The following conversations have been moved from my T-Mail since I think it would have interest from others that grow fiddle leaf ficus plants:
Thanks for the information, Fiat. I don't ship any of my plants out until they are well-rooted in 1 gal. pots. That really gives them a jump-start when they are potted up. Also, generally speaking, even the seedling plants will have full or nearly full-size leaves. It still amazes me when I get emails (all the time) saying: "I have looked for weeks/months wanting to purchase a fiddle leaf ficus plant(s), and you are the only site I can find them on".
You certainly get more bang-for-the-buck with my plants. Mine are larger by far, and though the seedlings might be $9.95 ($17.95 for two plants), my shipping averages $7.95 for one of these large plants and only $1.50 for each additional plant.
Hi Ken again, Since last time I received your advice on caring my 'sick' fig, it's been almost one month passing. I have been treating my fig with 3 major cares: twice daily misting, pebble tray for humidity, and careful watch on watering. So far, nothing worse or improving; no more leaf fall (still keep the old 8). Yet, no new green (leaf) growing either. Now the season is turning (to cool) and it just hanging there seemingly going into 'dormancy'. Should I start to stop my 3 cares for it? Especially the daily misting thing? Or anything I need to do for the coming winter? Please advise and I appreciate your help. Thanks
Fiat, I don't know. All my fiddle leaf plans are still outside, all under large oak trees. The seedlings grow (at least) an inch each month and the more mature (larger) ones grow at least that if not twice that rate. They all put on new leaves months. I will bring them all in by the end of October when our weather begins to dip into the low 40's. I never treat them like they go dormant, so while they are inside for 5 months, I will mist them occasionally, water when the top 1" of soil is dry, and fertilize every other month with 1/2 strength 10-10-10.
I am shipping out three fiddle seedlings today or tomorrow to ta guy in MN. I will try to remember to take a picture or two so that you can see what those particular plants look like. I have had them since March, 2014, and they all were about 3" tall, growing as plugs (about 1"x1"x3" deep) with 1"x2" leaves. The largest leaves are now a whopping 10"x16". None of my plants have dropped a single leaf as far as I know (other than when something knocks one off, like a falling branch).
Ok, I'll try what you do when indoor for the winter. Will be interesting to see the pic of your fiddle seedlings (and sad to compare with my probably dying one?) Thanks
Hopefully yours will recover. I cannot tell you when the last time was that I lost a fiddle leaf. They are extremely hardy plants. I just hope one you got is not diseased.
Here are two pictures of what I just shipped out, one picture of what your root-ball should look like, and a final picture showing a bunch of fiddle leaf seedlings from a picture taken on 9-1-14. The three that I just shipped cost the guy (in MN) a total of $40.00, including shipping.
(Click on the pictures to see the entire frame)
Thumb of 2014-09-29/drdawg/a76aba Thumb of 2014-09-29/drdawg/f324e9 Thumb of 2014-09-29/drdawg/206c66 Thumb of 2014-09-29/drdawg/23b540
Wow! Those fiddle leaves are big, healthy, in perfect color & shape and they are gorgeous. I assume they are in 4" pots? For 4" tall figs, the 10" plus leaves are huge! So wonderful your figs are... I won't forget you if I ever want fiddle leaf again.
I read some article and there are 7 secrets for reviving a dying fiddle. I am hopeful for mine now because: "If the stalk is shriveled, it's too far gone to save. But if it's still hard and strong, it will recover. Give it time." I just hope mine's stalk can keep hard and strong till next spring. Wish me luck and patience. Thanks
My seedlings are all in 1 gal. pots. The picture you see of the root ball was just removed from that 1 gal. pot, before I removed the majority of potting soil to bag it for shipping. I think the statement about the stalk shriveling relates only to the growing end of the stalk. That terminal end will be green and pliable. The rest of the stalk/stem/trunk will get woody fairly fast and even dead, it will be solid like wood.
As I said, when I got those fiddle leaf seedlings they were growing as plugs and were tiny plants. They were immediately potted into 4" pots. After about 2 months, these were then re-potted into 6" pots and after another 2 months they went into these 1 gal. pots. Each time I re-potted, the entire pot was filled with roots. Your plant, regardless of pot size, should also have roots like that.
Since I am a rookie houseplant grower, your words made me a bit lost: "..the statement about the stalk shriveling relates only to the growing end of the stalk. That terminal end will be green and pliable. The rest of the stalk/stem/trunk will get woody fairly fast and even dead, it will be solid like wood." Are you saying my fig's hard and strong stalk (the main stem) is a sign of death?
The 7 secrets of reviving dying fig:
1. Don't prune the brown, bare branches unless they look moldy. If you see any brown husks, leave them alone too—the hard covers could be protecting new growth. Come spring, leaves will sprout.
2. Be patient. The fiddle leaf fig tree is a slow grower; in winter it goes dormant. Don't expect to see any improvement before April (and warmer temperatures). And don't expect immediate miracles even then. It could be a year before a recovering fiddle leaf fig tree starts to look really good again.
3. If the stalk is shriveled, it's too far gone to save. But if it's still hard and strong, it will recover. Again, give it time.
4. Don't pull off leaves. But you can trim away brown outer edges without harming the plant.
5. Identify the areas on the stalk where there are damaged buds; don't pull off the hurt tips, but keep an eye on these areas. This is where you can expect to see new growth.
6. Don't let an ailing fiddle leaf fig tree dry out completely.
7. Don't transplant it until you see new growth even if the pot is so tight that roots are visible at the surface.
Yes, it's even better if you can edit and put our conversation on to forum thread. I have thought about which way to go for my question and asking help (by tree-mail or posting in forum). I thought it would be much safer to ask you in Tree-mail as my requests could be dumb and ignorant. Any way, thank you so much.
No, no. I am sorry I have confused you. I am bad about that........
As the stem/stalk/trunk (take your pick of words) ages, it simply turns woody. That should not be anything out of the ordinary. These are, after all, trees. I'm just saying that a woody-stem will never shrivel, I don't care how long it has been dead. If the terminal end, the end where new leaves grow, goes limp or just won't grow leaves, that's not a good sign. That leaf-growing end should be firm, straight, but pliable and green. That's the nature of the fiddle leaf.
No question is a dumb question. Believe me, many people out there have or will have the same problems you are having. You just keep asking, and ask again if you don't understand my or someone else's answer. That's the way we all learn. I consider it a good day when I learn something new!!!!!!!
Sick plants MIGHT grow slowly, but a healthy fiddle leaf, growing in good conditions, will grow 1-2' each and every year. I have grown several hundred of them over the last 30 years. They are super-growers because they are trees.
