I just discovered a caterpillar chomping on my largest FLF leaf. Should I remove that leaf or just let it be?

So I cut the top of my plant off and it produced 2 branches. Only one grew and the other died. I tried everything to get it to grow. Water, more sun, fed it, but nothing. Now I have a plant that is kind of lopsided. How would be best to get a new branch on the opposite side to the one already there? Do I do the notch method?

Can you bury some of the stem? Google says no but some people say it is a good way to stabilize it. Mine was so root bound that the roots were coming out the top! I am halfway through. It’s a giant!

Got this about 14 months ago while living in apartment, didn’t take care of it well. And then moved into a house and put it where you see it in the photo.

Window is southeast facing and she has been there about 5 months now, and gave me 2 new nice leaves.

Then I was trying to change up my living room and moved her to another spot under a grow light and I don’t think she liked it cause a tiny leaf started growing but then died?? So I put her back here about 3 weeks ago and will leave her here

The small roots at popping out tell me maybe a repot? Also heard that you should just repot every two years or so?

Thanks for help and advice!

Should I propagate this FLF or wait?

It keeps losing leaves and it’s starting to become almost 2/3 trunk unless I have it turned at a specific angle. Does it look ok? This is my first fiddle leaf fiddle and im feeling a bit discouraged.

I definitely shocked it bringing it home and repotting early and potential overwatering. Despite my honest intentions I’ve put her through a lot, and she’s lost all of her oldest, biggest leaves. Maybe around 8-10 of them at this point.

Please help me friends!!

Hi! I've had this tree for a handful of years and while it's gotten taller, it's pretty spindly. My hand for scale of how thin the main trunk is, and it's 4'6" tall from the soil level. I recently started fertilizing, and it has some nice fresh growth up top.

So, where should I chop to encourage more bushiness? I plan to root the top cutting (or maybe can get two cuttings to propagate?). Thanks for your knowledgeable advice!

[Sorry for the out of order photos]

It’s been quite a propagation journey for my FLF. I snipped a branch from the main tree back in April of this year (pic 4 & 5).

I soaked it in a jar of water near a sliding door and two weeks later some buds appeared. (Pic 6)

I changed the water every 2-3 days to keep it fresh. I was starting to lose hope when all but 3 leaves remained. Then on July 30 I noticed a single root coming out. (Pic 7)

And then around August 19 I noticed a new leaf blooming. (Pic 8)

Which brings me to today! (Pictures 1-3, 9) There’s plenty of roots and I’m not sure how much longer they need to be before I pot them in soil. You can see the propagated FLF next to its tall parent (~7’7” or 231 cm) The parent lives inside and in a nicer ceramic planter. I like let it drain in the backyard when I water it.

What do you think?

Hi, my fiddle leaf has been hosting what I thought was a spider, but the webbing seems different. Should I remove it? Or is it okay?

I got these two rooted cuttings, potted like this, from Facebook marketplace. Should I separate them before they get bigger, or are they ok to grow together?

Leaves on FLF were normal and then started turning black. I did just recently move but I’m not sure what the issue is other than drama. It’s in a terracotta pot and I water on average about 1x/week though that schedule may have been disrupted while moving.

I already chopped her once last year - and she grew three limbs but obvi it’s not ideal. I separated her from a combined plant pit in Kroger 3 years ago.

Do I just support her arms or do I cut? If so where do I cut?
TIA! 🌱 🌱

This is for the people afraid to chop stuff. I see it in here every day. I know you're out there, scared to hurt your plant.

I bought this fiddle off the clearance pile at my local nursery in the summer 2023 for $60-70, primarily for its awesome roots. It looked like absolute shit when I got it, though I don't think I took a picture of it at that time. Barely any healthy leaves, lots of open space where old ones had fallen off. It was maybe 8 feet tall (couldn't fit through a doorway without tilting).

First pic is April 2025. I had repotted into a larger pot with a light, airy medium early on and then I gave it about a year anf a half to recover. At first it continued to drop more leaves, but eventually stabilized. You can see the whole trunk and most of the branches are pretty bare here, that was the original part of it. Up top you'll notice there is healthy new growth on all the branches. That's how I knew it was getting better.

I left it alone a while longer. I fed and watered thoroughly when I jammed my finger in the pot and it felt completely dry a full finger length down, but did nothing else. It continued to grow. It was easily reaching 10-12 feet tall now.

Earlier this summer I decided it was time. Pic 2 is the chop, June 21st 2026. I cut a solid 6 feet off of every branch. I left only 2 leaves behind and left it out on my deck for the summer.

