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nikki214

Fiddle Leaf Fig Help

nikki214
13 years ago

I have a fiddle leaf fig I bought two months ago, it was in a small pot roots coming out of the pot, so I re-potted the plant and watered it once a week for two weeks. It is now loosing leaves, the ones with brown spots. It is in my living room which has a triple bay window in the front of the house, lots of sun light. I'm not sure what's happening. Please help.

I have pictures but could not paste them into the message.

Comments (4)

  • nikki214
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Here is the link to my pics of the Fiddle Leaf Fig, I am not sure what's going on with it but I need some help. Please read post below this for explanation.

    I hope the link opens.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Flicker

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    13 years ago

    Nikki - it looks like you might be over-nurturing, which pretty much translates to 'over-watering'. The leaves don't have the look of a plant with an excessively high level of salt in the soil, so that pretty much leaves over-or under-watering. If you can eliminate under-watering as a probably cause, you would be left looking really hard at over-watering.

    When you pot up, the larger volume of soil holds more water than the former arrangement, yet the plant initially uses the same amount of water. The soil remains wet longer, so you need to adjust the intervals between watering.

    There is a difference between repotting and potting up. I'm assuming you potted up, and didn't remove old soil and root-prune? It's ok to pot up at any time, but repots are better left until summer, when the tree is full of energy and can't wait to push new growth after the work.

    When you use heavy soils that support a layer of saturated soil at the bottom of the pot, you have to be very careful about how you water, and about making sure the soil doesn't remain saturated for too long. This is a major issue with houseplants. It may be appropriate to return the tree to the old pot until a more appropriate time to repot, or you can read about how to deal with water retentive soils by clicking on the embedded link. How much larger is the new pot than the old?

    You can also read up on how to maintain your Ficus in containers, by following the link at the bottom.

    You should probably lift the plant from the pot and examine the roots. If they are foul smelling, slimy, or the outer covering pulls off easily leaving the pith, You need to take some emergency measures to correct the rot. If you find a root issue, come back & let us know.

    Al

    Here is a link that might be useful: Ficus in containers

  • PRO
    Horticultural Help
    13 years ago

    Roots wandering out of drainage holes is NOT a reliable indicator that a plant needs a larger pot. Unnecessary up-potting is the single most common cause of plant failure. If it is done unnecessarily or incorrectly (wrong pot size, wrong soil mix, etc.) then, as Al has indicated, it will easily lead to root rot and it appears that is what has happened to yours.

    Best to get it back into a smaller pot after removing any soil you added. That will allow the rootball to dry out sooner.

    Will Creed

  • nikki214
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thank you for all of your help. I will put it in a smaller pot, and pray. I am a novice with plants so I thought I was doing what was best for it. I will not repot til spring if needed. This is a beautiful plant I hope it bounces back.
    Thanks again