Hi! I am desperate to find help to get my fiddle leaf fig back! I bought this tree from a nursery about 1.5 months ago. It was very root bound with roots at the top of the soil. Leavesooked beautiful. She told me she'd just watered it so that I should wait a day or two. Brought it home and put the nursery pot into a bigger pot just to hold it. Watered it. Put it in a sunroom with tons of sunlight and slowly realized that may not be the best idea. Slowly, brown spots started appearing. I asked some friends with experience with these trees what I should do. They said it needed a bigger pot. I took it out of the nursery pot and put in miracle grow moisture control. Nothing happened. Leaves still turning brown and falling off. I then took it out, pruned roots and made a 5:1:1 mix. I've uploaded some images of it when I first brought it home and of it now. I have not watered since I made the 5:1:1 mix. Soil is still wet about 3 inches down from top of soil. I need some serious help! I just cut some bad leaves away this morning. Help!

@Alannavole

I have grown a few fiddle leaf ficus trees over the last 25 or so years, hundreds of them in fact. Your tree doesn't look good at all. I am going to send you a T-Mail, since this subject (ailing fiddle leaf ficus) has come up quite a few times and I won't re-state what has already been done.

By the way, this is a sample of what a healthy fiddle leaf looks like. Compare



.

Hello! I am a relatively new Fiddle Leaf fig owner and I have been working tirelessly to revive a fiddle leaf that was clearly suffering when I brought it home (you can see some of the brown marks on the leaves from it being under-watered in the background of some of the pictures). I have been closely monitoring the soil for moisture and watering when dry and have been feeding it fertilizer and vitamins (super thrive) occasionally to encourage healing/growth. I recently have had a huge break through and it is spurting out beautiful new leaves on two of the branches (see pictures 1 & 2)!! However, on one branch, the new leaves have been smaller, wrinkly, and have holes in them (picture 3). I've recently noticed that the buds look different too, they are all rolled up into balls (picture 4) rather than that beautiful cylinder that you can see on the other branches. I can't find anything online that would explain why two of the branches are doing great but not the third and would love your expertise on how to best care for my fiddle leaf! Thank you!!!

Usually, new leaf deformity is connected to some minor problem with the roots. For example damage due to recent repotting. Or a watering lapse where the soil got too dry briefly. Or a root wandering out of a drain hole and getting exposed to dry air. Or the soil staying too wet for too long.

It is hard to explain why part of the plant would react differently than the others. However, the difference is subtle enough that it would require a lot more information to make a determination. I don't think it is worth troubling over. As long as the overall health of the plant is good, then no need to fix anything.

Fertilizer is NOT medicine and won't help and Superthrive is an expensive supplement that provides no benefits. If the deformed leaves trouble you, just pinch them out and the chances are the new leaves that replace them will be just fine.

Finally, if new leaf growth becomes a consistent problem, then there may be a more serious root issue, probably related to your watering routine.

Hello,
My fiddle lead has some new growth however I noticed some red tears and marks on the leaf. I haven't changed my watering routine. I water it about once a week, depending on how the soil feels. I also noticed some impressions in some of the leafs. Like little dents. The plant must be healthy since new life is emerging. I'm just concerned about the redness of the new leaf and the existing dents. Does anyone know what this may be?

davidjasso. Your fiddle is fine, David. Those little nicks are probably due to trauma, even a mature leaf rubbing against a newly forming leaf can cause this. These leaves are so huge, that every little blemish is magnified. I have a feeling, and this is just a guess, that the wrinkling is due to low-light. Since these are large trees in nature, in sun, they really need very bright light. Only morning and/or very late afternoon sun though. Your plant has probably never seen sunlight, so mid-day sun would sunburn the leaves.

