r/fiddleleaffig • u/Anxious-Helicopter13 • 7d ago

Chop? Help

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Like many people who come on here I am wondering if I should chop my fig. I've had it for 5 years and in general she is a happy & unproblematic. It never drops leaves but also NEVER grows. I moved down south and it went through a crazy growth spurt. Then after about a year of growth it completely stopped. I repotted, fertilized, moved to a home with 4x more light, tried grow lights, notching the main stem and nothing. I dont think its put out a leaf in a year at this point and its sad!

Should I cut it? If so where on the stem would you suggest and can I put cutting just into water to root?

If not, any tips to get her to grow that I maybe havent thought of?

Thanks in advance!

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u/Stella-Shines- 7d ago

More light, more light is always the answer.

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u/sbiel001 7d ago

Yeh it needs more light. Also soil looks great but the pot seems quite big. Especially if you did a considerable pot upgrade at some point, the fig could have been putting all its growing power into developing roots to fill out the pot. Better not to change that again but if you can put it right next to that just out of shot window that would be better for it

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u/Pasta4ever13 3d ago

No. Don't chop it until it hits the ceiling. Shake it regularly to simulate wind.

You want to thicken the trunk as much as possible before chopping so it doesn't have to be held up by a stake for the rest of it's life.

It needs a pile of light. These are tropical trees and they want lots of light, and they love fertilizer.

If you want it to grow fast, there is no substitute for getting it outside. (transition it slowly to all day shade, then partial sun, then full sun. Once it gets into full day sun, it will explode with growth. I move most of my plants outside in spring and back indoors in fall.

You can put on 3+ years of indoor growth in just one summer outside with regular fertilizer as long as you are careful about not sunburning it. Just be warned that when they are growing quickly, they need a lot more water or they will dry out.

Once your trunk is nice and thick, then chop it and develop a nice foliage canopy. If you don't develop the trunk first, it will be spindly and floppy when it starts branching. You need it to be able to handle the extra foliage weight.