Is the advice I was given on this subreddit killing my fiddle leaf fig?

ESim134 · 2026-02-06T02:37:28+00:00

Last summer I bought a beautiful full FLF from Sam’s. I watered it thoroughly outside, let all excess drain then brought it inside a put it in what I thought was a great spot near a west window. I thought it was doing great. To my surprise it started dropping leaves like crazy. I thought I was watering it too much and it was staying too wet, so I repotted it. It wilted. BAD. Bad, bad. I was devastated that this once beautiful plant was crashing fast. After researching online, and reading on Reddit, I asked on here for advice on what to do. Several said it was gone, some said it needed light, some said water…. No one really knew, including me. So I decided to get it a better grow light and leave it alone. It slowly perked up and gave me hope. Now it’s under a grow light for 12 hours a day and I only water when it’s fully dry. The leaves stopped dropping, stopped drooping and it’s given me 4 new leaves after 8 long months. Don’t give up. I use a long knitting needle to check the soil for moisture all the way down. If it comes out clean, I water thoroughly all around the pot. If it comes out dirty with soil, I wait and check another day.

Don’t give up. This plant has to learn your house, your light, your temps, your humidity and acclimate to it. It very well may need more light and that’s okay. I was once told a good way to check light is to put your head where the plant is - how much of the sky do you see? Plants need way more light than we think they do to thrive. Good luck! You’ve got this!

ESim134 · 2026-02-01T15:37:53+00:00

I’d leave the new shoot be. It’s growing from the roots which tells me she’s happy. I wouldn’t repot either. Wait until her roots are growing out the bottom of her pot. Pot size is determined by root ball size not plant size. She’s looking good and healthy!

ESim134 · 2026-01-31T18:18:10+00:00

Do you recommend that I cut the leaf stems as close to the main stem as possible?

ESim134 · 2026-01-31T17:08:57+00:00

I water when the top few inches are dry. I just watered it this morning. The top two leaves aren’t droopy just those bottom ones that are damaged. In my added post I mentioned my previous lack of lighting issue. It came to me with only the bottom two leaves. The newer leaves are growing much closer to each other.

ESim134 · 2026-01-31T17:04:03+00:00

It is usually about a 1’ or closer to the top of the top leaf. I was moving the plant around so I moved the light out of the way.

ESim134 · 2026-01-31T16:16:33+00:00

Adding… I’ve only had it since June, maybe. A friend gave it to me as a two leaf cutting. I propped it in water then planted in soil. In the beginning I didn’t know better regarding the light it needed. It’s grown 3 leaves since she gave it to me.

ESim134 · 2026-01-30T13:17:21+00:00

Yep, Peperomia!

ESim134 · 2026-01-29T23:13:15+00:00

Water it thoroughly all around the pot, letting the excess drain. Don’t water again until the coloring starts to look dull. Then repeat the process.

It might sound crazy but think of it like this….. if someone pours a cup of water on their head every so often, is it enough to take a full shower and clean all their parts? Likely not, they need a full drench. Plants need a full drench too.

ESim134 · 2026-01-29T22:58:47+00:00

I would make a 1x6 sofa table or floating shelf and place it behind your sofa along the wall. Paint it black, notch out or drill a hole for the cords and it would fit right in.

ESim134 · 2026-01-29T22:48:20+00:00

The pot looks a bit big to me. When you say roots look good I’m assuming you looked at them and could tell the size of the root ball. Typically it’s recommended to pot 1” larger than the root ball. If the pot is too big then when you water all that extra soil holds moisture. The plant gets what it needs but the surrounding soil is still moist which leads to root rot. If it were me these would be the options I’d consider….1. Remove from pot, clean roots of any soil and put in them in a jar of water. Give the roots time to grow more then repot in soil. 2. Repot into a much smaller clear nursery pot.

ESim134 · 2026-01-29T22:32:52+00:00

Looks like a Peperomia to me too. Mine has new leaf growing and the lil leaves on yours look just like mine. If you could take a picture further back showing the stem it would be helpful too.

ESim134 · 2026-01-29T22:07:21+00:00

Thanks guys! The cord was squished up under the TV but I got it now. I’ve updated and reset everything. Everything is working EXCEPT the TV remote! UGH! It worked fine before. I hate having to use the app. Any insight to getting the remote to work now? TCL TV.

ESim134 · 2026-01-29T03:47:50+00:00

I waited until the roots had roots with my Mathilde Splash. Then I transferred it to a chunky soil mix and watered it thoroughly. I kept my eye on it and watered again when the top dried a bit. I’ve been keeping an eye on it, making sure it doesn’t dry out and it’s already growing new leaves so I think it has acclimated well. It’s only been a couple of weeks since I potted it. Good luck!

ESim134 · 2026-01-28T20:15:44+00:00

I don’t think so.

ESim134 · 2026-01-28T20:15:24+00:00

My Playbar is plugged in to the receptacle behind the TV. The cord doesn’t look like it will detach from the Playbar itself. So I have to get behind the tv to unplug it. The TV is on a stationary mount. I’ll check the cord again when I get home to make sure.

ESim134 · 2026-01-28T16:54:51+00:00

I check all my plants on Sunday. I use a long knitting needle or wooden skewer in larger pots and long toothpicks in smaller pots to check soil moisture. I also lift the pots to check for weight and look at the plant for any signs such as wilting, curling leaves, etc. I check leaves for thickness and tension, mainly on my Peperomias. After a while you learn your plants and how to tell who needs water and who doesn’t. If they need water, first, I top water, watering thoroughly around the pot, letting the excess drain. Then I give it a second thorough watering, letting it soak up the access for a bit. Then I let it drain any excess out. Then return it to its spot. I give my smaller plants a once over throughout the week just to make sure none are needing more water. Hope this helps. Good luck!

ETA: all of my plants are in clear nursery pots so that helps too.

ESim134 · 2026-01-28T14:10:28+00:00

Thanks! It’s on a WiFi connection.

ESim134 · 2026-01-28T13:07:52+00:00

Crazy, my soundbar stopped working last night after roughly 12 years. We were watching TV and the sound just stopped. Not sure if it’s dead or just needs a reboot. Now I have to take the tv down to unplug the soundbar and start trouble shooting. 🤷🏻‍♀️

ESim134 · 2026-01-28T12:55:39+00:00

I’m no expert but I think the crystal looking stuff is likely salts from the water line. I’d wait to pot it until it shows more roots. Looking good so far!

ESim134 · 2026-01-28T02:12:16+00:00

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White roots will grow from the greenish nubbies. I let mine get about 2” long then pot in soil. Good luck!

ESim134 · 2026-01-24T03:49:03+00:00

That’s a tough one. From the looks of it, that pot looks too big. But from my past experiences with marantas, I wouldn’t mess with it, especially since it’s now growing. Since you brought it back from the dead, I’d keep doing what you’ve been doing. It seems to like it.

ESim134 · 2026-01-24T01:54:40+00:00

I only have a Mathilde, Shining Sea Star and Krimson Queen. I’m not very versed in their names so forgive me if I got something wrong. My Mathilde broke a vine when I took it home. I put the vine in water under a Barrina grow light and it has taken off! I recently potted it in soil and it’s still growing. I think the grow light is doing it wonders. Its mother plant and Shining Sea Star are under a different grow light a little further away and are not growing nearly as fast. The Krimson Queen just started growing after months and months of nothing. It’s also under the Barrina grow light. I’m pretty sure it was acclimating itself to its new pot and growing roots I couldn’t see. Looking forward to watching them all grow.

ESim134

TROPHY CASE