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How To Save A Dying Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree? 7 Helpful Tips

It is heartbreaking to put so much effort and dedication into a plant and realize that my fiddle leaf is dying after a few weeks! Try one of these methods to learn how to save a dying fiddle-leaf fig tree. There are several indicators that your plant may be dying.

We will go through all the signs, issues, and fixes today so you can rescue your plants. Let’s figure all of them out now!

How To Save A Dying Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree?

To save a fiddle-leaf fig that is dying, you can reduce the frequency of watering first, then relocate the plant to a light area. Next, aerate the soil by loosening the topsoil, and just water the plant as required. These methods can help you save a dying fiddle leaf fig tree.

In other words, finding the root of the problem and fixing it is the only way to rescue a dying tree. The list below goes through seven helpful tips to let you know how to save fiddle leaf fig leaves.

Proper Watering

Watering Ficus Lyrata should be your first choice if you have neglected it for a long time. However, be sure it genuinely needs watering before you overwater it. Your plant needs watering if it has acquired brown, dried leaves and dry soil. You may verify this with a moisture detector.

Before repotting your plant, immerse it in a pail of room-temperature water for about 30 minutes. After that, proceed to water it sparingly but frequently over the following week or two before returning to your regular maintenance schedule. Because you soak the plants for around 30 minutes, they can become quite heavy. Therefore, be careful when you lift them.

Plant Maintenance

When trying to save your fading fiddle, it’s equally crucial to provide the leaves with the tender care they require. Do not wipe the foliage with warm, soapy water to eliminate the buildup. It is crucial because it enables the plants to resume photosynthesis and makes leaves appear shinier and brighter. Because the leaves rapidly begin to be drab and too much dust limits essential sunlight, attempt to do this once a month.

Pruning the fallen leaves also helps the plant concentrate its nutrients on growing healthy new growth. Make a careful cut using clean, sharp scissors to remove the dead leaf. Never pluck at the dead leaf because doing so could harm the plant, which you wouldn’t want to do on the trees whether they are healthy or not.

Safe Environment

While this won’t be able to repair any of the damage previously done to the tree, ensuring that your plant is in the right environment will help it recover its strength and experience healthy growth.

Increasing Humidity

In addition to watering, it’s critical to make an effort to raise the humidity around your fiddle leaves to restore them to peak health and prevent them from withering. Especially during the wintertime, when we usually have the heat on most of the day, the air in our houses can frequently be drier. The leaves may appear floppy and droopy if the air lacks humidity. Fortunately, boosting the moisture in your house is quite simple.

See some of our recommendations below:

  • Spraying leaves

Misting your houseplants with a bottle a few times per week is an easy way to improve their humidity. You may find excellent glass spray bottles of high quality to help revive your dying plants.

  • Constructing a pebble tray

Put your indoor plants on top of a tray of small rocks and clean water. The plant above will receive what it needs from the water that evaporates throughout the day.

  • Taking a shower for the fiddle leaf

Do not take a brief shower on the Fiddle Leaf to quickly increase the humidity and clean it of any lingering dust. Just give them a quick shower and a mild water wash to remove the leaves and thoroughly soak the soil. Ensure you don’t set the water pressure to full.

  • Purchasing a humidifier

The humidifiers are our recommended favorites. They are small, have reasonable prices, and maintain constant moisture levels. Most of them let you set a timer, so they operate on a set schedule. The manufacturers even equip some devices with a built-in monitor, so they automatically switch on or off to maintain the humidity you want.

Checking Pests

When inspecting the leaves, you should watch out for pest infestation. The fiddle leaf may become infested with pests such as spider mites, mealybugs, scale insects, and others. There are a few easy ways to get rid of bugs, so your plant is not doomed if you find them. It will prevent your Ficus Lyrata from dying.

Do not wash the leaves with warm, soapy water. You can apply neem oil to the dying Ficus Lyrata leaves in addition to these remedies to help them fight the infestation.

Make sure to inspect your other indoor plants to determine if any of them have bugs. If you don’t want the insects to spread to any one of your other plants, keep the diseased fiddle leaf fig leaves well away from them.

Repotting

The fiddle fig may be dying because of its long roots, which can encircle the Ficus Lyrata plant. You have to transfer the tree into a bigger pot because the root cannot get nutrients or minerals from the soil.

You ought to repot the plants every two to three years, even if they aren’t root-bound because the soil eventually becomes acidic and loses its ability to hold onto nutrients. Figure out when to repot your plants on this website!

