Dwarf Fiddle Leaf Fig

Description

Your Favorite Ficus, Only Fun-Sized

The Ficus Lyrata ‘Bambino’ shares many of the traits and characteristics of its full-sized cousin, including its broad green leaves and ease of care, but comes in a size that won’t grow to more than a few feet when fully mature, making it ideal for those who want to make a statement in a tiny space.

Caring for your Ficus Lyrata, Fiddle Leaf Fig

Since these plants grow in tropical regions, their optimum growing temperature and condition is warm and moist.

Providing them with optimum wet conditions can be difficult indoors but fortunately, like most ficus, the Fiddle Leaf Fig plant is very resilient and can survive slight temperature variations and low water conditions aw well.

Light

Like most plants and trees native to tropical conditions, the fiddle leaf fig cannot tolerate sunlight at high intensities. Putting the plant under direct sunlight will burn the leaves, even for a short period.

It will grow best in bright, filtered light, but handles low light conditions well. The plant may lose leaves in low light conditions as it adapts.

Soil

The general rule of thumb when preparing and maintaining the soil for the fiddle leaf fig is to choose a plant potting mix that is best for indoor growth.

Another thing that you can do is make sure that the water drains out well. Having excessive moisture within the roots can be detrimental to the plant’s health.

Water

Even though the fiddle leaf fig tree can withstand conditions that deviate from optimum standards, the soil must be moderately moist and allowed to dry in between waterings.

Keeping the water levels in the soil moderate is incredibly important. Over-watering can cause leaves to fall. On the other hand, underwatering will cause the leaves to wilt and lose their luscious green color.

Not to mention, this plant is very sensitive to high amounts of salt in the soil. Make sure to prevent soil buildup in the plant. One way to do that is by flushing water from the top of the soil until it begins to seep from the bottom of the pot.

Doing this once every month is a way you can replace the water in the soil and remove the buildup of soil.

Fertilizer

Fertilizing the fiddle leaf fig tree involves adding nutrient-rich fertilizers during the growing season, which are spring and fall. Over the winters, these plants generally do not require nutrients.

Common Issues

An owner can tell plenty about the problems of a fiddle leaf by looking at the leaves. Any unnecessary spots on the leaf can be an indication that the plant is unhealthy.

The major causes will often range around the sensitivity towards the environment and watering schedule. This plant is vulnerable to fungal and bacterial threats, along with other pests and diseases.

The common indications that make the damage evident for fiddle leaf trees include bleached leaves or brown spots on the leaves. Ultimately, any time the leaves lose their green pigmentation, you can tell that the plant is in dire condition.

Pruning Your Fiddle Leaf

Since this tree can grow rapidly, you will benefit from having the leaves and branches cut every so often. Brown leaves should fall by themselves, be gentle if you pull them off before they fall. To get your plant to branch, prune just above a nodule during the growing season. Fertilizing at the same time will promote branching.

Propagation

The best way to do this is by using stem-cuttings. This is because it is difficult to propagate fiddle leaf trees with seeds.

Potting / Repotting

Replace any loose soil with new indoor potting mix when repotting your plant. Depending on it’s conditions the growth rate can vary and will determine how often your Fiddle Leaf Fig should be repotted.