I bought this last winter, and its grown almost two and a half feet since then, out under the oak trees in the yard.


I can't decide if I am brave enough to plant it in the ground or not. Maybe overwinter it this winter in the greenhouse and plant it out next summer.

Looks nice and healthy, that is one I've never tried. Do they like shade? I have a nice spot for one if it likes a shady spot.

This one I would say probably gets 50-60% shade. The sun only actually hits this spot at one time of the day for maybe an hour. On a scale of 'bloomability', (I just made that up) the light is great for Colocasia and ALocasia and gingers but will not bloom a water lily

I believe Ken @drdawg has his in full sun but he did acclimate it slowly to the brighter light.

That's going to have to be your decision, Gina. As Alice said, I have a "mother" fiddle leaf ficus that is 25+ yr. old. She's grown in pots (the same pot for the last 10 yr.) and I had to keep her at or under 7' tall so that I could bring her inside in the fall. I moved from Starkville, Mississippi to Vero Beach, Florida, April, 2018. I spent four months acclimating this fiddle to full sun and yes, she's now growing in full sun. I moved her to in-ground in Nov., 2018. She's grown approximately 2.5' since Nov. You can't tell, but the first photo shows this fiddle at around 7' tall. Approximately 7 mo. later, she's over 9' tall. I'm about 5'10" in that photo.

Since that last photo in May, this fiddle is now over 10' tall.

Nov. 15, 2018
May 25, 2019

Gina, fall and winter is probably the best time to acclimate plants to full sun.

The fall an

Well I have nothing to lose! I actually have a spot.

Go for it, Gina. Just keep in mind that these trees can get up to 40' tall and 30' wide. I probably won't live to see mine that size, but I do enjoy seeing her grow as she should, in the ground and in full sun. By the way, my fiddle leaf tree has 11 "trunks". It's going to be interesting to see what this tree does with all those trunks.

Well if it gets that big, I've no room, probably would freeze back here occasionally, but think I'll pass on this one.

Sherri, you can easily control fiddle leaf ficus' size by pruning. This 25+ year old fiddle of mine was potted until last fall, and I pruned her branches twice a year, usually 6-10 branches, 2' each time. I had to keep her pruned to around 6' because she came inside each fall.

Good to know Ken.

I won;t live to see mine that big if it were to make it here either

Mine needs pruning. Badly! It almost died whole being held captive in the bathroom, by a bright window, and high humidity for 2 years. Sounds like Heaven, right? Nope. She hated it. She bounced right back when I moved her back outside. And just in time. Only 2 trunks remain. The others have died. I will put the cuttings back into the pot with Momma for now. Look at her! Shes 10ft tall! Any hints before the haircut takes place? Can I assume she will branch out at the cut spot?

I'm a newbie with this plant LOL

I've had this one for 20 years+. Poor thing has been neglected and mistreated many times over the years. I want to make it right. "Cut no more that 30%" Is that true? I suppose a 7ft tree is easier to manage than a 10 ft tree. The two trunks that are left I have crossed to support each other. I suppose they should be staked and supported to stand in their own.

I don't know about the 30/70% "rule", Cheryl. Generally speaking, every time I cut my old fiddle (I didn't just cut, I air-layered and then cut after rooting), branching would occur at that cut. Not every time, but often. I air-layered branches that I wanted to reduce by 1.5-2', and the tree was around 7.5' tall. I air-layered that 25 yr. old tree twice a year, getting 15-20 new plants each year. I kept this tree at around 6-7' tall simply because I had to move her inside every fall and I couldn't get her through doors if I just let her grow.

Since your tree has numerous branches, cutting back the longest branches 3, 4 or even 5' will still leave you with leaf-laden branches, right?

Thanks @drdawg. I will do air layering now since temps are really too hot to prune. Thing is, I don't have any branches. Those are two "trunks I have crossed to support each other. I will take m5 chances and c cut down about 4 ft, I think? There is a plant swap coming in Oct. I'd like to participate in. How long does your air layering typically take?

Oh, I (sort of) see now, rechecking your photo. Just two central stems with leaves all along those stems. You can easily air-layer those two stems, perhaps ending up with two rooted plants, 4' tall. You probably will then have branching at those two cut ends. Air-layering took me about 2 wk. in the spring/early summer, 3 wk. in mid to late summer, and perhaps 4 wk. in the fall. All my air-layering was when I was in Starkville and I never attempted to air-layer in the winter. Being in Florida, air-layering may be possible all year 'round.

Here are examples of a few of my air-layered plants after cutting and potting up.



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