A FIDDLE-LEAF FIG REPORT AND A FEW TIPS

I absolutely love live plants in my house. But, my goodness, they are such a challenge to keep alive sometimes. Not this peace lily. I have had this plant for--wait for it--twenty-four years! My grandparents gave it to me when my first baby boy was born. It's still doing well. At the time I took this picture, it had ten blooms on it.

However, this guy... I'm not sure he lasted twenty-four days. And that made me really sad because I thought he was a beautiful maidenhair fern.

But the "it" house plant that's everywhere right now is the fiddle-leaf fig.

Maisondepax via Pinterest

Jones Design Co. via Pinterest

Dwellings By Devore

Grown plants like the ones in these photos can be over $100 or even more. And according to what I've read and seen friends post on Instgram, they are hard to keep alive. So when I saw a smaller fiddle-fig at my local grocery store this summer for $10, I decided to give it a try.

I started it out here in our foyer. But this bright light you see in the pictures is later afternoon sun, probably around 2 or 3:00. And the air conditioner blew directly on it--that's a no-no.

It dropped three leaves from the bottom over the next couple of weeks. I took that as a sign and moved it to our breakfast room, a little ways down from the peace lily. This window gets indirect morning light and afternoon light. I think he's much happier here.

I took it out of the blue and white planter because it felt too big. So for now it's just a fig, in a plate, on a little red stool. Have no fear though, I have a cute basket on the way.

It has done wonderfully since moving to this new spot. Here is the first new leaf. I couldn't believe how fast it grew once it opened up.

From this view the plant looks perfect, but there are a few struggling leaves below.

You can cut out these brown spots without damaging the rest of the leaf. I'm leaving this one for now because it doesn't seem to be spreading.

This one was pretty bad, so I clipped off the brown spot.

That's the update on the plant itself. Here are a few tips based on all I've read and what I'm actually doing to care for the fiddle-leaf fig.

LIGHT

Bright light all day seems to really be what it likes. The light isn't direct, but it is constant. This window probably provides the most light of any in our house.

WATER

I water it once week, unless it still feels damp, and then I might wait 8-9 days. I use a half-gallon pitcher and fill it about 3/4 of the way full. I water it evenly and let it drain well.

POSITION

Each time I water it, I turn it 180 degrees so it's not pulling toward the window. Also, I put it on the end of the window that receives very little direct air from the air conditioner.

LEAVES

Almost every tutorial I read said to wipe the leaves off occasionally. I've carefully done that about three times in the few months I've had it. I've just used a damp paper towel or dish drying towel.

And other than just telling it how pretty it is and how much I would love for it to live a long, happy life, that's it! So far that seems to be enough. I haven't fertilized it or repotted it. I'll give you an update in a few months.

Kathryn

PS... Since preparing for this post, new leaf #2 has appeared. :-)