Fertilizer

There is conflicting advice on whether fertilizing your dying Ficus leaf is a wise option or not. But we always advise against it for the first few weeks. It is advisable to wait a little while before adding water-based fertilizer because you will not want to startle the tree into trying to develop rapidly.

Before fertilizing, ensure the fiddle leaf is in a suitable environment and has healthy roots and wet soil. When you decide it’s the right time to fertilize your fiddle, keep the dosage below the advised level. Any houseplant can be challenging to revive, especially if you have ignored it for a while. Try adding a weekly watering schedule to your planner. You may also request help from a family member if you constantly forget to care for your plants.

How To Know If My Tree Is Dying?

It might be challenging to pinpoint why my fiddle leaf fig leaves are dying since they are so susceptible to environmental change. Please continue reading to find out the probable reason for your plant’s decline and figure out how to save my fiddle leaf fig leaves.

Browning Leaves

Brown leaf edges often occur due to low humidity. While indoor humidity is usually about 10%, the plants demand at least 40% humidity. Brown, curled-up leaf margins result from insufficient or too little irrigation.

Brown leaves are also the consequence of root rot and other fungal diseases, which are encouraged by consistently moist soil. The leaf’s edges are becoming brown and crispy, sometimes seeming to be curling. The leaf’s edges are becoming brown and crisp, sometimes appearing to be bending.

Drooping Leaves

The most frequent cause of a tree shedding leaves is an abrupt change in growth circumstances brought on by moving the plant. Due to their extreme sensitivity, trees may shed their leaves as a symptom of stress in response to any change in temperature, light, natural light, humidity, or air movement.

The tree loses leaves in part due to overwatering or inadequate drainage of the potting soil. Too much fertilizer and insufficient light, as well as natural light, also cause leaf loss, especially with the lower leaves.

Curling Leaves

Your tree is too old if the leaves begin curling inward on the sides. You’ll see brown spots around the leaves in addition to curled leaves. These travel from the outside margins of the leaves into the center.

Changes in humidity and temperature may also cause leaves to curl. The plant’s surroundings will vary if you have moved it or if the season has changed. The leaves may curl as a result of this.

Changes in humidity and temperature may cause leaves to curl

Brown Spots

When you overwater a plant, the soil holds on to the water longer than usual, causing the root system to rot. The presence of brown patches on the leaves is a sign of root rot. There will also be little brown patches on your tree if it has pests like scales, mealybugs, or spider mites. If you look closely, you may be able to see the pests.

If your tree develops bacterial diseases, the young leaves will start to suffer. These leaves will gradually become brown as well as yellow, and they will finally fall off the plant.

Leaf Loss

If you see your tree losing more leaves than usual, you could begin to worry that the plant is dying. However, the illness may not be so serious. The slightest change might stress or startle the plant since trees need constancy. This issue causes the plant to lose several leaves frequently.

A tree may begin shedding leaves after you bring them home, move them, or even transplant them. Your tree being exposed to dry conditions may be another factor. It’s excellent if you don’t overwater the plant, but remember that the soil shouldn’t be arid.

You should water the plant when the soil is excellent and just a bit damp. Allowing the soil to dry out can cause leaf loss, so do not keep the plant next to a heating or air conditioning unit since the air will dry it out and possibly cause it to die.

Leggy Tree

A leggy tree has a thin and frail stem that grows to an excessive height. Your tree may become leggy for a variety of reasons. One of them is a lack of light. For plants to stay wholesome and robust, they need indirect sunlight.

The trees begin to deteriorate in the absence of light. You’ll see a long stem with scanty leaves. Using insufficient fertilizers might result in lanky, weak plants. The plant won’t obtain adequate nutrients from the soil if you don’t provide it with enough fertilizer.

Infrequent pruning might also result in a small tree. Pruning keeps the tree in shape and encourages the release of growth hormones. Your plant will weaken and sag if you neglect to trim it often.

Read more: Best Grow Light For Fiddle Leaf Fig: 4 Solutions For Growth

Lack of light might cause leggy tree

Conclusion

Watch out for your plant to ensure it stays healthy; if there are any issues, you can act promptly and correct them. Knowing how to save a dying fiddle-leaf fig tree may lessen or halt any problems. Don’t lose hope in your trees too soon. They may appear to be dying or dead and past resurrection, but with appropriate care, they will regrow.

Janet Rory-Narcissus

Janet Rory-Narcissus

Janet Rory Narcissus is the Gardening Expert of Swipe Garden. She has over 15 years of experience in sustainable and urban farming. Her promotion of eco-friendly practices has made her a respected figure in the gardening community.