Fiddle Leaf Fig - Root Rot? Or not?

[sarah_c]

Hey all,

I bought a new fiddle leaf fig plant several months ago. I did not remove it from the growers pot/soil, simply placed the full growers pot inside my planter (since my planter doesn't have drainage holes), and at first it was doing really well. It sprouted three giant new leaves within the first month. In the three months since, there have been no new growths.

The plant sits right next to a window and gets a lot of indirect (and some direct) sunlight. I was very careful to wait until the soil was dry between waterings (about once every two weeks), but at one point the weather had gotten significantly hotter and sunnier, and it seemed like my fiddle leaf had gotten overly dried out. One of the leaves got brown on the edge, turned yellow, and fell off, and the upper leaves had begun to droop. I began watering more frequently (at the first sign of droopage, every 5-7 days) for several weeks, and the plant always perked up and looked happier after waterings.

Now, a large brown spot has developed on the center of one of the older leaves, and has only grown bigger and bigger. The size has become pretty alarming. It's currently just the one leaf (though a couple others have very small brown spots on the edge that have maintained a small size over several weeks). I'm starting to think that the plant developed root rot while I was giving it more frequent waterings. Photos are attached!

My question is - what do I do next? Do I need to take the root ball out of the soil and look for root rot/prune the roots and repot with new soil, or just prune the affected leaf and see if any other leaves develop spots? Is it even possible for root rot to resolve itself with a reformed watering routine?

Just trying to figure out how serious this issue is and what level of action I need to take to save this sweet little plant

Thank you!

 

[Chuck]

Hey all,

I bought a new fiddle leaf fig plant several months ago. I did not remove it from the growers pot/soil, simply placed the full growers pot inside my planter (since my planter doesn't have drainage holes), and at first it was doing really well. It sprouted three giant new leaves within the first month. In the three months since, there have been no new growths.

The plant sits right next to a window and gets a lot of indirect (and some direct) sunlight. I was very careful to wait until the soil was dry between waterings (about once every two weeks), but at one point the weather had gotten significantly hotter and sunnier, and it seemed like my fiddle leaf had gotten overly dried out. One of the leaves got brown on the edge, turned yellow, and fell off, and the upper leaves had begun to droop. I began watering more frequently (at the first sign of droopage, every 5-7 days) for several weeks, and the plant always perked up and looked happier after waterings.

Now, a large brown spot has developed on the center of one of the older leaves, and has only grown bigger and bigger. The size has become pretty alarming. It's currently just the one leaf (though a couple others have very small brown spots on the edge that have maintained a small size over several weeks). I'm starting to think that the plant developed root rot while I was giving it more frequent waterings. Photos are attached! View attachment 41907 View attachment 41908

My question is - what do I do next? Do I need to take the root ball out of the soil and look for root rot/prune the roots and repot with new soil, or just prune the affected leaf and see if any other leaves develop spots? Is it even possible for root rot to resolve itself with a reformed watering routine?

Just trying to figure out how serious this issue is and what level of action I need to take to save this sweet little plant

Thank you!

If it were me I would take the plant out of the container and see if the plants roots were too wet. I would make sure that the roots were still whiteish in color. Overall the plant looks good. If the soil is too wet I would remove PART of it and replace with new. I would let the new soil absorb the excess water from the old soil, and wait to see if the plant gets a little worse or better.

 

[Ashfosho]

Yeah I would definitely take the plant out and inspect the roots. You can’t do this without taking the plant out of the soil. If the roots seem mushy and wet, chances are you have root rot. If that’s the case, repot it with soil that allows for good draingage and mix it with perlite for extra help with proper drainage. I would also say watering every 2 weeks is definitely too little for your fiddle leaf. Water when only the top 2 inches are dry (typically once a week), it shouldn’t be drying out completely. Also, spring and summer you should be fertilizing every month, at the very least - ideally every time you water in the summer.