Ficus lyrata, Fiddle Leaf Fig
One of my very first houseplants — for me it’s the one that started my plant obsession. It’s not a demanding plant — not from my experience at least. I put it in a bright spot that gets a little direct sun but mainly indirect and water when the top few inches of the soil is dry. I’m pretty sure it can handle direct sunlight as well, just make sure to slowly introduce it, if not it might get sun burnt! When I first brought it home it was a standard form with 1 growth point. It eventually reached the ceiling and I had to give it a hair cut. When it starts growing again the single growth point becomes two and it will begin to branch out. Plus, you can put the cutting in water and you’ll soon have Fiddle Leaf Fig baby!
The leaves are stunning from afar, but when you look at them closely it’s amazing to see the intricate designs.
Here’s how I’ve been taking care of my Ficus lyrata, Fiddle Leaf Fig over the past 4 years.
Soil: I have it in general potting mix and it seems to be doing just fine.
Water: I give it a good water when the top 2 inches of the soil has dried out. If possible water it until there’s water coming out of the drainage holes. Similar to most of my plants I let the excess water collect in the cover pot and allow the roots to soak up what they need. In a couple of hours I drain out any excess water.
Light: I have it positioned to the side of a south facing window. It’s not directly in front of the window, which means it mainly gets bright indirect light all day. During the morning it gets a little direct sunlight. I have another one of my FLFs in direct sunlight and it’s doing good as well. Just be careful if you are moving your Ficus Lyrata from a lower light area into full sun. Give it some time to acclimate itself by slowly moving it to the new location over a few days.
Fertilizer: During spring and summer I use MARPHYL Organic Liquid Marine Phytoplankton Soil Enhancer (following the directing on the bottle says) bi-weekly. I also fertilizer them during the winter if I see them still growing — but at half strength and once a month.
Humidity: I’ve never had any problems with normal household humidity (sometimes as low as 30%), though I’m sure it would be happy with higher humidity (as most plants do!).
Leaf care: Every once in a while (when I remember to) I’ll wipe off dust from the leaves with a damp soft cloth (tops and bottoms). This ensures it’s getting as much light as it can.
Propagation: Super easy! I find my FLF grows so quickly in the spring and summer months that it’s constantly hitting the ceiling (I wish I had taller ceiling so I could just let it keep growing..) but when this happens I cut it down making sure to include a node and pop it in water and put it in a bright spot. Make sure to change the water every few days. After a couple of weeks you’ll start to see roots appear. Once they are around 3 inches I pot them up. For the first few weeks I water often and keep the soil moist since the “water” roots need to get used to their new environment. After that I water as normal.
One of many propagation from my original Fiddle Leaf Fig.
It’s currently January and I find that all my Fiddle Leaf Figs are still pushing out new growth. I. find that as long as they are in a bright spot they don’t really stop growing all year round. They definately slow down in winter though.