Fiddle Leaf Fig Care
Our wonderful member Alison Marie has graciously shared her in-depth care guide for the Fiddle Leaf Fig, (Ficus lyrata) along with some gorgeous pictures - we hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we do! 💚 💚 💚
Light
6-8 hours of bright light or direct sun if acclimated slowly. Rotate about 1/4 of the way each time you water to ensure all the leaves get some love. South or southwest windows are best front & center. Supplement with led full spectrum plant bulbs in white. They have light apps as well as moisture meters that can tell you if your FLF is getting ample light.
Water
Always water the root ball thoroughly & allow to drain. Then repeat once the top 2” of soil is dry. By digging in with your fingers or a skewer. Clay pots are best to allow the roots to breathe & dry out evenly. But never let them dry out completely. Get a moisture meter if unsure & once it’s at 3/4 water again. Pots with proper drainage & the perfect substrate will help to prevent root rot.
Temps/humidity
They are tropical so they thrive off of heat & humidity. Temps should stay 65°F or higher. Humility should be at 60% or higher. A humidifier is the best way to boost humidity. They can adapt to lower humidity. Temps under 50°F will cause the FLF to go dormant & conserve energy.
Substrate mix
1 part -pro-mix soil or premium indoor potting soil (not miracle gro)
1 part -compost
2 parts - bark or mulch (unprocessed or dyed)
1.5 to 2 parts- active charcoal
(horticulturist type) perlite, pumice, vermiculite or lava rocks. You can use one or a mixture of them all or some. It should be more chunky than soil like.
This is a chunky fast draining substrate prefect for tropical plants & epiphytes. I use
Activated charcoal because it rids the soil of impurities, repels insects, and prevents mold and odors. It’s also extremely porous, meaning that when you drown your leafy friends in water, it will absorb the excess, thereby preventing root rot. Plus perlite is processed hydrated obsidian & gets nasty over time floating to the top. I stopped using it personally years ago. Same with Miracle Gro products. They use chemicals to “sterilize” their products instead of the heat method. Therefore if does not kill bug eggs & you whined up with fungus gnats. You’re buying a bag of chemicals & soil. They are epiphytes or banyan figs in Western African Rainforests. They will grow on another tree fighting its way up the canopy to the light while the roots grow down. Sometimes called strangler figs by choking out the host tree.
Cleaning
Use a feather duster or swifter to dry dust to get all the big stuff off. Then either hose it down in the shower, outside with a hose or use a damp microfiber cloth or old cotton T-shirt to wipe each leaf down making sure to support it with one hand & clean with the other. You can do this monthly when doing your fertilizer routine. This will give them a nice shine & help with their growth as they use those big beautiful leaves to photosynthesize. Please do not use anything other then water to clean. A healthy plant will naturally put out shiny healthy leaves. Oils can clog the pores & stomas preventing photosynthesis. It will also weaken the leaves & break down the natural oils on them. It can then lead to bacterial or fungal disease. So please stop with the milk, mayonnaise, yogurt, banana peels & oils. It doesn’t rain any of that in nature. Stick with water only to clean.
Fertilizer
Any all purpose 10-10-10 20-20-20 or a 3-1-2
( all have perfect NPK - Nitrogen N- phosphorus(P) - potassium(K))
Once a month is perfect as they are light feeders. Compost also acts as a natural organic fertilizer.
Repotting
You can repot two ways -
Just by loosening root ball using a pot one size up called up potting. Take from one pot loosen root ball. As some of the substrate at the bottom then place root ball in & try to center at best you can. Fill the sides up evenly around the root ball. Make sure to leave 1.5”-2” of a lip between the substrate line & top of pot. It will prevent a mess when watering. Then wait a week to water.
Option two-
A full repotting when you remove all the potting medium from the plant & repot one size up in a new potting medium. You can use a bucket of warm temped water to gently remove the soil or less messy outside using a hose to remove all the soil. Once done have you new potting medium ready & all mixed up. Add a layer to the bottom about 2”-3” deep in the size of the pot it could be more or less. Put bare root ball in the center & continue to fill all around the root ball evenly
Until it’s 1.5”-2” from the top of the pot. I use clay so the top section line is where I stop it’s about 2”. With full repotting wait a week to water again.
