Fiddle Leaf Fig Problem

//Fiddle Leaf Fig Problem

The symptoms on your fig may be cultural. The brown edges could be the result of chlorine and/or fluoride in the water. Many houseplants are endemic to the tropics and are sensitive to salts and other chemicals used to treat our water. Try using distilled steam iron water or let tap water sit in an open container overnight so that the chlorine will dissipate. Also the fiddle leaf fig should not be overwatered – water only when the top inch or so of soil is dry. Raising the humidity may help – set the pot on a tray of gravel and fill the tray with water (but do not let the pot sit in the water as this may lead to root rot). Feed with a slow release or organic fertilizer formulated for container houseplants and try to stay away from chemical fertilizers that are high in nitrogen and salts.

By | 2016-04-09T10:58:18-07:00 April 9th, 2016|House Plants|9 Comments

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9 Comments

  1. Brooke July 19, 2017 at 4:54 pm - Reply

    I have a fiddle leaf fig that looks just like this! It was beautiful and now most of the leaves have brown edges. I have tried trimming this off, but the brown edges return. I only used to water it with 16 oz of water every two weeks, but I was using city water that I didn’t let sit out, so then I switched to bottled water, but still the problem continues. Not sure how much water is too much for these little guys!

    Any advice?? Is 16 oz every to weeks too little or too much?

  2. Tosha February 28, 2021 at 10:38 am - Reply

    Can I give my fig plant Alkaline water?

  3. monica July 29, 2021 at 8:56 am - Reply

    This is my second fiddle leaf fig, with brow spots, I dont know what to do, the first one fie, I did everything I learn reading and watching videos, the second one was ok, but know have the brown spots too, please help me

    • Marty Spence July 24, 2022 at 7:45 am - Reply

      Light brown/tan edges or spots indicates under watering. Dark brown/black spots indicate fungal infection caused from over watering.

  4. Edit May 24, 2022 at 11:52 pm - Reply

    Kedves Szerkesztő!
    Csak egy kérdésem van: miért angol nyelvű cikkeket propagálnak?
    Szívesen elolvasnám, de magyarul!

  5. Nora August 5, 2022 at 11:08 pm - Reply

    Same thing as mine. It was very healthy n shiny leaves but recently i’ve been watering it everyday because of the hot season. It started turning brown and yess, i’m sure it’s overwatering problem.

  6. Joy Bolden October 17, 2022 at 12:00 pm - Reply

    I have used milk mixed with water. One third cup of milk mixed in with a full pitcher of water.

  7. Sara January 15, 2023 at 8:36 am - Reply

    It’s my first fiddle leaf and some leaves are falling off. Can someone tell me if once they fall off if they grow back in the same place or rather regrow? Thank you

  8. Laserrano's July 25, 2023 at 11:40 pm - Reply

    Ok a lot of you don’t know that when you use purified bottled water from the store it also has chlorine in it . If you look at the small print on the side of the bottle it says it comes from a city. I never knew that until I research the difference. Natural spring water is probably the best thing. I still leave it out for 24 hours just in case. I believe it is the salt and chlorine that is killing the plants. If you feel the leaves it is actually drying out and sucking the moisture from the rest of the leaf as it goes up the leaves instead of down. You probably see that the soil is drying out very fast as well. I started to use a mister spray to lightly spray the leaves and it seems to like it so far. I usually grow snake plants and money trees and they love the mist with light sun ,I wanted to grow something different we shall see .

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