Caring For You Fiddle Leaf Fig (And How I Revitalized Mine)

We LOVE fiddle leaf figs. They are majestic tropical plants that have captivated the instagram and design world. We don’t see them disappearing anytime soon.

Fiddle leaf figs add charm to just about any commercial or residential interior. From our Block Ops Project. Plants by Cactus and Tropicals.

I purchased my fiddle leaf fig from Cactus and Tropicals, a lovely garden store in Sugar House, Utah, three years ago. The first years were wonderful, and the fiddle leaf fig prospered. When we bought our first home, I moved it into the living room. But slowly every month, it began to shed leaves. I knew it was going to die, so I brought it into the office to see if we could bring it back to life. 

We interviewed Aja Macheel from Cactus and Tropicals to help us with tips to bring the fiddle fig tree back to life. She currently is an Interiorscape Designer for Cactus and Tropicals. She credits most of her education with plants to trial and error; so she has a lot more street smarts with plants than book smarts. Aja has run her own nursery in Oregon and Hawaii. She’s dealt with plants from all over, but her favorite plants are tropicals.

Here’s how Aja recommends taking care of your fiddle leaf fig. 

Light and Watering

Give your fiddle leaf fig bright light, about 3-5ft from your brightest window. Give your plant light!

Feel the soil with your hand. The soil needs to dry out to the touch. It helps the roots get oxygen. Know how it feels when it needs water and how much it needs. Fiddle leaf figs are fast talkers. They’ll let you know quickly when they’re not happy. Here’s how to know their signals:

Yellow Leaves: Too dry. The fig has pulled the nutrients in like it is starving. Give it more water, but don’t over water the plant. Keep the water consistent. 

Brown Tips on Leaves: Over watered. Possibly move the plant to a space where it will get more sunlight, and check the soil before watering each time. 

Both Brown and Yellow: You’ve overdone it with both. Leave it alone. Make sure to check the soil before you water it and keep an eye on it. 

A very common mistake is over watering your plants. 

Become Friends

Get to know your plants, try your best to understand what they’re telling you. When your plant doesn’t look right, it’s easy to overreact and dump water, but that might not be what the plant needs. A good rule of thumb is, “when in doubt, dry it out.” 

Weather is also a big factor in your watering patterns. During the winter, fiddle leaf figs get less sunlight and need to be watered less frequently. Feeling the soil in the pot, can tell you if you need to water your plant. During the summer, it may dry out quicker and need more water. Pay attention to your plant and how it responds to the weather. 

All in all, it’s important to know your plants. How much water do they really need? How often to be watered? If you do end up killing your plant, make it a learning opportunity. My plant didn’t die, but this is what went wrong: 

Since fiddle leaf figs are tropical plants and need a lot of bright sunlight, moving it to a brighter window really helped. My home only has one large east facing window, but our furniture layout wouldn’t accommodate the plant and it slowly began to die. 

Move your Plant

The one move really helped my plant, but don’t be tempted to keep moving your plant around everyday, choose a good spot and keep your plant there. It’s not healthy to keep moving around your plant 2-3 times a week. Find a good spot and keep the plant there.

Patience

With a combination of Aja’s tips and help from our office manager, we were able bring my plant back to life. Slowly after 10 months it is thriving, and I couldn’t be happier!

Fiddle Leaf Tips + Tricks

We are sharing our secret weapons when it comes to caring for your fiddle leaf fig tree:

Trick #1 Clean the leaves: This is so important. The leaves build up dust and in the rain forest they are used to being spritzed daily. I would clean mine with a microfiber cloth once a month and spray the leaves with a spritzer bottle weekly.

Pro tip: Use distilled, not tap water!

Trick #2 Leaf Shine Spray: I have used this for years and it makes it so shiny and healthy, after you clean the leaves,  spray 12” away covering each leaf.

Trick #3 Give it a name: This is for fun, but it can’t hurt! I named my figgy.

Planter Roundup:

Make a statement with these trendy planters:

Xoxo, Eden