How Care for a Fiddle Leaf Fig

1. Sunlight

After purchasing the plant I placed it on an end table to reach the light on the side window of our house. It is recommended that you place the Fiddle Leaf Fig by "indirect light." This placement has seemed to work so far, because the plant gets morning/afternoon filtered light coming through the window, but not in the middle of the day. You can also rotate the plant slightly as it grows towards the window so it grows more symmetrically and doesn't plaster itself to the glass :)

2. Watering

Owners that have problems with their Fiddle Leaf Figs, often complain their plants have brown leaves. This also happened to me. I read a few articles that suggested that this was due to either overwatering or under-watering. Its recommended you prune the brown leaves off the plant and adjust the watering appropriately.

One way to tell if your plant needs water, is to place your finger one inch down into the soil to see if it is still damp. If it is dry one inch down it needs to be watered. If it is damp, wait until the soil dries out more to water it again. I water mine about three times a week with a cup of water, but of course it is winter now, and there is low humidity. I will adjust the water schedule with the seasons.

3. Soil/Re-potting

You should repot the plant after a year or so when the roots look to be growing of the sides, or the roots are growing out the bottom of the original container and blocking the drainage. That is what was happening to me, the roots were trying to escape. I decided to re-pot at this point and went with a larger container. However, from what I read you don't want to repot with a significantly larger container or it can be detrimental to the plant. Time will tell if I picked the right size. So far after a week its seems fine, and the plant is actually growing some new leaves so it doesn't seem too upset with me in its new digs.

The woman at the plant store recommended Miracle Grow Moisture Control soil for the repotting and that seems to be working so far. She also mentioned you could use Miracle Grow Plant food every few months to supplement your plant's growth. Haven't tried this yet but I'm hoping to grow a 6-footer so we'll see :)

At this point you are probably thinking the plant is a little too demanding for a house plant.

The Gathered Home points out some similar high maintenance tips for taking care of your leaf-baby:

"Do not expose your fiddle leaf fig to strong language. Speak to your fiddle leaf fig only in calm, hushed tones."

I would add:

5. Do not serve the fiddle leaf fig anything but Evian.

6. Do not stare the Fiddle Leaf Fig in the eye.

7. Don't forget to complement the Fiddle Leaf Fig on its foliage, at least once every fortnight.

8. Wrap it with a blanket at night, and sing it to sleep--similar to growing a giant pumpkin.

For the rest of the real tips, check out my blog.