months agoОльга Минаева thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)Ольга Минаева
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9 months agoОльга Минаева thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)Ольга Минаева
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)