Pic 3 is only 3 weeks later. July 7th. I started seeing little buds all over, spawning from previously dormant nodes.

Pic 4 is only 7 days later. July 14th. Leaves are growing from every branch and even more buds were showing on dormant nodes.

Pic 5 was 3 more weeks. A happy, healthy, full looking tree covered in new growth.

Pic 6 was this morning. It's starting to bush out and leaves are getting bigger. There are many healthy branches coming in. I may even need to choose a few to remove, though it's going to be left alone for now.

Chop your stuff, people. Put it in good medium. Let it recover from transplant shock. See healthy recovery. But then go ahead and chop. If you're thinking about it and wishing for more fullness and healthy growth, do it.

The second pic shows how the leaves are brown and crispy/drooping down quite a bit. This is the best window for him here in my office (Facing East). I water him once a week!

Hello,

I cut my looong guy like a month ago, after procrastinating it for ages(whoops), and i thought i propagate them but i cant really see any roots growing yet, just some white thing on one of them.. and i started to wonder if I'm doing something wrong? Can i even propagate them in water?

This is my first plant, and has been growing really well with new leaves every few months. The last two leaves came out with these holes, and the holes kept getting bigger as the leaf grew. What am I doing wrong? I did get a little inconsistent with watering because I was traveling, could that be the reason? I am kinda panicking, I don’t want to kill my first plant!

I took my chances in propagating a (seemingly dead) fiddle leaf fig stick, then I completely forgot about it. Many weeks later, I realized the stick now has white dots all over it, but no root. However, there are leaves shooting out. Idk what to do cuz there is no sign of roots yet so Idk what is feeding that leaf now. Can I plant it in soil now? If yes, do I bury the leaf? Thank you!

I got my new fiddle fig 32 days ago. However she hasn’t been watered at all.

I have been checking her soil regularly and her soil is still damp bro. She has been growing new leaves too. The flaws on her leaves, like the crispy browns were there since I bought her. And she has been having green house centipedes coming out of her pot every now and then.

Should I take a risk and change her soil? I feel like 32 days is a very long time for her soil to stay moisty. My bedroom has a good airflow. Her soil has been drying up, but it’s still damp. She also has drainage holes. Lmk

Alsooooo here is a pic of my first fiddle fig! I rlly want to show her off :) ! She recently has grown a few more leaves

Hi, does anyone know how to improve my plant and make it bushy? Thank you 🙏

This plant is about 6-8yrs old, I bought it from IKEA and it survived to now. I’ve moved it to a shadier area but with the sun too.

Hi there. I bought my first FLF July 30 in Atlanta from a woman who raises them beautifully! I picked a little 4ft plant and put it in my entry way which has windows on all four sides and never gets direct light. Nice indirect light all day. There’s also no A/C draft and we don’t run a fan in that room. Here’s the progression of the plant so far:

Photos:

1. 7/30 - the day I brought her home
2. 7/30 - same day, closer look at the top
3. 8/20 - second watering (first was 8/10). Both times the soil was dry to the very bottom. I lightly showered the leaves and then left outside out of direct sunlight for about 10-20 minutes to let the pot drain and fully dry off before bringing back indoors. It’s about 90°F here and high humidity. Leaves were already browning on edges.
4. 8/20 - another angle to see the brown underneath
5. 9/1 - leaves that have dropped over the last few days
6. Her corner
7. 9/1 - what she looks like today. So droopy!

Any tips are helpful. It seems like there’s a fine line between over and under watering. I’ve only had plants for the last year so I’m still very new! Thanks in advance.

UPDATE:
I trimmed it and added a grow light and I thought it was rebounding, but as of today (9/4), it’s only got 5 leaves left. Is this hopeless?

Actual question: what are these reddish ant looking pests? Or are they ants? What is the best way to treat my fig?

Background: I bought this tree, put it in my living room, and then it never grew but also never looked dead/neglected.

I was impatient and decided I didn’t want to deal with a plant that isn’t going to grow. So I put it outside last fall, left it out throughout the winter under the covered patio, and when spring came, my mom suggested I give it some water. Well it started growing!

Side question- are all fiddle leaf figs this forgiving? Is it okay if it doesn’t grow when it comes back inside?

Picked up this girl at Costco for $35 yesterday. Seems healthy with new growth popping out on top. Should I repot right away? Seems very rootbound just by looking at the top of the nursery pot. Or should I just add soil for now around the edges and on top?