Since shrubs & trees are more susceptible to root shock its always best to wait until it’s the spring & warm enough consistently to repot. It’s easier to recover during the warm weather. You can use the brown bottle of superthrive to help with any root shock.
Pruning
You want to prune to give your FLF a nice shape or if it starts to get top heavy & tips. To encourage branching on a single straight stem/trunk you want to kill the apex growth by cutting the top 4”-5” off the top. It will start to branch out instead of going up. Always prune at an angle right at a bud, leaf or node making that the new end.
Propagation
Take a cutting by using sterile pruners from the tree. Remove the lower leaves from the stem leaving 1-3 on. Use a rooting hormone to help speed up the propagation process. Place into a clear glass cup or vase with filtered or spring water. Making sure not to have any of the leaves in water & only the stem. Keep in a bright indirect light area. After you notice roots about 1/2” long you then want to make the transition from water to soil. Make sure to keep the soil consistently moist until a stronger root system has formed. You can also use moist sphagnum moss for the transition by wrapping the stem along with the 1/2” of roots in the moist sphagnum moss then placing it inside a zip lock bag. Once the root system is established place into the potting mix listed above.
Notching
If you have a bare section on your FLF you can notch that area by using a sharp pair of sterile pruners, knife or razor. You want to cut 1/4th of the way into the stem or trunk making it bleed the white sap at an angle. Try notching on or around any nodes you can see. They are areas where leaves once were that are circular from where the leaf stem fell off. You can repeat this going up & down the area you want to promote new growth in. Leaving spaces of 1/2”-1” a part. You can add a rooting hormone as well to each notch to help encourage new growth. If you add the rooting hormone then wrap in damp sphagnum moss that will create roots & it know as air layering. This is another way to propagate a section of your FLF by rooting it while still on the main tree. It can take anywhere between a week to a month to see any new growth come from the areas you have notched. If you do not see progress the first week go ahead & go over those notched again making them bleed sap or try doing new ones. After about 10-12 weeks you should have a new branch with leaves about 4”-6” long.
Pests
FLF’s are highly susceptible to spider mites & mealybugs. As preventative maintenance you should add a systemic to the soil such as bonide. For those that do not like to use chemicals I get it so a safer alternative is the horticulturist active charcoal. It repels bugs while preventing mold & odors. It also absorbs the excess water like perlite but less messy & more natural. Unfortunately for some bugs non chemical methods do not always work. For bugs such as thrips or scale you want to use the bonide systemic along with an insecticide safe soap like Dr Earth or Captain Jacks. For spider mite you can hose them off & use either a non detergent soap with warm water to spray the foliage or an insecticidal safe soap made specifically for spider mites. I steer clear of any detergent soaps or neem oil. The detergent soap breaks down the foliage’s natural oils weakening it to them become susceptible to disease. With neem oil or the use of any oil based products it will clog the pores & stomas of the leaves then preventing photosynthesis to occur. Always make sure to rinse off any detergent soap or oils used if that’s the only thing you have to work with.
Bacterial or fungal disease
If you suspect this it going on you will see brown spots with yellow halos or on the edge of the brown. You want to inspect the root ball & cut any black or mushy roots off with sterile scissors. Repot with the recommended substrate then treat with an anti fungal for house plants or a copper fungicide.
Soil recommendations
Coast of Maine
Pro Mix
Burpee
Happy
Frog
Fox Farm
Black Gold
Black Cow
Dr. Earth
Proven Winners
Scorch my atrium
Just Natural
Compost recommendations
Coast of Maine Lobster compost
Mushroom compost
Just Natural
Worm Castings
Dr. Earth
Black Kow
Jobes
Fox Farm
Epsoma
Hope this helps ❤️️
-Alison Marie
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