Ok guys, ever wondered how to prune a Fiddle Leaf Fig?
I did it and as a former black thumb, it felt very dramatic. People who are good at plants, feel free to scoff now, this post is not for you. But for the rest of you who are no doubt gasping at the thought of cutting off a chunk of what is known to be a total princess plant. Let me celebrate!
Would you like me to walk you through it?
If you answer is ‘no’ you should check out these recipes instead
Ok, so my plant was long and skinny and not very bushy at all and it was just not looking too flash. I had just been to my friend’s house and her fiddle leaf fig was insanely huge and gorgeous. It just so happened that I actually bought it for her about the same time as I got mine, from the same place so I was obviously outraged. Right?! I decided that I really needed to chop it. Scroll down to check out the process.
Because I had heard that you could pretty easily propagate Fiddle Leaf Figs I decided to give that a go too, I know! WOAH! You green thumbs can laugh all you want, this is BIG in my world.
I ended up with a fair chunk of branch in a glass jar with water, nothing else. It seemed too easy so I called a florist I knew and she was like, yeah… you’re going to want to make that cutting a bit smaller to up your odds of propagating baby Fiddle Leaf Figs. So I cut it in three and popped them all in jars by my sunniest window, no growth hormones, no fancy stuff, just tap water which I changed about once a week.
Then I got roots! It took a good seven weeks to see serious growth but they just hung out, doing their own thing. Even though it was the middle of winter by the time they grew (which I have found out is not an ideal time to plant) I transferred them to some potting mix, super gently so as not to break the tiny roots and they have ALL TAKEN AND ARE GROWING NEW LEAVES! Can we just take a moment to appreciate that the lady who has killed succulents on MANY occasions actually propagated not one but THREE Fiddle Leaf Figs?
So, what happened to the original plant you ask? Well, it’s cranking. I wish so much that I had cut it lower because it has now forked and is super bushy above the cut, below it is still a bit spindly. I’m actually thinking about popping one of the babies in the same pot right next to the stem so it can double the thickness.
The kids like to hide ‘in’ it at bedtime so I can’t find them. Her reasoning has something to do with the plants on her PJ’s. I have no idea what his is.
Enjoy and know that if I can do it, you can totally do it too.