Hello! Recently I have noticed that a couple of the brown spots on the older leaves towards the bottom of my fig have grown noticeably, and I also noticed these little black dots on one leaf in particular. I tried to scratch the dot to see if it was superficial but it is not. I have not seen a post in the forum where someone else has experienced this issue. I currently water my plant when the soil is dry 2-3 inches down. It receives indirect light from the window all day as well. It recently lost some new growth due to some pesky spider mites, but since then it has been treated and seems well other than what's mentioned above. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

@texasbamma - Your Fiddle-leafed Fig is fine. The black spots are minor blemishes or imperfections and are best ignored. You can expect the occasional loss of some lower leaves as they age and healthy new ones are added on top. Older leaf dieback typically starts with some brown patches. Again, nothing to worry about.

Although your plant does not show any obvious signs of too little light or water, in general, the more direct indoor light this plant receives the better. Unless you added a couple of inches of soil to the top of the original rootball (assuming it was repotted), then you are letting it get too dry between waterings. In general, it should be watered as soon as the top of the original rootball feels almost dry.

Because of the huge size of the fiddle leaf ficus' leaves, every single "blemish" is greatly magnified. Try not to dwell on these things, as they are typically completely innocuous. Increase your watering and light as Will suggested.

Just got my most awaited Fiddle Leaf Fig today!! So excited to add this to my other houseplants. But I'm worried that he'll be so fussy and hard to maintain.. but it's been great reading the responses in this forum! 💚

Beautiful FLF Eveth! Congratulations!

Frenchy21 said:Beautiful FLF Eveth! Congratulations!

Thank you!! I have been dreaming of owning one for so long.

Congratulations on your new fiddle, @ibetskoi. I see several other plant varieties, all of which take low light. Keep in mind that your fiddle will need all the light that you can give her if you want her to be happy. Early morning or late afternoon sun is fine, just no direct sun from 11:00AM till 4:00 PM. Good luck.

drdawg said:Congratulations on your new fiddle, @ibetskoi. I see several other plant varieties, all of which take low light. Keep in mind that your fiddle will need all the light that you can give her if you want her to be happy. Early morning or late afternoon sun is fine, just no direct sun from 11:00AM till 4:00 PM. Good luck.

Yes, I just put them together for a group photo 😅 but yeah they don't sit beside each other. I placed my fiddle next to my monstera and they are both beside the window. I keep on thinking though, I have got blinds open on that window..that should be enough light right?

I all depends on the amount of light that the window gets, Eveth. To tell you the truth, I don't have a clue which direction (south, east, west, and north) y'all in Australia get the best light. Here in the USA, a south-facing window is the best in the fall and winter and an east-facing window the best in the spring the summer. At least that's been my experience.

drdawg said:I all depends on the amount of light that the window gets, Eveth. To tell you the truth, I don't have a clue which direction (south, east, west, and north) y'all in Australia get the best light. Here in the USA, a south-facing window is the best in the fall and winter and an east-facing window the best in the spring the summer. At least that's been my experience.

I might need to search on that now that you mentioned it. I don't even know which side is which in our house 😂 but thank you!

It will be pretty hard to give your FLF too much light as long as it is indoors. "Down Under" the seasons and sun directions are the opposite from those in the northern hemisphere. In Melbourne, you are in the midst of summer while we are in mid-winter. Likewise, the strongest sun for you is from the north.

Be sure you water your FLF as soon as the surface of the soil feels almost dry.

Gosh, Will, I don't know whether I could ever "reverse" my directions if I moved to Australia. Just too old.

WillC said:It will be pretty hard to give your FLF too much light as long as it is indoors. "Down Under" the seasons and sun directions are the opposite from those in the northern hemisphere. In Melbourne, you are in the midst of summer while we are in mid-winter. Likewise, the strongest sun for you is from the north.

Be sure you water your FLF as soon as the surface of the soil feels almost dry.

Omg yaaas! Thanks for this. Yeah, I usually dream of Christmas being cold and snowy, not eveyone else having sunburns..including plants!

I wouldn't mind having your warm weather here right now!

Never too old, Ken! Just think of "Down Under" as "Upside Down!"