I only have large fiddleleafs, obtained from air-divisions of a 25 year old "Mother" plant, twice a year, and then only a handful. These lush, well-rooted plants already have huge fiddle-shaped leaves and the plants are 24-28" tall. They are growing in one gallon pots but will be shipped bare-root to save on shipping. ATP members always get a 15% discount from my regular price, and this discounted price is $21.45. Shipping is $9.95-$14.95, depending on destination. Contact me by Tree-Mail is interested.

drdawg...

Is the fiddleleaf more of a house plant or can they tolerate the heat / direct sunlight we have in So Cal?

Mike, my plants grow under a canopy of oak trees and only get a few hours of early morning and/or late afternoon sun. Since they are tropical trees and grow in full sun in the sub-tropics and tropics year-round, they can certainly be acclimated to full sun if that's the way you want to grow them. I would guess that 50% of what I sell end up being houseplants full time, 40% grow them like I do, houseplants during the winter months and part-shade during the warmer months, and the other 10% acclimate them to full sun. Ken

I HAVE ONE OF THESE THAT HAS LOST ALOT OF THE LOWER LEAVES. CAN I CUT THE TOP OFF AND ROOT??
AND IF SO HOW DO I GO ABOUT IT??

Rooting fiddleleafs, at least for me, is very difficult. At best, I achieved a 50% success rate, but more likely had a 75% failure rate, and I experimented with using different rooting media and different climates for a couple of decades to improve on that rate. I never did. I no long even try to root cuttings. Now I air-layer branches of my 25 year old "mother" plant and get mature plants that way. It is technique sensitive, takes a lot of watchful care, can take a month or more to see success, and it is still kind of hit or miss. My success rate is better though. I would try to air layer the trunk of your plant if you don't mind losing the entire plant if air-layering fails. I am only air-layering hardened branches, so if I fail to get a rooting, I just lose a branch.

If you want to try, knowing that failure means you lose the plant, go for it. If the plant is ready for the trash-heap, heck, what do you have to lose? Let me know if you want to air-layer and I will Tree-Mail you the technique I use.

P. S. I use a really expensive rooting hormone and this alone is the price of a plant. But I air-layer a dozen branches of my mother fiddleleaf each year and also root plumeria cuttings and other tropical plant cuttings, so the cost of the rooting hormone is not a problem for me. Ken